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A Fishy Surprise
Snake-eating red!
Just when you think you have seen it all, fish will surprise you. Recently, I was fishing in Port O' Connor. I was finally back on my favorite fishing grounds. Although the weather was nice, the fish weren't cooperating. I was starting to get frustrated and thinking about going back to get the boat while everyone else finished the wade. Then my older brother hooked into a decent trout so I thought maybe there were fish here after all. I made a long cast and let my Corky slightly sink below the surface before I began my retrieve. On my third turn of the handle something crushed it. I set the hook hard and the fish immediately took off in the opposite direction. My first thought was, it's got to be a big redfish. After a five minute fight the fish gave up. I was right, it was a big redfish. As I netted the fish, I realized how thick it was. It was built like a freight train. In length the fish was twenty eight inches with its tail pinched. My first thought was to release it, but my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see what that monster had eaten.
The next day at the cleaning table after cutting the first fillet off of the monster red, I could see its stomach bulging with something inside. When I cut it open, I couldn't believe my eyes. The specimen inside was half digested, covered in a thick slime, and was 28 inches in length (the same length as the fish). Some have suggested that it was an eel, but the body wasn't tapered towards the tail, it was rounded all the way; which has led to my conclusion that it was a snake. It was impossible to correctly identify the species because it was eaten down to the raw flesh. I'm not sure what kind of snakes are available to a redfish living in saltwater, except maybe rattlesnakes. Although I don't remember seeing a small rattle on the specimen, it could have been digested. I have seen other types of snakes in the saltwater before, but I am not quite sure what the correct species names were. The next reason that I think it was snake is that the head was somewhat triangular, which suggests that it was poisonous.
Another recent fishing trip led to a big surprise. That big trout you've been trying to catch may not come from an area that you might expect. When I think trophy trout fishing I'm going to head somewhere with little to no pressure and put on a Corky and slowly fish over some mud and oysters. However, the other day I was on an exploratory trip with a friend and his dad on their new BoatRight 17 foot scooter. We were running around the Galveston area trying to break-in the motor and stopped in an area to fish a while. The spot we were fishing has had its fair share of boat pressure recently. There were even other boats there while we were fishing. In other words, it wasn't anywhere I would expect to catch a big trout. So we had already made a few drifts and picked up a few trout and small reds and decided to make one more drift. We were approaching a color change where we had caught most of the fish. I made a long cast with my B&L shad tail and started my retrieve. About midway through my retrieve something just inhaled it. I set the hook and all I saw was a big yellow mouth come up to the surface. I was not expecting that at all. The trout measured twenty-five inches and weighed five and a half pounds. By no means is it a trophy of a lifetime but day in and day out that's a solid fish. That just goes to show, fish will surprise you.
The next day at the cleaning table after cutting the first fillet off of the monster red, I could see its stomach bulging with something inside. When I cut it open, I couldn't believe my eyes. The specimen inside was half digested, covered in a thick slime, and was 28 inches in length (the same length as the fish). Some have suggested that it was an eel, but the body wasn't tapered towards the tail, it was rounded all the way; which has led to my conclusion that it was a snake. It was impossible to correctly identify the species because it was eaten down to the raw flesh. I'm not sure what kind of snakes are available to a redfish living in saltwater, except maybe rattlesnakes. Although I don't remember seeing a small rattle on the specimen, it could have been digested. I have seen other types of snakes in the saltwater before, but I am not quite sure what the correct species names were. The next reason that I think it was snake is that the head was somewhat triangular, which suggests that it was poisonous.
Another recent fishing trip led to a big surprise. That big trout you've been trying to catch may not come from an area that you might expect. When I think trophy trout fishing I'm going to head somewhere with little to no pressure and put on a Corky and slowly fish over some mud and oysters. However, the other day I was on an exploratory trip with a friend and his dad on their new BoatRight 17 foot scooter. We were running around the Galveston area trying to break-in the motor and stopped in an area to fish a while. The spot we were fishing has had its fair share of boat pressure recently. There were even other boats there while we were fishing. In other words, it wasn't anywhere I would expect to catch a big trout. So we had already made a few drifts and picked up a few trout and small reds and decided to make one more drift. We were approaching a color change where we had caught most of the fish. I made a long cast with my B&L shad tail and started my retrieve. About midway through my retrieve something just inhaled it. I set the hook and all I saw was a big yellow mouth come up to the surface. I was not expecting that at all. The trout measured twenty-five inches and weighed five and a half pounds. By no means is it a trophy of a lifetime but day in and day out that's a solid fish. That just goes to show, fish will surprise you.