June Is An All-Star Month On The Texas Coast

It seems that every season has its own standout month and, from this fisherman’s point of view, June is the all-star of summer. Everything just seems to come together – kiddos are out of school; the STAR Tournament is underway; red snapper season is open in federal waters; bay fishing is wide open; and above all the weather is about as pleasant as it gets before the blast furnaces of July and August kick in.

Speaking of red snapper, I have a bone to pick with the feds, and it’s called IUU fishing – illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing – see also the lancha fleet that comes up from Mexico and pillages the Texas red snapper fishery. The most the miscreants ever receive is a slap on the wrist and a bus ride back across the border, only to return and go back to fishing as soon as they can get re-outfitted by the seafood companies they work for. Check out page 38 in this issue for some backstory.

What gripes me the most is that IUU fishing, is believed by people who are supposedly in the know, to account for more pounds of red snapper than the Gulf-wide recreational ACL (Annual Catch Limit) established by NOAA/NMFS. How this has been allowed to go on as long as it has is just baffling to me.

Recreational fishermen bear the bulk of the stewardship and management burdens. So, why must we always be the ones getting the short end of the stick, (i.e.; two fish red snapper bag limit?) We landed men on the moon more than 50 years ago but somehow we cannot stop a bunch of illegal fishermen in primitive outboard-powered boats raping our fishery? Smells a lot like four years of unsecured southern border to me and I ain’t buying it!

Ok – rant over – let’s switch gears to boating safety. June is going to be a busy month on the bays. Everybody is going to be in a hurry and it’s easy to forget common courtesy toward our fellow anglers. Courtesy begins at the launch ramp and a few minutes of preparation prior to backing down are worth their weight in gold. Don’t be the guy that’s sitting on the ramp and taking his good old time transferring gear and passengers to the boat. If launching by yourself, practice your routine when the launch isn’t busy, not while everybody else in line is waiting for you.

You’ve no doubt heard the highway safety slogan – Speed Kills. Yep, it sure does, and the same is true on the water. Just because your boat can cruise at 70 doesn’t mean you have to. Slow down, be aware, wear your kill switch…and an inflatable PFD!