Blew Bayou

Last week Andrea caught several nice flounder off of the pier. I was excited that the flounder were back, so I planned all week to go flounder fishing when I got my boat back from the shop. What I had not planned for was the wind. The wind was literally howling out of the South this weekend, making the boat a real chore to handle. We only got to fish on Saturday morning, and we did not catch a thing. I know the fish were there, though -- Andrea still managed to catch another flounder from the pier on Saturday afternoon.

We left on the boat at about 9:00am on Saturday morning, and went up-river in search of calmer water. Although we did find a protected grassy shoreline that seemed to hold promise, the water was very fresh up river, so the fish were not there.

It was still enjoyable. I got to try out my new trolling motor in the wind, and it performed adequately. Andrea got some practice casting into the wind, and was very helpful in handling the boat. She manned the power-pole switch at the console while I worked the trolling motor from the bow. I would use the trolling motor to glide along the grass line, and when I found a likely spot, Andrea would engage the power-pole shallow water anchor.

I think we make a pretty good team. Andrea even wanted to brave the open water, but after getting drenched when a good sized wave broke over the bow, she convinced me to turn the boat around and head back home. It was actually pretty funny to see - she looked as if she had gone for a swim!

After eight months in our bay house, I am beginning to learn the seasons. A couple of weeks ago we started seeing black-berries come up all over the place. Last week we picked a couple of gallons worth, and even a few more this weekend.

Andrea has tried a couple of recipes that have come out very good. She made a black-berry cobbler last weekend, and a black-berry coffee cake this weekend. We froze the berries on a cookie-sheet, and separated them into portions. The we used a seal-o-matic to package them up. Now I have a freezer full of them, so we will be enjoying them all year.

You know, now that I think about it, the flounder started showing up at the same time as the berries. You can bet that I will be looking for flounder this time again next year.