recent trip

This last week and a bit I was off doing a bit of fishing and some visiting. Back to the lower Laguna Madre on the Texas coast and then to points east. For us, at least, fishing in the bay was slow.

A ladyfish, or as we know them colloquially, a skipjack:



If skipjacks ran a consistent five pounds and larger, rather than the usual one-to-three pounds, bay fishermen would all have to use heavier gear anytime they were in slightly deeper water or else sacrifice a lot of gear. Skipjack jump and run harder than their size would indicate, frequently throwing the hook on the second or third jump. Though they lack teeth, the rough patches on their lips and their sharp gill covers will pretty regularly cut you off or tear your leader up to where you have to re-tie. Since they aren't edible, they're considered "trash fish" and an obligatory "darn skipjack" must be muttered once your line heads for the surface and that first rattling jump is made. Aside from being a bit slimy to handle and the risk of getting cut off, it's good fun when a skipjack rockets to the surface and darts off in short runs, zipping line off against the drag.

Better luck next time, perhaps.