"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in
its net of wonder forever."—Jacques Cousteau

Nov. 30 – Fresh Oysters

Stan loves to fish and fall is a great time for that on the Texas coast. After a strong Blue Norther’ or Arctic Blast like we had this past week the water is crystal clear and the tide is very low…making it a good time to pick up oysters. Yesterday the wind quit blowing, the weather had warmed up a little and the sun was shining, so it was a perfect day to spend on the water and pick up a few oysters. We packed a picnic lunch and spent the day looking for arrowheads and sea glass on a few of the remote beaches in the area and then Stan picked up some oysters for dinner. I’m not a fan of oysters, but Stan loves them, so we picked up shrimp for me at the fish market on the way home. We had a wonderful day riding around the bay, walking on the beach and enjoying the beautiful water.

On our way across Keller Bay
Looking for the right size oysters 
Breaking loose the oysters he wants to keep
An oyster bed 
Dinner 
Opening the oysters
Oysters, french fries and hushpuppies...not very healthy but it sure was good.

Nov. 11 - Jon Boat

Last winter Stan used scrap lumber he'd been saving and built a Jon Boat. About the time he finished his project we left Texas and returned to The Pearl. He really didn't have a chance to use it. This fall he found a trailer, added a few extra features and got it registered with the Texas Parks and Wildlife. Last Friday we had a chance to take it for a test run and had a great time exploring the back of Lavaca Bay...it felt wonderful being on the water. Today Stan finally had a chance to go fishing and we enjoyed fresh redfish on the grill for dinner. 

If you'd like to see earlier posts on the construction of this little boat you can go to the following links: Nov. 19 – Building a Boat, Jan. 12 - Boats to Build and Jan. 17 - Maiden Voyage

The completed boat...ready to go!
We love flounder...Stan has lights he can add to the front of the boat so he can go at night and gig them in the shallow water.
The first fish catch on Stan's new boat