All the factors aligned and high tide was just before dawn. The crescent moon would be directly overhead. That meant that as it got lighter, the ebbing tide would be flowing out of the river mouth 1/4 mile to the eest of the Labrot House, and would sweep over the little bay and the bar out front, portioning a bit of the flow along the shore. There would be fish to be had. So I decided to mix entertainment with work and fish before doing the lawn, and arrived around 9pm with the mower. It was awful humid and a hot wind off the water had the old house feeling very stuffy. I turned on the ceiling fans and the a/c, and took a nap until the appointed time at 4:30am. I didn't sleep very well, unused to the flow of the ceiling fan and the strange noises of the shore.
With a strong cup of Columbian in hand, I gathered the rod and gear and headed to the pools of light on the pier. It was STILL very humid but a bit cooler and there were a few clouds out on the Gulf lit up by the lights of the city. A piece of floating grass told me I had nailed the peak tide, as it stayed in one spot for a while. I fished a white VooDoo shrimp for a while and caught a few rat redfish and a couple of small specks. Nothing of any note, although I always see one or two big specks, and a couple made a run at my lure, only to bump it and turn away. They're very wary when they get big.
The eastern sky started to turn light and the menhaden spotter planes began to head out on the Gulf towards the fishing fleet, unseen to the southwest. The rising sun painted the clouds very nice colors and the water was glassy as the tide began to fall out of the river towards the Mississippi Sound. There always seems to be a lull in the fishing during the transformation from darkness to light, and today was no exception. It was VERY humid and I decided this wasn't any fun anymore, and gathered gear and headed toward the A/C at the top of the bluff. Afar off to the west I saw a one of the spotter airplanes landing light way off toward Gulfport as it circled under a cumulus cloud in the dim light. There was already a light sheen of sweat on me to greet the cool of the air conditioning.
After the second cup, I unloaded the mower and began the lawn. I was about 1/2 way done with the rear when the drive belt broke on the tractor. Sigh. The best laid plans of mice and men and all that. So without further ado, I pushed the lawn tractor underneath the carport and shut off all the lights I had turned on, locked the door and headed home, wet from sweat and thankful for the good a/c in the truck. It was about 8am by that time.
River.jpeg
The river curves to the left to the east of the old house and the railroad bridge is almost visible. I can see the trains as they go across towards Pascagoula. This is the west arm of the Pascagoula River and the Hwy 90 bridge is just another 1/4 mile north of the railroad bridge.
Addendum:
There hasn't been much boat traffic on that waterway lately. A few, and a few commercial boats. The crab guy and some net fishermen.Fewer recreational boats but this IS an area where only few are qualified. It has also been VERY hot and humid. While fishing the pier, I looked across the water at night and there wasn't any lights. I did notice a freighter loading wood at the west docks on the main river as I passed there. THey're loading whole trees. #1 Pine and Cypress by the looks of it. I ALSO see the trucks coming in.
Once, during shrimp season, no lights on that water would have been unheard of. I can remember it looking like a city out on Sound during those times. The economics are very bad for that at the moment, and even in good times, difficult.
As it turns out, one of the clouds off the Gulf built into a towering nimbus and finally gave Wolf Ridge relief. And up to the county line as it went north. I know about that, having headed to the next county to a belt for the tractor and running through several showers as it began to break apart. A farmer at the Deere place looked at the raindrops on the car and brightened and smiled because it has been very hot and dry. I didn't know him but we spoke in passing.
And one OTHER thing about the weather. NOAA has dropped the Atlantic expected storm total down. Good news but with one word of caution. Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi coast in August 1969. A-B-C....the third storm of that year. It only takes one. As chance would have it, I passed the church we took refuge in when we ran from Camille, at Barton MS, on the way to get the belt and remembered those winds once again. I see the pecan trees have grown back as big as ever.
The air has become the still that only August knows, with a scalding sun beaming in the sky. There is little escape from the heat and humidity and a prime reason that swimming activities are well favored during this time. The thunderstorm that I drove through pretty much started with those clouds in the picture, that built right over the city, and moved ever so slowly north. Cooling the earth with the rain as it did. It only moved about 50 miles north all day long.
Yesterday, after a fight with a lawnmower pulley, there was another thunderstorm way off in the north as I headed home. Riding the state line and not moving very much. The crown, that anvil head as some people call it, was symmetrical too, a giant cloud mushroom cooling the land and air up to the east of Hattiesburg, 50-60 miles away. Indicating that those "steering currents" and "shear" have diminished to almost nothing, with no whisp of ice crystals ejected into the upper atmosphere pointing to movement.