On the Beach # 22

[Riley Smith]

We arrived to a rain storm as we entered Gautier. Coming across the causeway between Pascagoula and Gautier we could see it coming down the river. A squall line had formed to the north of us and pushed south. It was out over the water by the time we got in the house and unloaded all the stuff in the rain. We sat on the porch out front and watched it rain on the waters and felt the cooler air. It was very quiet except for the rain and an occasional rumble of thunder. Nice. After it was over I could see an osprey on a nearby pier preening and trying to dry.
Later we ate some of the leftovers Sonya had brought and then watched as darkness came across the waters. The train tracks are right up the street and we listened as an eastbound train approached. You can hear the singing of the rails a long time before the engineer blows for the crossing. There was an orange glow afar off out on the water. I checked it with the optics but all I could tell was there was a fire somewhere out on the Gulf. Flare on a gas well? Boat? Ship? Who knows and no way of telling easily. I feel almost naked without optics in this place. After we ate I trooped down to Hal's pier and fished in the pools of light there. One small speckled trout and a couple of nips later and I decided they weren't biting and headed inside for some a/c.
 I awoke at 4am as usual and made coffee. I take my coffee on the porch there and watch the waters. It's really good for the soul. There was a great blue heron in the lights this morning but still very little action in the pools of light off the pier. I decided to go fish them anyway. I caught three undersized specks this time and watched an amazing sunrise. Heading back up the bluff to the porch, I almost got ate alive by deer flies as I went under the oak trees along the shore. They live in the oaks and almost got a quart of blood before I could escape. We had come to mow and stow outdoor furniture in case the storm headed our way, so I waited like a good neighbor until 8 am before cranking the noisy tractor. I broke the drive belt just as I finished. This plot of land is hell on lawnmowers but I had managed to get it done.
We had to pull the mower back up the bluff with the truck. Sorta dicey because you can get stuck easily in the sand along the shore. I was soaking wet with sweat before we had it loaded on the trailer. After cooling a while in the a/c, I noticed the tide was touching the bottom of the walkway on Dan's pier. The clouds were static. Almost no movement and I knew we were in the lull area between two huge weather features. I decided to fish the top-water lure for a minute before we left.
 Just as I reached the end of the pier, there was a huge strike out on the bar. Too far to cast to but it gave me hope. I cast the Spook all about and got one half-hearted strike. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow streak out from under the pier and turned to see a huge swirl almost under my feet. I didn't actually see it so much as sensing it, but I didn't have anything that could handle such a monster. That's just it...the mystery of what is in that water is always there. I packed it in before I had heat stroke and we headed home.

Picture is the crab man letting his pots soak. He had anchored in that spot about a mile out for a long time and we wondered if something was wrong. So I took this picture to see what was happening. The pots stacked after told me it was the crab man and with today's prices on gasoline, I can understand his decision to let the pots soak before running them later in the day and not making another trip. Besides, white lump crab meat is EXPENSIVE and folks being folks might run his traps for him.

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