8.11- Raccoon Creek Shrimp

This family spent all afternoon fishing from the Dinghy Dock today.

The kids were happy to show me the shrimp they had caught in their casting net... I was told that these are "white-tail" shrimp.

Mostly they were catching menhaden minnows with the net, and using them to bait their crab pot as well as their rods.

The youngest of the group pointed out a box of cinnamon donut-holes, explaining that she had tried to use them as bait, but they tended to fall off the hooks.

I asked what kind of fish could be caught with donut-holes... "Any fish that likes cinnamon" she explained. Well, ask a stupid question...

Dad caught a fish, which I think he said was a trout, but which I think was a Red Drum... I was really hoping the kids would start chanting "Red-rum, red-rum," but I suppose they haven't read Stephen King at their age.

The boy confidently told his dad that the catch limit for the fish was 17 inches, then, after placing the fish against a measure, he (equally confidently) insisted that he had forgotten, and the limit was actually only 14 inches, so they could keep the fish.

The dad vetoed that ruling, however... (he admitted to me he would rather catch and release all day, then go to "M&M's" Restaurant to eat fish someone else had cleaned and cooked.)

The youngest fisher was delegated the task of releasing the fish, which she did after having about a two minute conversation with it... I couldn't hear what either one was saying, but the young fisherwoman seemed pleased with whatever the fish had to say.

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