All's Well That Ends Well

Some have called it an obsession.

Some think it is an addiction.

It has been labeled an escape or even a way to hide but I think I have finally figured it out.

All this time I have been driven to fish and nobody has noticed -

It's the Blog! I fish so I can post.

When the sky cleared off yesterday I began to wonder what the change in weather might do to the fishing down in Palacios.

I tried to see if Matt was interested but he read my mind and before I could ask he politely declined. I called Paul to wish him a Merry Christmas and let it slip that I was considering a midnight rendezvous with the sea wall and he informed me that he was heading to the woods.

I guess if I was going, I was going alone.

It was clear but chilly when I headed out at about 1:30AM - 31 degrees with a north wind blowing about 5-7 knots. I noticed that my trusty vehicle "The Blue Tracker" did not start as quickly as usual and I wrote it off since I hadn't driven it in a couple of days and it was cold. Little did I know that this was but foreshadowing of things to come.

The water was extremely low and clear which historically has meant no fish. After an hour of fishing "the wall" and the 1st Street Pier without a tickle, I moved down to the Pavilion Pier. Once again I noticed a sluggish start of the vehicle but paid it no attention.

I decided to move to the deeper water of the Boat Dock, but when I tried to start the Tracker this time there was not enough juice left for a proper response.

It was now 4AM and I was parked by the Pavilion Pier with a dead battery. I was pretty sure I could get a jump but my fishing was over. I needed to get back and get the battery replaced.

I tried to catch a nap in the car since there wasn't a lot of traffic moving around at that time of day. I was able to catch about 20 minutes of shut-eye before the chill crept in and I needed to move.

I noticed a police car parked outside the city hall and took a stroll down to see if they could render assistance to a stranded visitor. They were friendly but couldn't use the patrol cars to jump another vehicle for fear of damaging the sophisticated electronics. One officer did offer to come check on me when he got off at 7AM and said he would jump me with his personal vehicle. I was thankful for that but hopeful that I would be long gone by that time.

I pushed the Tracker around so it was facing the road, lifted the hood, and got out my jumper cables and hung them out of the engine compartment so passers-by would get the idea that I needed a little help.

Hey - this was almost like fishing...

The first two cars passed by without even slowing down to check out the bait.

I thought maybe I should stand near the open hood and hold the cables up in the universal sign language expression for "I need a jump". The next car that went by veered slightly away from me as he accelerated and I felt like I'd better check out my appearance in the rear view to make sure I hadn't grown horns or looked too much like a panhandler.

Hey, I don't get too dressed up to go fishing in the dark but I was decent! I did have several layers of clothes on and I had the knitted hat on under my Cabela's cap.

Just about the time I was thinking I might actually still be here at 7AM I saw a Honda Civic round the corner at a high rate of speed. There were two people inside and they seemed to be in too much of a hurry to even think about stopping. To my surprise the driver's window opened up and a voice from within said, "I'll be right back after I throw this paper". There was no slowing down or changing course - just the voice and a cloud of cigarette smoke -and the Civic was gone around the corner.

I was hopeful and waited expectantly with cables in hand. Sure enough, my benefactors returned and before you knew it had the hood up and cables attached to their battery. As I came around to my driver's door the man muttered, "I don't think you got a good enough bite, I can't hear any change in my engine". I was sure that my "bite" was sufficient and hit the ignition. The Tracker came to life and I was back on the road.

I thanked the paper guy and his significant other for their trouble and palmed him the only cash I had on me. Let's just say that is the best 20 bucks I ever spent. I was in need - he was willing - and we both were pleased with the result.

I debated on what to do next. I could go straight home and sleep a while then go get the battery replaced. Or, I could head to the big Walmart in Wharton and swap the dead Delco Freedom for something a little more reliable. That would put me on a collision course with Evans Lake which coincidentally was on the way home.

I got the battery and I stopped at the Evans' to try the old standby - the Big Green Worm. The lake looked to be in good shape. The recent rains had nearly brought the level back up to normal after the summer drought and the sun was well up in the sky by the time I arrived. I was disappointed after fishing for 30 minutes without a bite.

I was just about to call it a day when I got a wake up call.

Hello Sunshine!

Mark & Rita just happened to be heading down the driveway when I landed this beauty and Mark came over to do the honors with the camera. What a guy! He lets me fish in his home water and provides expert photography services too!

It turns out that was the only fish of the day.

I did see some Sandhill cranes on the way home.

Thank God for small blessings.