December 9 10 11 Shell Bar Kayak Tour 2007

People do kayak tour in December. I had been corresponding for weeks with Judy Alson and she has hitched a ride from Houston with Danny Petkevich and his young eight year old son Cole, and they arrive on time, 9:30 a.m. Will Ellis has been here for a while and earlier he and I had a chance to talk. At fifteen to ten a sort of light roar is heard and as we look to the sky the noise pollution is the ruffle of no less than 6,000 arriving migratory waterfowl. The "V's" are so vast and the sounds growing more voluming that the birds are not aware of us down here and they blanket the sky and horizon as they wing past, this is just an awesome sight. I explain briefly that this is more or less the destination and end of the Central Flyway and this huge flock is finding this wildlife refuge a place to rest and feed. Dolphins appear in the water in front of us, the weather looks quite stable and i speculate that it will last past Sunday. I'm already wearing surfing pants. Boats are assigned and packed and instruction given. You all are now Captain of your own ship for the next 3 days I announce. Cole is riding aboard the Sea Cow with me and he thinks that is great. Danny and Will Shove off and then Judy. Judy makes it out from shore a ways and then begins going in circles, then she is blown off course and then ends up under the fish cleaning table, we get her untangled then she goes in circles again, and bumps into Welders dock, Cole and I render assistance, and Judy comes aboard with us on the Cow, she is just fine with that, we tow her boat. At Buffalo Pass as we putt along on this fine morning I shout, "Look at the Crabs". There on the sand shoreline are 6,000 crabs. These are the feed the Whooping Cranes gorge on all winter. There is another sort of light roar and these one inch crab move in mass through the salt grass. We all go ashore and this to is just awesome, Cole is stuffing them into his life jacket pockets, Danny is taking videos with his cell phone, this is just really facinating and interesting and we watch them for 15 minutes. A very nice two hour tour down to Shell Bar. With these short days, i hustle to get camp up, we all pitch in to prepare our vegetable soup and then put on the fresh sausage to cook. Dolphins are in the Tidal Pass and it is just astonishing to see them. Nice night to sit around the hot fire in the beach chairs and talk until the late hour of about eight thirty. Next day is opening of duck season and air boats lug past early and plenty of shooting later as we have cowboy coffee, and breakfast. Fishing is on the docket today, and we all take a nature walk and bring the fish net and minnow bucket. Bait is not plentiful so we have to walk quite aways. I cover a school and Cole loads about 10 mullet into the bucket, then we keep going and circumnavigate Shell Bar on foot, and it is a fine day out. After a lunch of Hot Tamales and fresh beans and crackers, Judy, Cole and I take the Cow and Danny paddles his kayak and we are going to circumnavigate Steamboat Island, Will is going to enjoy Shell Bar and a beach chair. I have brought a fish rod given to me by a good customer of mine and I throw a couple times and WWWWhhhhaaaammmm, Cole bring this fish in I say, and he lands a nice trout, and then a little latter a nice redfish. Once back at camp it is pretty warm and nice out and Danny decides now to swim across the tidal pass. Then i get brave and dive in. December 10th and the water isn't that bad, it was fun. Back on Shell Bar we all stand around this tidal pool and I have stocked a couple big blue crabs in it and they and all the minnow's entertain us for a long time, Danny and Cole snag a big one and I cook it for them. After dark Danny brings to our attention that there are lots of spiders here. Will has an L.E.D. so do I so does Danny, and he shows us that spiders eyes glow and he is right, i had no idea spiders eyes glow but if you get down on your hands and knees and follow your light beam sure enough there is a spider. Hot camp fire and Tide Guide Tea and lots of stars and stories, Will tells us about his occupation, he is a horse and large animal massage therapist and does quite well at it, Judy is from Israel and now manages a store in Houston, Danny is an electrical engineer for a computer company. Next morning it is sssssoooooo Sunday and real easy going. Danny gives his son a kayak lesson on the calm bay and also gives Judy a kayak lesson. WE take our time and finally get going about eleven, camp is staying up cause i am coming back to stay for a couple more days. Danny and Will paddle, Cole and Judy are aboard with me. I come to anchor to gas up and when raising anchor i feel the line give, i loose the hook, and cant find it again in the seaweed and mud, WoW how helpless a Captain is without an anchor on a big boat. Cole has been standing on the bow for three days now as we putt along, and today he falls in, Judy grabs him, we are in about 20 inches of water, I say we better go see you Dad, I get a sleeping bag out and Judy wraps him up, she loves it, she has a grown son of her own. Pretty good trip I'd Say......considering its December. All is well....Now I make the return trip to Shell Bar, on deck are duck decoys and brush for a blind...I am a recovered poacher. It's true!!!!! Today I do follow the rules and regulations. Its in my best interest since i know all three game wardens down here, and even know the Chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.....no reason for me to break the rules, but even with the best intentions, I had a once in a lifetime occurence. I got 3 ducks with one shot!!!!! And i was not flock shooting. It just happened and they where birds you can only bag one a day....Sssssooooooo i thought that i'll be here for three days, so i'll just put the gun away, and count the bagged birds at one a day. Best I could do....I've used dynamite to fish with and that's the truth, but not anymore. We were supposed to be blowing stumps out on a ranch in Idaho, but being teenagers and Dick Boyle not at the ranch one day, we fished instead of worked.