Cowboyfun

[Bird]

I know we have a number of members who are cowboys (or cowboy wannabees/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif) and I can't remember whether I've mentioned it before or not, but you might enjoy http://www.cowboyfun.com. I signed up long ago for e-mail notifications when they have something new, but I particularly like their "Rules to Live By" and "Range Rules".

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bird,

That is a fun wholesome site... Thanks...

 

[scruffy]

Bird,
Thanks Sir!

 

[njrqs]

Hey Birds, how was the fishing trip ?

Was at the doctor's today, and they had some magazines in the waiting room. "Texas Highways" or something similar.

So now I reckon I really do know more about Texas than many or your contry folk !!

Cheers

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Bird]

Neil, we had a pretty nice fishing trip. Water was too rough at the mouth of the ship channel to fish where we hoped to catch some bigger fish, but we caught some red drum (commonly just called redfish) and a flounder that were too small to keep, lots of trash fish (piggy perch, dogfish, etc.), but did keep 13 nice sheepshead. At least we had nice weather while we were there (temperature in the 70s), but drove home in a heavy rain. The fishing down there usually improves considerably after the first cold spell, which hasn't happened yet.

 

[njrqs]

Don't recognise any of those names except flounder. I noticed in those magazines some funny looking fish.

Then again I bet you think our fish look funny too !!!!

Gotta get my boat out. Since we had our first child I have only used it twice................

Cheers

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Bird]

Yeah, Neil, I always enjoyed the Texas Highways magazine, and I'm sure a lot of the fish do look different in different parts of the world. Of course, sometimes the names are different, too. On the Texas coast, speckled trout are a very popular game fish, but on the east coast they have weakfish instead; same fish; different name.

I'll attach a snap shot of some sheepshead; not a very good picture because I had already cut their throats to let them bleed out, and when they do, they lose a lot of their color. There's one in the middle on which the vertical stripes still show fairly well. And they're not big fish; the bigger ones in the picture were about 18" long. Lots of fun to catch though, fight hard, pull strong, and very good eating besides. Of course, they got their name because their mouth and teeth look like a sheep's and you sure don't want to put a finger in their mouth; powerful jaws.

 

[njrqs]

Looks like someone has a proper fish cleaning bench !

Fish look OK. We have similar looking ones but I suppose the ocean is a big place and they can go where they like !!

Long way to swim to texas though.

Here are some Tailor we caught on Fraser Island (may have heard of it - Largest sand Island in the world)

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Bird]

Hmm, the name of Fraser Island sounds familiar, but Tailor for a fish name is new to me. They look a little bit like Whiting, but not really the same. No, not whiting, those are "bluefish". I've seen only a very few caught on the Texas coast; never caught any myself, but I've eaten them in a restaurant on Long Island, NY.

I guess you can find almost anything on the Internet, if you look long enough in the right places /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif such as this link.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Bird on 11/19/01 05:38 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[njrqs]

Yes Fraser Island is an international tourist destination. All national park but still very popular. It is being loved to death unfortunately. It's main bech is over 100miles long and is a gazetted road.

We have whiting, I wonder if they are the same as your whiting??

Out whiting are long and skinny with small yellow fins.

Hey great site you found !!!!!!

Tailoer are a great sport fish on the Island, it is the mecca for beach fisherman.

Cheers

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Bird]

I'll bet the whiting are the same; usually quite small, but popular with the surf fishermen. I have caught a few, but haven't done much surf fishing. By the way, Florida has a better picture of a sheepshead, too, at this site. I think we have them all the way around the U.S.A; don't you have them, too?

Oh, and I guess you're right about the popularity of Fraser Island; I looked it up on google.com and only got 22,500 hits./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Bird on 11/19/01 06:42 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[ERNIEB]

Bird, Sounds like you were just off the jetties. The North, maybe? One time right there at the Horace Caldwell pier, I think it was July. I walked out on to the pier, early in the morning with a baitcasting reel, hooked on one of those double trout rigs, and caught a mess of Bluefish. Fun to catch/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif, and the ones we cooked up fresh were pretty good eaten. I'm one of those who would say they don't freeze well.
I'm just guessing, but the flounder are probably scattered. Usually the second cold front will get them moving out of the bays, heading for deeper water. But here it is late November, and we just got our first real front today. They are probably confused/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Ernie

 

[njrqs]

Bird

Yes it looks a bit similar to some reef fish we have. No names spring to mind as identical but yes I can see a resemblance.

Fraser Island is a great place indeed. My father used to fish there every year for 30 years. When he first started it was an adventure just to get there and they wouldn't see a soul for a week.

Now you have to have your wits about you just to walk on the beach, dodging the buses, cars, trucks, PLANES etc. !!!

<font color=blue>Neil from OZ.</font color=blue>

 

[Bird]

Ernie, in years past, I've done a lot of fishing from the south jetty; never been on the north jetty, but we did go out there along the north jetty this trip where I've fished from the boat before, but it was a little too windy and rough, and I guess like everywhere, traffic is heavier than ever before with the "work boats" coming and going from the offshore wells, tankers, tugs and barges, and naval ships; lots of traffic up and down the ship channel. We did most of our fishing around the point across from and north of the small boat harbor (around the Fina docks) and south of the ferry landing (around the Brown & Root docks. Fishing off the south jetty in the past is the only place I've seen bluefish caught, but I was always fishing for redfish or sheepshead myself. And yes, they just hadn't had that cold front yet to get the flounder and sheepshead moving good when we were there.