The Boys of Summer

It was hot again today.  We got our chores done and waited for it to cool off a little. Benjamin's cousin, Vincent, is visiting with us for the week from Spring, Texas, and we thought it would be a good idea to see if we could go fishing in the late afternoon when the sun was low in the western sky. We ate supper and loaded the fishing poles, worms, and tackle box into the car.  Since it is a short drive and he needs the practice, Benjamin drove to what we call the 'gully.'

The gully is actually called Bayou Chene if you look on the map.  Bayou Chene (translates to Oak Bayou in French) is right down the road.  All you do is hang a left outside of our driveway and go about a mile.  The road at that point turns from a blacktop road into a gravel road and approximately 100 yards down the gravel road, there is a bridge over Bayou Chene that Koll Road passes over.  It has been really dry, so we weren't even sure there would be water, but we were pleasantly surprised to see water flowing, probably from water let out of surrounding crawfish ponds and rice fields. It was muddy water, like most water in Louisiana, but it was water, nonetheless.

Vincent & Benjamin

The boys scurried down the embankment, baited their hooks with a couple of fat worms, and threw their lines out in the bayou.  A big splash under the bridge got our attention.  It was a big bull frog. Benjamin shot at it with his bb gun as the big bull frog jumped away and into the water.  The fishing was slow going for a while, but the boys of summer were patient.

Slow Going

After no bites but seeing big splashes, we were getting Vincent situated on the other side of the bridge.  While we were on the bridge, Benjamin hollered, "Hey, I got a bite!"

We saw a bent pole, splashing water, and were expecting a huge behemoth to be hoisted from the muddy waters.  Except it wasn't.  It wasn't a keeper and therefore, the young catfish was released back into the bayou to grow some more.  Maybe we'll catch him later.

Benjamin & Vincent and their 'river monster'

There was still hope for fried catfish, but it was up to Vincent.  Benjamin's attention was distracted by a big armadillo that was foraging around the embankment for roots.  He was a tame armadillo and was not afraid of us at all, coming right up to us.  Maybe if the boys didn't catch some fish, we could throw the armadillo on the bbq pit?

Tricia came on the fishing trip with us.  Her job was primarily being the Safety Director for the fishing trip, ensuring that safe practices were used.  She made sure that the boys didn't get too near the edge of the bridge.  She also made sure that the fishermen didn't touch the armadillo since they carry leprosy and for an added safety bonus, when it started to get a little dark, she turned the light app on her cell phone on and, like a lighthouse, flashed out a beacon as passing motorists drove close, so that they saw that we were fishing on the bridge and didn't hit us.  Thanks to the Safety Director and her adept use of technology, we stood a good chance of returning home safely, but we wanted to catch some fish!  C'mon Vincent!

"Don't get too near the edge, Vincent," said Aunt Tricia.

There was still hope for a fried catfish dinner.  You can do it, Vincent!  When Vincent said he had a bite and his cork sunk beneath the muddy waters, I figured we better get out the corn meal out and start heating up some cooking oil.  My hopes were raised. Except as Vincent raised his fish, we realized it wasn't going to feed us.

Small Fry

Although not a keeper and definitely not big enough to eat, the boys of summer still had a good time. 

Vincent hoisting his catfish

My dreams of fried catfish for supper dropped faster than Vincent's catfish back into the Bayou. Fortunately, Tricia had made some Carne Guisada on homemade flour tortillas for supper, so we didn't go hungry.  We're not giving up, though. Perhaps tomorrow, we'll drive back down to the bayou and pull some larger fish up.  

School starts for the boys in a few short days, but there are still memories to be made, and they'll be trying to catch some more memories tomorrow (along with some catfish)!