Randy has been a fishing buddy, filleting expert, guide extraordinaire, and good friend to my sister Paige since seventh grade. While Paige lived in Galveston for a brief period, we met up in the surf on occasion to try our luck at the local fishing spots. When Paige left for an even more salty island, St Thomas; I inherited Randy as a great guide, fishing buddy, and now boat owner. It has turned into a great friendship. He provides the boat and expertise, I provide a nice marina to launch from, and the bait. I had never seen his boat till Paige left. It is an impressive 22 foot center console Mako. Robert and I owned a Mako one time. It was our favorite fishing boat. Gotta love the name “Cool Vibes”. He has a Bob Marley flag flying to add once launched.

My usual bait shop, Aunt Margie’s, was flush with fresh live finger mullet (a favorite food of redfish and flounder). I was running early, so took a moment to chat with the manager of the shop. It always pays to visit with the locals; there is an amazing amount of history to be discovered on this island. The manager and his assistant were the niece and nephew of the original “Aunt Margie”. His fondest memories of her were with fishing pole in one hand and cigarette in the other. They had recently added a tshirt with a caricature of Aunt Margie on the back. He had one left, which was slightly stained so he gave it to me for being a loyal customer. Surprisingly, the stain came out with a little “Shout” and a long soak.

By the time Randy and I launched, the wind had picked up a bit. A norther had passed through and Offats Bayou was white capping. We decided to stay close to shore and search for the famous “blue hole” where many fish winter. We found it with ease, but the wind made it a lousy choice, so onward and upward. We finally holed up behind a sandy island along the edge of the intracoastal, on the leeward side. Evidently we discovered a breeding ground for thresher sharks. The elongated tail was its signature, and when large enough they whip their prey with it to stun the fish before gobbling it up:) These were babies though, less than 2 feet in length. Fun to catch with that big tail, they put up quite a fight. Ever the conservationist, Randy tenderly unhooked each one and placed it gently back into the bay where it swam away easily. Then came the big catfish. We were beginning to think this was a “trash fish” kinda day.

After patiently repairing our rigging from shark attacks, the payoff finaly came. It was a redfish to be proud of. It took both hands for me to net this beauty, and I’m guessing it was at least 5 lbs. Randy was happy with the day after that. I’m guessing I can count on another fishing trip in his magnificent boat, since he went home with dinner.

Back at the marina, owner Bill Cochrane rode up in his golf cart to checkout the catch. Randy was happy to retell the fishing tales of the day. As Randy left with his catch, Bill looked at me knowingly and said “so would you like a few red snapper from my latest offshore trip?” Needless to say, he didn’t have to ask twice. I went home with dinner too!