“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” – Joseph Campbell
The sun was sinking below the horizon turning the sky reds and oranges as Roy and I quietly trolled to the edge of Christmas Bay, out of Freeport, Texas to set the anchor for the night’s adventure. We’d not been married for very long and were still sharing the things we loved to do with each other. I loved going on adventures with him. We’d been canoeing flat and white water (including the premier white-water trip in Texas, the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande), camping, and both fresh water and saltwater fishing. I loved being part of the things he loved. Tonight, he was sharing his favorite fishing experience with me – flounder gigging.
Roy set the anchor and checked the lantern and the gigs – the long-handled spear like pole with a sharp metal spike on the end. We ate a snack, though I was a bit nervous about this endeavor and didn’t eat much. I so wanted to share Roy’s enthusiasm for this sport, but the darker it got, the more fearful I became. You see, I didn’t swim, and Roy had told me all the things I needed to be careful of when walking the shoreline – in full darkness.
Flounder gigging is the process of wading shallow salt water lighted by a Coleman lantern searching in the silt on the bottom of the bay for a flounder bedded up for the night. Flounders shimmy under the silt resting or waiting to grab a fish that passed too close to their hiding place. The angler carries a gig and hopes to stab the flounder for his dinner. Sounds simple enough. But then, there are hidden dangers Roy explained to me.
When gigging the fish, make sure it is a flounder and not a stingray – whose barb at the end of its tail could impale your leg and painfully remain there until it was surgically removed. Shuffle when you walk to avoid this.
There was no hook on the end of the gig – so to claim your flounder, you had to work a hand under the fish while holding it on the bottom and lifting it as you turned the gig downside up to keep your quarry – and hope you didn’t find the flounder’s teeth or fins while doing this.
Don’t let your waders fill up with water.
Be aware of the lantern’s light. Pay attention where you plant your feet. Look for holes and step over them. Roy told me that one time when he was gigging by himself, he stepped in a hole, his waders filled up with water and the only thing that kept him from drowning was spreading his gig sideways on the solid sand on either side of the hole and pulling himself out of it.
As the night came on, I was beginning to think this might not be as much fun as camping.
Finally, it was dark. Roy lit the lantern and we both slid out of the boat in about two feet of water. We grabbed our gigs and began to shuffle the shoreline. I kept looking back at the boat. I swear it was moving and said so to Roy. I wondered if it was anchored and if we would find it there on our return from the adventure into the gloom. He assured me it was anchored, just moving with the tide. But being a bundle of raw nerves, I made him walk us back to the boat to check.
We stayed at the boat for a few minutes for me to regain my confidence. Then we started out again – me holding on to Roy’s arm while he swung the lantern back and forth to light our way. Ok, I was getting the hang of this. After all, there was something deliciously primal walking the shallow water, gig in hand, searching the silt for the illusive flounder to stab.
OK, I thought, I can really get into flounder gigging with Roy. He swung the lantern in my direction, and I told him I saw a hole. He told me to step over it. Just as I started to make the step, Roy swung the light in the opposite direction and a loud cry from a tortured banshee filled the air.
Was I afraid? No, my hair just turned white, I screamed and then I climbed Roy. We had disturbed the sleeping quarters for a great blue heron who loudly protested. This adventure was just a bit much for me. I think I walked on water back to the boat and that was the last flounder “gig” I went on with Roy.
