The Fish’s Point of View
Imagine you’re a fish. Not just any fish – you’re a 43-inch black drum swimming in the waters of the Upper Laguna Madre around the public fishing piers along the JFK Causeway in Corpus Christi.
Now if, as such a fish assuming you could think past what you’re gonna eat next and when you’re gonna spawn - you would be aware that you are pretty much untouchable as far as fish go.
I mean, you probably weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 pounds, so any would-be predator you might encounter would have to be pretty big, like maybe a big bull shark, and you just don’t see many of those in the bay around the JFK Causeway.
Of course, getting caught by a fisherman would be of concern to you, but even then, once the angler got you on the boat, or the shore, or that pier you’re near on the causeway, he’d have to let you go.
Texas law mandates that black drum which are 30 inches long or longer cannot be taken or possessed.
The law does allow for one black drum over 52 inches to be retained per person per day for the angler who might like to keep one of such size as a trophy, but you don’t have to worry about that.
But you would have to worry some about the uneducated and/or downright unruly fisherman who doesn’t care to abide by the law.
You’ve still got an ace in the hole, though. Your reputation as less-than-favorable table fare is well known.
And it’s not a nice thing to say, but your meat is tough, and you have worms.
On the bright side, there’s a good chance that information might get passed along by someone in the vicinity of the uneducated and/or unruly as they make the decision as to whether you live or die. So, for you, tough and wormy is a good thing.
Okay, time for a little back story. Male black drum don’t get near as big as females. It follows that, notwithstanding all the current tiresome debate over sex and gender, you are a girl drum. It’s after midnight and you and your schoolmates are partying hard, overdoing it a little on all the shrimp that are gathering up under the magic lights lining the edges of the relatively deep water that runs between them.
If your brain situation wasn’t so bleak, you’d know that you were in a channel between two fishing piers.
Maybe you get distracted by the dashing young boy-drum with the cute barbels (barbels are whisker- like appendages on the lower jaw that help drum locate food), but something in your world goes horribly awry when the last shrimp you chomped down on tries to rip your lips off.
Then, after a long, horrifying ordeal that you can’t understand, you end up on a wooden plank near those lights with a bunch of large figures unlike any you’ve ever seen before circled around as you lie gasping.
A figure picks you up. A light flashes. Then, you are whisked away and thrown into darkness. Time passes, but you don’t understand any of that because, once again, you’re a fish. You have the sensation of moving, but there’s no water. This must be the end.
Everything stops and a rush of wind hits you as red-and-blue colors light up your world. Still gasping, a figure lifts you and you are moving again, slowly. Unintelligible sounds… water, life – you know it’s near.
The figure lays you in your element. Holding your tail, it moves you gently back and forth. Soon, you snap back into existence, and you are once again swimming – back to your school and the boy with the cute barbels.
Next week: The game warden’s point of view If you see a wildlife crime in progress, call the 24/7 Operation Game Thief hotline at 800-792-GAME (4263) immediately.
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