Grandad’s headstone looks out over the spot where I caught
my first fish. I was fishing with my first fishing rod combo – a nice little
two-piece rod set, designed for trout fishing; using a black and gold toby, I
landed three little yellow-eyed mullets. The strength of the little guys surprised
me – I thought the fish on the end of my line were much bigger until out of the
water.
I think my idea of heaven would be endless coast and rivers
to explore, with suitable fishing spots every now-and-then... and hanging out
with my family, obviously...
On Saturday, while
taking a walk down the beach and around the end of the spit with the cemetary,
I noticed a large tidal pool on the beach side of the channel that flows into
the mudflats. I always like to take a look to see if anything has been trapped
in a tidal pool. Approaching, I thought I saw a couple of fins in the water,
but I’ve been tricked by kelp too often to get too excited. There isn’t much
kelp around here, though.
The pool was shallow, and as I came nearer, a stringray swam
towards me. He was quite unafraid, slowly cruising along the water’s edge, perhaps to
satisfy his curiousity. The rising tide would connect him with the rest of the
water before too long.
The sand dunes have been getting eroded over the years. The
end of the spit looks quite different now, compared to when I was young. One
spot used to have a small old run-down building on it; this got burnt down
somehow years ago, but even the land and nearby trees where it stood have now
been washed away.
