Plugging for Science We awoke this past Monday morning
Well, help is here. Dr. Greg Stunz
of interest is that both Greg and Megan
to an oppressive blanket of fog, dense
and crew are literally wading into the
can claim first rights as CCA scholarship
enough to smother any hopes for
possibilities of unraveling the mystery.
recipients, and both have continued their
launching early unless you had some
Greg is an Endowed Professor at
paths to benefit all Texas anglers. That’s
of the same stuff between your ears.
the Harte Research Institute and an
your generous grassroots contributions
However, the mission, as it was, was not
Associate Professor of Marine Biology,
returning at measurable worth. Laura is
going to wait for an excuse as wimpy as
TAMU Dept. of Life Sciences. Funding
a different study and we’ll get back to her
only having a rock’s throw of visibility. So,
comes from both Harte and TAMU along
later. But first, let’s get back in the water
with strange gear but familiar enthusiasm
with a sizeable contribution from CCA.
with these scholastic fish heads.
aboard, Dr. Greg, Megan, Laura and
Additional assistance comes from the
I set out on an obscured heading with
Rotary Club of Corpus Christi, the Harvey
ridiculously thick morning, we could hear
a taco in one hand a handheld GPS in
Weil Sportsman Conservationist Award.
other boats running in blind circles and
the other. When it comes to fishing, I’m
The goal is to initiate a state-of-the-art
other nervous sounds emerging through
not sure which is more inspiring, the
tagging program to track movements
the white-out. Onward through the fog,
thrill of discovery or the glory of capture.
of estuarine sport fishes, specifically to
and in about thirty minutes, we had
Hopefully, this trip would include both.
determine if separate stocks of spotted
safely cut our way into a little area where
We called it, “plugging for science,” and
seatrout exist in the Gulf of Mexico and
certainly no one else would dare venture.
the end result has potential to yield an
the upper and lower Laguna Madre.
As we idled out of the harbor on that
Wrong! Human shapes suddenly
absolute revelation for all trout fishermen
appeared, then a ghost ship of Of course Megan only strutted a little.
along the coast. If there ever was a debated-to-death subject among trout fishermen, the tide
sorts, and then out of the soup came a sarcastic voice, “It’s OK Mikey, you can come on in.”
runner theory would qualify. You know,
It was, and in this situation
when every spring, those hard-bodied
could only have been, some
fish push in through the surf to invade
of the old devil-may-care
the bays with some serious line stripping
Troutmasters from winnings
attitude. It has always been a topic of
past; Dr. John Gill, Tansel
speculation, not only about when and
Basci, and Dr. Jay Wright of
where, but also why.
eleven pound trout Florida
Most old salts pride in their ability to
fly-fishing fame. Go figure.
tell a resident bay trout from one coming
I’m trying, but we should all
from the Gulf. The bodies of surf-run fish
be convinced that no spot or
seem much stouter and we speculate
condition is safe any more.
this comes from surviving the demands
Anyway, after exchanging
of nearshore currents and evading toothy
some potlicker talk, my crew
predators. Most fishermen have their
bailed into a little knee deep
own theories about timing, whether the
trough that we hoped would
movement is temperature or photo-period
be holding some of the larger
driven, but most all remain firm that these
Greg has some other heavy hitters
trout we needed. The transmitters being
fish exist. All but the scientific community,
in his boat, Megan Robillard, Fisheries
used are about as big as a fat thumb, so
that is. To date there has been no data
Research Coordinator, and Laura Bivins,
we needed some girth to accommodate
aside from what is commonly termed
marine biology master’s student. In fact,
this high dollar chunk of plastic. The
anecdotal, meaning information coming
this project is actually led by Laura, who
area was full of juvenile trout, but Megan
strictly from fishermen that has not stood
among other credits has completed some
was the first one to hook up with a real
the scrutiny of scientific method.
innovative studies on Florida snook. Also
fish. Another cool thing about this group
10
February 2010
Texas Saltwater Fishing
www.TSFMAG.com
Just Keep Five