A Little Dock Talk: Those "Toothy Critters" (Part 2)

I'll always remember that day back in the '80s when I boated my one and, to this point, my only citation fish--a 10-lb. 12-oz. grindle.

To appreciate this account, you first have to understand a little bit about the gentleman who owned and was running West Neck Marina at the time. His name was Bill Brown. Some probably still remember him as "just a crusty old man who liked smoking big cigars and hollering at people." I personally never--well, almost never--had any problems with him. Why? Because I quickly recognized how he was and didn't give him any reason to jump in my crap. I had plenty of training in this area, because until he became a born-again Christian, my pop was a lot like Bill Brown. And despite the fact he changed, I never forgot those early childhood lessons. They've actually served me well throughout my nearly 70 years.

The one time I raised the hackles on Bill's neck was the day I caught that citation grindle. Before I explain, though, you need to understand that I once previously, while backing down that chute beside the West Neck marina store to get gas, had backed too far and broken a piece of the wooden railing that Bill had erected there. I was sweating bullets as I climbed out of my old station wagon that day because he was standing behind the broken railing, chewin' ever so hard on that familiar cigar in his mouth. I just knew he was going to rip my head off and hand it to me.

To my great surprise, though, once I was standing directly in front of him, he took the cigar out of his mouth, and a big smile spread across his face. He then slapped me on the shoulder and said, "I figured someone would break that thing someday." I quickly offered to pay him for repairing the broken railing, but he wouldn't have any part of it. He simply told me to forget it.

That situation actually proved to be to my detriment the day I caught the citation grindle. I had gotten the feeling that I might be able to "clown around" a little with Bill--a big mistake, indeed.

The grindle I weighed in that day had been dead for hours after being dragged around on an old stringer and laying in the bottom of my boat off and on all day. Bill had happily hung him on the scales to register his weight and measure him so his wife, Veradell, could write up the paperwork for my citation. When that was all done and I had started walking toward my car, Bill hollered and asked me what I planned to do with the fish.

The devil must have been sitting on my shoulder because I jokingly shot back, "I think I'm going to toss it in your dumpster." When I turned and looked at Bill, his face was crimson, his cheeks were puffed out, and that cigar was circling the corners of his mouth like it had a motor on it. Afraid what he might do or say next, or that he perhaps was going to have a heart attack, I quickly changed my tune and assured him I only was pulling his leg. I'm here to tell you, though, that he watched me like a hawk until I left the parking lot that day with fish in hand.

Fortunately, my friend, Charlie Bruggemann, didn't have that kind of experience the day he caught his citation-size grindle. That happened back on Nov. 24, 2007, when he boated a 10-8 bowfin in Straight Creek. Charlie simply brought the "toothy critter" aboard his kayak to check it's weight, shoot this picture at right, then turn it loose. When I asked why he didn't do the paperwork to get a citation, he reminded me that he had no way of getting the fish to a weigh station in a kayak.

My earlier posting about "toothy critters" also talked about a couple photos I had found on the Internet, showing Charlie with a huge gar. He had this to say when I asked for the story behind that catch, which occurred on May 21, 2012, while he was fishing the oxbow at the mouth of Abright's Creek:

"It had been a rather uneventful day until about the time I was going to pack it in. One more cast with the Yo-Zuri SS Minnow, and something slammed the bait, and the battle was on. A monster gar, the second of the day, was well-hooked, and now I was trying to figure out how to get the thing off my $10 lure. A couple of whacks with the anchor pole (hmm, so Charlie uses a "taming tool," too), and he was calm enough to handle. He (the fish in this picture) weighed in at 15-8," which also qualified as a citation fish. As Charlie noted, though, he just released the fish, "did my closing video, and headed to the launch site."

One thing Charlie does differently these days when handling "toothy critters" is to use the special glove pictured here. The description for this glove--sold only as one each--says it originally was developed for medical personnel to protect them from hypodermic needles. The puncture-resistant fabric in these gloves, however, also "will protect your hands from cuts that come from handling sharp-spines fish." As Charlie noted, "You pay through the nose for that single glove--$30 a crack--but I figured my body would appreciate the effort."

Here's hoping you've enjoyed these two articles about "those toothy critters" we all catch from time to time in the local waters and maybe even picked up a safety tip or two to help ensure they don't take a bite out of your fingers the next time you boat one.