Port O’Connor Elementary is holding a raffle over the summer for a hand-crafted boat! Tickets are only $10 each. You can contact them at pocpto@gmailcom to purchase your tickets or stop in at First National Bank in POC by September 2nd. Hurry, it’s almost time for the drawing!

I consider myself to be in pretty good shape. I watch my diet. I exercise. In general I stay pretty fit. But after suffering from a BACTERIA ATTACK I don’t feel bulletproof any more.

A few weeks ago I spent three days bay fishing, mostly in the Boggy Bayou area. On the morning of the fourth day I was washing off my fishing gear and putting it away when I noticed what felt like a small bruise on my left foot. Within a half hour the pain got worse and I began to tremble uncontrollably. I made it upstairs and piled on all the blankets I could find and crashed onto the couch trying to fight off flu-like symptoms. It was several hours later when a close friend suspected that something was wrong and came to my door to check on me. I still wasn’t quite sure what was wrong so my friend helped me into my bed to see if it could sleep it off. The pain in my foot continued to get worse and I developed a high fever. It didn’t take long to realize that I was not going to get better so I phoned my wife who drove from the Woodlands to Port O’Connor to take me home to get medical help.

Within 24 hours after the first symptom I checked into the emergency room at the hospital in the Woodlands. I was diagnosed as having cellulitis, a skin infection caused by bacteria. I was then admitted into the hospital where I was treated for five days with three powerful antibiotics administered intravenously.

Dr. L. Palau, an infectious disease specialist, was called in to oversee my treatment. As the symptoms further developed Dr. Palau explained that most likely the infection was caused by vibrio vulnificus, the flesh eating bacteria usually found in salt water. I was released from hospital after five days and was then further treated for sixteen days with I.V. infusions of antibiotics at Dr. Palau’s Infectious Disease Clinic.

After five weeks of treatment it appears that the infection has gone away. I can now walk on the affected foot but it will take up to six months or so before most of the damaged tissue will be healed. Unfortunately, instead of concentrating on fishing I am spending the summer just working on getting well again.

Twenty or so years ago, according to Dr. Palau, there were only two known bacteria living in the waters around us that we had to worry about. Now there are over 22 known types. They range from skin eating to flesh eating. The bacteria enters the body through the skin when in contact with water. This is facilitated if you have a scratch, cut, abrasion or insect bite through which the bacteria can enter. However, some cases have been reported where there was no apparent break in the skin. A compromised immune system or circulatory problem makes you even more vulnerable. However, age is not necessarily a factor as this disease attacks people of all ages.

How to prevent the disease? Staying out of the water and not getting wet is the obvious answer but for us fishermen that is a pretty tough decision to make. But, for those of us who have a scratch, cut, abrasion or insect bite it is highly advisable that you stay out of the water and keep these areas completely dry. I would not trust any preventive medication or remedy to be applied to your skin to prevent being eaten by bacteria. We are dealing with one tough bug here.

What should you do if you suspect that you have contracted the bacteria? Seek professional medical attention at the first signs of pain, redness and swelling followed by flu-like symptoms including trembling and fever. Emergency rooms at local hospitals would be a good place to start as they are now most likely aware of the disease and how to treat it. But keep in mind that time is of the essence. The longer you wait to get medical attention the more severe the condition will become and the possibility of losing a limb is very real. And, if that isn’t bad enough, if left untreated or if treatment comes too late the bacteria can enter the blood stream and attack the body’s organs. A condition that is often fatal.

I have written the above article so that I can share my experience with you, my fellow fishermen, to make sure that you are aware of the unseen danger that we face when fishing. Get out there, enjoy the sport but remember, none of us are bulletproof.

Team Gregory - All Place in Speedy Stop Tournament L to R: BreAnn, 2nd Place in Sow Trout Division; Brennan, 2nd Place in Half Pint Division; Caleb, 3rd Place Bull Red Division. In back: Karley won 1st Place in the Bull Red Division. These young anglers are the children of Rebecca and Fishing Guide Keith Gregory.

SMALLEST FISH:
Aalihja Mejia

HALF PINT HARDHEAD:
First place – Gauge McCain
Second place – McKenna Guevara
Third place – Alex Lopez
Fourth place – Rhyan Robinson

HALF PINT PIGGY PERCH:
First place – Lillyan Brewn
Second place- Luke Doggett
Third place –  Bethani Wittig
Fourth place – Straton Cartey

HALF PINT REDFISH:
First place – Colten Perry
Second place- Derek Pfeil
Third place – Cooper Oliver
Fourth place – McKenna Guevara

HALF PINT OPEN:
First place – Heston Lovett
Second place- Colten Koy
Third place – Hayden Moeller-Revel
Fourth place – Avery Urban

HALF PINT TROUT:
First place – Audrie Williams
Second place- Brennan Gregory
Third place –  Grace Becker
Fourth place –  JC Williams

HALF PINT CRAB:
First place – Payton Franek
Second place- Jaydon Martinez
Third place –  Kyle Svetlik
Fourth place –  James Lumpkins

SOW TROUT HARDHEAD:
First place –  Taylor Hlavac
Second place – Martha Robles
Third place – Christina Kolterman
Fourth place – Raegan Duckworth

SOW TROUT PIGGY PERCH:
First place – Nathan Taylor
Second place-  Sarah Doggett
Third place –  Sarah Campbell
Fourth place – Kyle Doggett

SOW TROUT REDFISH:
First place – Connor Denson
Second place- Joey Helms
Third place – Heeley Peeler
Fourth place – Paige Law

SOW TROUT OPEN:
First place –Landon Miller
Second place-  Ayden Brown
Third place – Hailey Urban
Fourth place – David Torres

SOW TROUT TROUT:
First place – Bo Wienhold
Second place- BreAnn Gregory
Third place –  Gage Majesfski
Fourth place –  Makenzie Watkins

SOW TROUT CRAB:
First place – Kolbi Darilek
Second place- John Rosenboom
Third place –  Heeley Peeler
Fourth place –  Martha Robles

BULL RED HARDHEAD:
First place –  Preston Marek
Second place – Lupe Robles
Third place –Catherine Kolterman
Fourth place – Tristan Krenek

BULL RED PIGGY PERCH:
First place – Tristan Krenek
Second place-  Ashley Johnson
Third place –  Samantha Hallmark
Fourth place – Tate Ruddick

BULL RED REDFISH:
First place – Faith Peeler
Second place- Cheyenne Lassmann
Third place – Gabrielle Salinas
Fourth place – Preslie Thomas

BULL RED OPEN:
First place – Dylan Wienhold
Second place-  Karsen Pittman
Third place – Hallie Byars
Fourth place – Lani Adair

BULL RED TROUT:
First place – Karley Gregory
Second place-  Dylan Wienhold
Third place –  Caleb Gregory
Fourth place –  Kolton Becker

BULL RED CRAB:
First place – Kelsi Darilek
Second place- Carly Rosenboom
Third place –  Faith Peeler
Fourth place –  Alexis Reyes

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As we make our way into the month of August, the water temperatures in our area bays will grow to be even warmer than they were in July. That is why our preference in August, if we are unable to get out atop shell due to the wind, is for us to be able to locate a sand bar first thing in the morning that happens to be surrounded by deeper water. Why? Because the bait and the fish will often congregate atop shallow spots during the night and very early morning hours prior to the sun heating the water to the level of their discomfort. Once the water does become too uncomfortable for them, we’ve found that both the bait and the fish tend to retreat to the coolness of the deeper water that is situated adjacent to the shallow area. By following the bait whenever they make their move out to deeper water, anglers can often locate a strong bite as a direct result.

https://vimeo.com/70942030 Bay Flats Lodge Video

Some of the sand bars we find out in the bay can be rather large, and we like looking for ones that happen to be positioned parallel to a shoreline. However, we are not always lucky enough to find a sand bar set just the way we would like it to be. More times than not, it seems, we have to rely on help from our GPS and depth finder (i.e., aluminum push-pole) to find sand bars that are in water that is too deep for us to wade out to from the shoreline. Once we have located a sand bar and have setup our wading session, we like to focus our efforts in the lower water column, as that is where we have found that we are most likely to be successful, especially given the fact that water temperatures are generally at an all-time high right now. If the action in the lower water column slows a bit, try dragging the plastic bait across the floor of the sand bar, giving the end of the rod tip a slight jerk every few seconds. This style of retrieve tends to result in a “cloud” of sand trailing the bait which is sometimes all that is needed in order to entice a strike from an otherwise wary fish. Also, we have recently noticed that when we do get a bite, that the bite has not been like that of a bite that we would normally be used to getting from a trout. Instead, we are finding here lately that the trout are being somewhat lackadaisical in their approach of a strike, and that they appear to be “sitting” on the lure – thrusting upon the bait almost as if they were hesitating due to skepticism.

Another factor that we have had to take into consideration in recent days is the fact that we have had some extremely low tides for this time of the year. When this situation occurs, we are not able to search the many back lakes at all. And on those days when the wind won’t let us get out to open-water shell, and the tide happens to be too low to let us into the back lakes, you’ll probably find us working the secondary sand guts along protected shorelines of the open bay. In doing this, we are starting our morning wade sessions out in deeper water than we would normally start in, and sometimes we are setting up right out in front of bayous and guts that lead directly into some of the back lakes.

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