Another Rogue Wave Encounter

GREAT PODCAST and article on the rogue waves!

I was inside the Port O’Connor in the Port Lavaca Channel, running at night, and had a six-foot swell inside the channel. I was puzzled why the channel marker was getting shorter. That was obviously not it.

I chopped the throttle just in time, or I would have been airborne, or would have impacted into the wave. Without the channel marker, I would not have had enough warning. It still was pretty rough, and I took water over the bow of my 22-foot boat. I’ve not had the experience you discussed on the program.

But I thought this night, and inside-the-channel experience is worth highlighting. It’s pretty shallow at the markers because the channel is very narrow. I can’t blame the ship, as it was going slow—just a bad channel.

I did not see how bad it was on the flats, directly next to the channel, but that would have been devastating for someone before-dawn fishing.

Thanks for the good work.

Ed Reese

Editor: I’m trying to raise awareness about this issue, and stories such as yours help to make people think more as they navigate our channel systems as well as fish along the bank. We’re hearing stories of land-bound anglers impacted by these waves as well. Thanks for reading fishgame.com and listening to the Dark Outdoors podcast.

Reader Elk Stories

AFTER READING your story in the newsletter, I had to respond by sharing a quick note from a drive past Sam Rayburn reservoir up 96. It was late at night, and just as I came over a hill, a quite large bull elk was standing on the side of the road.

I slowed down and it eventually crossed. I was blown away, but I had heard there were a few elk escaped from a ranch somewhere in that area. I had no idea one would walk across the road in front of me.

J. FARLOW

I DO NOT HAVE any photos or videos, but this story happened near where I live in La Marque, Texas. As far as I know, nobody ever figured out where this elk came from. There is a Bayou Wildlife Preserve near this, but all of their elk were accounted for. Very strange.

David Breish

Editor: David sent in a link to a story about the elk from KHOU-11 about a car-animal collision in 2009 that did indeed involve an elk.

Interestingly the woman who hit it thought, at first, she hit a moose. I had a listener of my radio program call in with a “moose” sighting in Sabine Pass. It too was an elk.

Here is a quote from the story.

“In a panic, Martinez called the Texas City Police Department and reported that she had struck a moose on the feeder road. The police officer laughed at her, she said. ‘There are no moose in Texas, he said.’”

Although there are no moose in Texas, even on exotic ranches or in zoos, officials need to learn there are lots of exotics in Texas that people are encountering more often.

Got-Cha

BACK IN THE DAY, when I lived in Florida, I used to fish these jigs called “Got-Cha.” They were sort of heavy jigs you could cast a long way, but they worked great on bluefish and redfish too, if you could find reds.

Do you know where I can find any in Texas?

TOM WHITE

Editor: Got-Cha jigs are still available, and you can get them at Calcuttaoutdoors.com