Thanks, Doug, for the Katy Memories
THANK YOU FOR writing this great article. (Doug Pike’s column, “Pike on the Edge,” November/December 2024 issue) So many great memories I had hunting the Katy/Brookshire rice fields with my dad and brothers.
Like you, when I drive west through those unrecognizable areas, I tell my family of all the waterfowl that would come into that area – snows, specks and Canadian geese along with a variety of ducks. It is because of me sharing those stories they understand why the Katy water tower has painted snow geese or why it has a bronze statue of geese gliding in.
If I didn’t tell them, they would never know why since those birds are no longer welcomed. For years we actively fought the proposed westside airport due to the keeping the fowl safe and protect our passion, but all that is a moot point now – just go ahead and build it.
Mike Poehler
For Joe Doggett
HEY JOE, was wade-fishing the surf off Follet’s Island and realized a lifetime goal of catching and releasing a tarpon. I’m 70 so it was a long wait. Only 32 inches so my Abu Garcia Black max level-wind was up for it.
A Johnson 3/4 oz gold spoon is my go to since your convincing article from years ago. I’m glad they aren’t extinct anymore in Texas like Rudy Grigar said in his book.
Wish I could have looked at it longer, but I freaked out with all the blood in the water and wanted to release it ASAP.
I thought of you and the “6 feet of chrome” comment in your writings. I always enjoyed your writings going back to the Brister days.
George Layne
Editor: We have a special mini feature on Pike and Doggett in this issue (page 26). It’s fitting these were two of the letters that came in before publication.
Rogue Waves
AS A COASTAL RESIDENT and regular fishermen on the Texas Coast, I am deeply concerned about a growing but often overlooked danger in our ship channels: the waves created by commercial shipping traffic. I saw the article about these waves on the Texas Fish & Game website and wanted to give my opinion.
Chester Moore’s Rogue Wave report, originally published in the July/August 2022 issue and available online at FishGame.com.
Texas’ ship channels, like those in Galveston, Corpus Christi, and Port Arthur, are handling a high volume of commercial vessels daily. With these large ships come massive waves, or “wake waves,” that can be extremely dangerous, especially in narrow or shallow channels. I have seen them and have been bumped around a few times.
The danger isn’t limited to boaters but also to homes and their shorelines are eroding at an accelerated rate due to these waves. And this isn’t just a threat to safety but an environmental hazard. Increased wave activity stirs up sediment and screws up our waters.
Anyway, I read the article and wanted to share my thoughts and remind fellow anglers to be safe when fishing around the ship channels.
Gene Thayer
Editor: Thanks for sharing your opinion on the rogue waves. It is a real issue and the more people that speak out the better in terms of raising awareness-especially of public safety.
Email your comments to: editor@fishgame.com
