After catching nearly zero fish for several months, I began to wonder how and if the fishery here around the island would ever recover. One day it dawned on me that a proper response would be to begin praying that the ocean would be healed and that life would return. After some reflection on the intent of my heart, I believe my motives were not selfish, but a general request for a return to proper health and balance of the creation seemed proper. Now by association, I guess I would be a partial beneficiary of that restoration, so I guess I was seeking help for myself as well. Why I had waited for months to consult the Creator of all things, who has the power to change everything in an instant, I am not really sure.
The effects of the red tide have been far reaching and devastating. From a fishing perspective, there has been an absence of almost all species, and even those that remain are small in number and seem to be struggling to survive. The dolphins, at least the few that have stayed around, had to resort to roaming the docks to try to eat the few Snook found hiding there since the normally plentiful mullet and ladyfish are nowhere to be found. The once abundant variety of bait, including shrimp, ballyhoo, glass minnows, mullet, pass-crabs, and skip-jack had all disappeared.
However, one night last week, suddenly the abundance of bait appeared from what seemed like “nowhere”. There had been nothing the previous night, and then, there were ballyhoo, small bait fish swimming all around, and skip-jack all over the place driving the Snook crazy. And by “the Snook” I mean a lot of Snook, who suddenly seemed to be back in larger numbers. The familiar sound of splashing ladyfish chasing bait out further in the dark had returned. The birds, like our old buddy Fisher and his cousins, were squawking again, swooping into the water to pick up dinner. It was as if by some miracle the things which were before, had begun to return, and in a sudden fashion. And to make things even better, I witnessed a return of the shrimp! Big, fat, four inch shrimp floating in the outgoing current, leaping around to avoid the jaws of the active schools of ladyfish. It is amazing to see how fast and high a shrimp can jump when trying to escape a predator. Hopefully this means the sea trout are not far behind.
As a result of this sudden appearance of bait and Snook, Jason and I were treated to the most productive fishing that we have had for months. The cover photo for this blog shows a skip-jack still in the Snook’s throat while he was looking for more when he was hooked. 
I lightened the circle around the poor little guy, who is peeking out of the Snook’s gullet begging for help. Many small bait-fish were being spit up by the Snook we were landing. After their red tide imposed weight loss program over the last months, they were ready and willing to gorge themselves on the buffet. I could go for a gratuitous Monty Python “The Meaning of Life” reference here, but I thought that might be too gross (if you are a fan, you get that anyway Mr. Creosote).
There were larger Snook among the group and Jason managed to land a couple. In fact, he was so excited to have hooked the first one, that when he was going around to the beach to land it and the leader line broke before he had his hands on the fish, he instinctively used his foot to try to lift the Snook out of the water and onto the beach before it swam away. This instinct is born into those of us who believe “if there is no picture, it did not really happen”. Unfortunately the underside of a Snook is pointy. Just like their razor sharp gill plates, the ends of their pectoral fins are pointy. He did get the fish on the beach, but received a nasty puncture wound to the foot which bled profusely for a time. Oh yeah, it is not always a walk in the park when we fish as you have seen. Sometimes (well maybe “often” is the better word) we create some danger unintentionally in our attempt to conquer the foe.
As we experienced this same oceanic diversity the next night, it suddenly dawned on me about my prayer for the return of the wildlife. As I was sitting at home put some hand lotion on my newly ruffed up Snook thumb, I wondered why I had waited so long to bring my desires to the Lord. Like a good father, He is excited to bring special gifts to His children, even if that gift may seem unnecessary to those outside the family. I think I forget about that extravagance and intimate love of my Heavenly Father and only think to pray about what I think I really need. Fortunately, He knows what we really need, and sometimes that special gift is just to show us that He is still in control and loves us enough to do the extra-special things. Now you might say the timing of all of this was just a coincidence, and that I just happened to ask at the right time. Fair enough, I guess that could be. Either way, we are still catching Snook, the ocean seems to be revitalizing itself, life is returning, and my soul is refreshed with the certainty that God is still in charge. At the end of the process, my heart was changed – and that really is what prayer is about more than trying to change God’s mind about something to get what we want.
David