Our first beach raid last year was an overall success, but many found beach camping in strong winds and mosquitoes a serious drag on their enjoyment. So getting a beach house for this year’s Njord’s Raid was a no brainer! The location was Treasure Island just south of Galveston and San Luis Pass. We went strong from Thursday night to Sunday morning, with a little adversity and a whole lot of fun!
Thursday night after settling into the house and a few drinks David Torres, Jason Slamen, and I went out gigging in Christmas Bay. By the time we collected 20 crabs and gigged a Flounder, we decided our bag was full and stopped picking up crab! Though I did miss a moving flounder on the way out.
Friday morning, we picked up two more flounder and a large croaker before drinking, cooking crab, and napping through the afternoon heat. That evening Jason and I set out to wade Cold Pass. After some moderate success (1 keeper trout and some throwbacks), we found a muddy oyster bed was between us and the truck; and the mosquitoes were on us thick. Jason tripped on the oysters, breaking his rod and finding himself in real danger. A deep gash on his right knee bled heavily and several smaller cuts shown red in the fading light. We made haste to rinse off at the house before driving up to Galveston for stitches. Fortunately, we made it 5 minutes before the emergency care center closed and while the cut was deep, it was clean and only an inch long. Jason did not complain and was good company throughout this unexpected journey.
Back at the beach house, we had to postpone the stuffed flounder dinner, so Golden took the initiative and cooked Zucchini pancakes for everyone! We partied late into the night before I gigged another 3 flounder and 8 more blue crabs.
Saturday we took the party to the beach on San Luis Pass. We caught tons of small fish, set out long rods, caught crabs, built sandcastles, ate hotdogs, and drank a shitload of beer! Pretty much everything we set out to do. Our long rods brought in a few rays, and Cody caught a Bonnet Head Shark. After packing back to the house the real party began!
We had Josh’s famous sweet and spicy jalapeno poppers, Fireball soaked grilled pineapple, croaker and crab ceviche, venison cheeseburgers, crab stuffed flounder, and a fantastic selection of craft beers and cocktails! There were board games, video games, stories, and good company! It was the kind of night we Heirs live for.
As things started to wind down around 4:30, I went to the bay one last time. I couldn’t find any more flounder, though I picked up 10 more jumbo crabs. I made it back to the house to watch the sunrise while thinking about next year’s Njord’s Raid.
Together We Are Tanks,
Captain Treader