The Memorial Day holiday has come and gone but the summer boating season is just getting under way. Here are some safety tips that anyone who operates a boat or personal watercraft (jet ski) should know. Stay safe and vigilant on the water!

  * Don’t drink and operate a boat. You can be arrested for boating under the influence (BUI) just like DUI in a vehicle.

  * Take a boating safety course. You’ll learn the rules of the road, boating laws, to stay safe. Yes, there are laws governing boating. You might also get a discount on your boat insurance by passing a course.

  * Always wear a lifejacket. It floats, you don’t. Plus it can’t work if it’s not on.

 * Have a throwable floatation device on board. This is a law on boats over a certain length but it’s good to have one regardless of the size of your boat.

  * Remember, youth under age 13 are required to wear a lifejacket while the boat is underway.

  * Have patience and be courteous on the ramp and water. We all want to have a good time.

  * Get a weather forecast before heading out.

  * Keep watch for other boaters, swimmers, skiers, debris or other obstacles in the water.

  * Have a fully charged, usable fire extinguisher. Another law!

 * Maintain your boat trailer (lights, wheel bearings, tires). Just plain ol’ good sense.

  * Have a working horn or whistle. Yup, another law.

  * Prepare your boat in the rigging lane prior to launching.

 * Don’t operate in a careless or reckless manner.

 * Don’t violate buoys, as they are the road signs of the water.

  * Remember that boats don’t have brakes and it can take a while to stop so always be aware of your distance to other boats, swimmers, docks, etc.

  These are just some guidelines to go by wherever you boat. Remember that each state can have their own rules and regulations so if you’re not sure about something, error on the side of caution and/or check with your state’s DNR or Conservation department for specifics. Also there are different rules when operating on inter-coastal waters so know before you go.

  You can find links to all of the state’s DNR’s/Conservation departments at www.backwoodsbound.com/stgamedepts.html to help you get more information on your favorite boating spot.

  Early on in our afternoon of fishing at Dunham Reservoir yesterday, Grandpa spied a BIG rock bass just off shore at the point near the spillway where he and Nick like to fish. He couldn't entice the fish to bite, so Nick took over and failed also. That dang fish just would not bite.

  We both went back and tried for him several times with no luck until late in the afternoon when Nick yelled, "I got him!" Grandpa was approaching fast as Nick swung the whopper out of the water toward dry land. The fish had plenty of fight left in him and flipped-flopped off the hook and back into the water. Nick was crushed, and Grandpa said, "Damn, Nick...when you get a fish like that fling it way the hell up in the brush!"

  Grandpa then took a look to see if the fish had resumed his position just off shore where he had been all day.....No fish! Further inspection showed the fish trapped/wedged between two huge rocks that had been placed there to stabilize the shoreline. Both fishermen pounced!

  Now, picture this: Grandpa kneeling (two boney knees on two damn hard rocks) with a hand jammed down into the crevice that held the fish (tight...too tight for the fish to move forward) with Nick kneeling in front of him shouting encouragement/instructions while trying to grasp the fish's tail with his long nose fishing pliers. Didn't take long for Grandpa's old legs to cramp up, he had to shift positions to straighten his legs without losing his grasp on Mr. Rock Bass. Such move put both his feet in the water, well over his boot tops, as Nick was yelling, "Don't let go of that fish!"

  Then, with two wet feet, two sore legs, and quite pissed off, Grandpa resumed his kneeling position on the hard, hard, hard rocks and managed to insert his trigger finger well into the fish's right side gill. Nick again tried the pliers trick with no luck and yelled, "Just squeeze him as hard as you can!" Grandpa did....and with a mighty squeeze...pull...throw he lobbed the big fish well up onto the shore where Nick pounced on it. Finally, we had our biggest rock bass ever!

  As you can imagine, the real prize here was the not the fish, but rather the story which we can tell and retell and we will whenever the subject of rock bass comes up.

 Most fishermen fish for trophy sport fish. Nick and Grandpa fish for stories. This is a good one.

Nick and the "biggest rock bass ever!"

  The brackish salt sea left droplets on my face as we left the dock, heading for the tiny islands of mangroves in Port Aransas Bay area. The fishing trip was with Captain David Dupnik, owner of Surrender at Sunrise and he had picked us up promptly at 8 PM at Conn Brown Harbor and launch. David is a slim, friendly man that has a great personality to be a guide. We told him that some of us had gigged frogs years ago, but none of us had gigged a flounder.

  My wife Sheila and I were traveling with our friends Vickie and Brent Corbett. Brent and I work together and Sheila and Vickie get along like they were sisters in some past life. The company was excellent. Brent and I had offered to let the ladies go first, an opportunity they jumped at as the Captain let them come forward. He turned on the lights in the front and lowered them into the water. The mangrove islands were teeming with bait fish and local sea birds and looked eerie in the night as the freeze last year had killed many of them. The spotted greenery assured that life was coming back, but the skeletal remains still harbored an area for wildlife.

  The flounder hunt was on!! I am not going to give you a step by step story, but I will tell you that Captain David told us with the murky water we were going to have work for them. He was right!

  Soon the two girls had flounder in the boat, both of them dropping their fish in the box while grinning from ear to ear. They stood together with David, laughing and listening to his advice. I saw my wife was having a great time. Within an hour or so they each had 4 fish in the boat. Five each was the limit and they sit down and let Brent I have a go at it.

  It wasn’t as easy as it looked! The fish were hard to spot for us, but Captain David seen them. Often when I thought I seen one first, I was tensing for a gig and David would say, “He’s too small and I stopped the adrenaline build up! Most of missed a few fish. Most of us had to have one of their fish gigged with a helper gig to get them in the boat.

  When we each had four fish by our count, David counted our fish. We needed four more and the girls moved to the front of the boat again. The murky water kept us from finding the flat, camouflaged fish on the bottom. The water was filled with baitfish and their movements caught our eyes. Finally, a lone fish was spotted and Vickie gigged him and got him in the box. We had three left to go.

 Brent had moved forward taking the gigging position on the left. Sheila was on the right. David told them we were going to clearer water. He was not expecting many fish, but at least we would be able to see.

  We all sit down; discussing our wonderful trip while David got the boat ready and then we took off. The spring air off the water as the boat zipped across the bay at night was a treat in itself. Soon we reached the area he wanted to try and Sheila got her fish almost immediately. I moved forward to her spot and I wasn’t there for 2 minutes until I had my fish in the boat. I hadn’t got sat down good before they were seeing more fish. Brent limited out the boat and we headed in. David cleaned the fish as we talked and showed each other even more pictures. He bagged our fish and got us ready to go. We stood and talked, I guess none of us ready for the adventure to end, but it had for the night.

  Working for our limit with Captain David had given us all a sense of accomplishment and taking home so much fresh flounder fillets didn’t hurt either.

  We highly recommended Surrender at Sunrise and Captain David Dupnik if you are booking a flounder gigging trip. He is an incredible guide and it was like we were gigging with an old friend. Excellent experience!

Sheila, David, Vickie and Brent with the night’s catch.