Fishing Trip for the Win

Today I was randomly invited to help catch flounder on a fishing trip. And why would I refuse? I mean, come on. 

So today was definitely full of adventure. We met the charter around noon today and stayed out on the water until around 5. And I forgot my sunscreen...yeah I got burned. 

The boat was so relaxing. And guess what?! I didn't get seasick! Woohoo! I'm just winning this summer. 

My first catch was a Redfish! I was pumped. 

My other catch, say whaaat! Yeah it was my first stingray that I caught all by myself. It made. My. Day. All of those hours out on the boat were worth that catch. I was so happy. My face is "I can't handle, please take this picture so I can let this poor guy go but I'm so happy ahhhh"

He survived by the way. No harm was done to this guy. 

We caught a few other fish, including some drum, catfish, and sheepshead, but we didn't catch what we were out there for: Southern Flounder. Sadness. Hopefully soon we will get some. 

Tomorrow is boat day for the crab project since Tuesday was gloomy and stupid. Out on the boat two days in a row this week! Yes!

Getting Crabby

I told you guys I would eventually get some boat pictures, or just crab pictures in general. I have succeeded! 

This morning we went to collect whatever was trapped in our crab and flounder traps. It didn't take too long to go through them all, but it was DURTY. Yes, dirty with a "u" because it was that bad. My beautiful white fishing shirt was ruined with Mississippi mud. I smelled so...so...I don't even know how to describe it actually. Just putrid. Like rotting poop. Sorry for the graphic language but it's accurate, let's be real.

That's me on the boat! And my beautiful male crab that I caught. He's trying to pinch the fire out of me, but I'm holding his claws. That's really the only way I've figured out to hold them without being in danger of a painful experience. 

That's my "New shirt and it's already ruined with disgustingness" selfie. I had to take a shower immediately afterward. I couldn't stand smelling myself. 

After my shower and some lunch, I worked up the 12 crabs we had caught. They had been pretty feisty, especially the males, so we put them on ice for about an hour. It calmed them down. (They all survived this little journey so don't worry. I released them all after I worked them up and took my measurements. This is not a lethal experiment.)

I weighed them, measured their width, and determined sex. That was really all I needed. 

This was the biggest male we caught. He was humongous. Such big claws. His claws were almost as big as his body. He was pretty much jacked. I wouldn't have been handling him like this if he hadn't been on ice. He was calmer in this picture. Otherwise he would have reached around and pinched the crap out of me. 

Overall a really tiring day. Full of adventure and crustaceans. And mud. Let's not forget to mention the mud. But I loved it all. And I can't wait for the next boat day.