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AFTER THE STORM: Getting ready for fall season
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By LARRY WILBURN
For all the people that live here on the upper Texas coast, hurricanes are yearly threats. I guess you could say that we are fortunate to only have a major storm every 25 years on the average. There is no doubt that they cause a lot of human suffering and damage to property, homes and livestock. Then there is the day to day inconvenience of doing without basic utility services that we are all accustomed to living with.
We are now on the upside of recovery as many areas are back with their power and life is beginning to resume to normal, at least some degree of normalcy after such an event. With that in mind, the normal thing to do for a lot of people around here is to be getting ready for the fall fishing and hunting seasons. As outdoorsmen’s attentions turn to their outdoor pursuits this fall, remember that the fish and wildlife suffered through the same storm as we did and the outdoors that you were used to two weeks ago, will not be the same now.
Of course, in the woods, there are many trees blown over. On my deer lease here in Liberty County, we had just built a new road and now it is littered with trees and debris. Deer stands are crushed and some gone completely. Things like that are the least of concerns as hunters enter the woods to prepare for hunting season.
Many areas will be swarming with mosquitoes that could be carrying potentially dangerous diseases. One should take extra precautions to protect themselves from the mosquitoes. The other serious threat after such a storm is snakes. Snakes are particularly aggressive after such a natural disaster that has upset their food source and their dens. Cottonmouths are really bad in most areas of the river bottoms. One thing to remember is that they may not always be found around or near water.
In the marsh, snakes will be very aggressive and agitated. Their natural prey such as mice and small rodents are more than likely gone. That means that the snakes will be on the prowl looking for food where they can find it. I have spoke to a few people who have been in the marsh over south of Winnie and they say they have to wear snake leggings to keep from getting bit.
Alligators are reported to be abundant and very aggressive toward just about anything that comes close by. They too are displaced and disoriented as the high water and storm surge carried many of the gators far from their home territories. It is also the time of the year that the alligator eggs hatch. That only complicates the behavior of the females that may be protecting a nest.
For the areas anglers, they face a number of concerns. To start with, many inland ponds and lakes along the coast are inundated with salt water. This will kill all the freshwater species of fish and will ruin the ponds for several years. Then there is the concern of toxins that may have been stirred up by the storm surge and wave action. Some may remember that Galveston Bay anglers were already under advisories to not eat certain species of fish.
Then there are the issues of navigating the coastal waters, bays and tributaries. It is very likely that the underwater landscape is now just as different as the above water landscape. There may not be channels today where there were channels before. Sand bars may have moved or new ones formed. Then there is the issue of logs and debris. Logs, boards, and parts of houses will float around the bay for a long time as the tide moves back and forth. Often times these objects will be waterlogged and may be floating just under the surface. These can cause you tear up lower units on motors or even turn a boat over. Under water logs have been moved around and likely many new ones have washed into places that were clean before. Some areas are now not navigable as a result of the storm surge and debris.
Speaking as someone that has spent a lifetime in the outdoors, I would urge everyone to be very cautious and careful when going back into the woods, marshes and waters of the upper coast. You will literally have to relearn the areas that you may have known like the back of your hand two weeks ago. Take nothing for granted and we will all have to adjust to the way things are now. Surely time will allow Mother Nature to heal its wounds and we will once again enjoy what nature has to offer.
We are now on the upside of recovery as many areas are back with their power and life is beginning to resume to normal, at least some degree of normalcy after such an event. With that in mind, the normal thing to do for a lot of people around here is to be getting ready for the fall fishing and hunting seasons. As outdoorsmen’s attentions turn to their outdoor pursuits this fall, remember that the fish and wildlife suffered through the same storm as we did and the outdoors that you were used to two weeks ago, will not be the same now.
Of course, in the woods, there are many trees blown over. On my deer lease here in Liberty County, we had just built a new road and now it is littered with trees and debris. Deer stands are crushed and some gone completely. Things like that are the least of concerns as hunters enter the woods to prepare for hunting season.
Many areas will be swarming with mosquitoes that could be carrying potentially dangerous diseases. One should take extra precautions to protect themselves from the mosquitoes. The other serious threat after such a storm is snakes. Snakes are particularly aggressive after such a natural disaster that has upset their food source and their dens. Cottonmouths are really bad in most areas of the river bottoms. One thing to remember is that they may not always be found around or near water.
In the marsh, snakes will be very aggressive and agitated. Their natural prey such as mice and small rodents are more than likely gone. That means that the snakes will be on the prowl looking for food where they can find it. I have spoke to a few people who have been in the marsh over south of Winnie and they say they have to wear snake leggings to keep from getting bit.
Alligators are reported to be abundant and very aggressive toward just about anything that comes close by. They too are displaced and disoriented as the high water and storm surge carried many of the gators far from their home territories. It is also the time of the year that the alligator eggs hatch. That only complicates the behavior of the females that may be protecting a nest.
For the areas anglers, they face a number of concerns. To start with, many inland ponds and lakes along the coast are inundated with salt water. This will kill all the freshwater species of fish and will ruin the ponds for several years. Then there is the concern of toxins that may have been stirred up by the storm surge and wave action. Some may remember that Galveston Bay anglers were already under advisories to not eat certain species of fish.
Then there are the issues of navigating the coastal waters, bays and tributaries. It is very likely that the underwater landscape is now just as different as the above water landscape. There may not be channels today where there were channels before. Sand bars may have moved or new ones formed. Then there is the issue of logs and debris. Logs, boards, and parts of houses will float around the bay for a long time as the tide moves back and forth. Often times these objects will be waterlogged and may be floating just under the surface. These can cause you tear up lower units on motors or even turn a boat over. Under water logs have been moved around and likely many new ones have washed into places that were clean before. Some areas are now not navigable as a result of the storm surge and debris.
Speaking as someone that has spent a lifetime in the outdoors, I would urge everyone to be very cautious and careful when going back into the woods, marshes and waters of the upper coast. You will literally have to relearn the areas that you may have known like the back of your hand two weeks ago. Take nothing for granted and we will all have to adjust to the way things are now. Surely time will allow Mother Nature to heal its wounds and we will once again enjoy what nature has to offer.
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