A day hike at Sheldon Lake Park

Because the weather was finally cooling down (only about 90 today) we decided to get out of the house and see some nature. We chose Sheldon Lake Park that is in the Northeast portion of Houston. It is a very nice park. When we got there we walked up to the closest pond (there are many ponds that were made in the 50's in this preserve) and saw a boy fishing with his father. He pointed out a small (8-10 foot) Gator to us below the dock and told us that he had been catching fish all day.

The water was christal clear and I could see many fish - so I didn't doubt him. However, I was wearing polarized glasses and he didn't have any. I asked him if he could see all the fish out there - and he said he could not. I borrowed the pole from him - overcast three or four croppie and pulled the bait into them. I handed the pole back to him and told him he should have a bite in seconds. Sure enough he hooked a large croppie and started to pull him in.

Just as he got the fish out of the water the Gator nailed the fish, hook and line included) and started to gulp down the fish. We all were startled and I grabbed the pole back from the tike as his dad shot out of his seat. I pulled straight back on the line - watching the gator eat and snapped it (trying to save the bobber - but unable). We all stood amazed and the father said 'Now I know why he just sits by the dock all day!'. We all laughed!

We grabbed a couple of geocaches and hiked a few miles and then headed home.

Jason