Sandra(guest in 407) caught this 18.5 inch flounder on live shrimp in the mitigation site yesterday afternoon. I put out five poles baited with live perch for two hours immediately afterward and didn't get a bite.
Jackson(guest in 605) went to the end of our pier for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and came back with five large gafftop. Personally, I could never have carried that five gallon bucket of fish back off the pier. They were pretty big gafftop.

We may finally have gotten our lift station pumps back in full operation. We had been dealing with a company from Corpus that had lost their franchise to service the brand of pump we have. This company, Xylem, is the new dealer for our brand of pump. The service employee who came out had changed companies to follow the authorized dealership. It turns out he was the one who installed our system twenty years ago. He remembered many of the details that maybe only he and I know. He checked things over and waved his magic wand for $300 and so far both pumps are doing well.
The recent storms have wreaked havoc on our WiFi system. I have not seen such rain intensity and frequency since my days fifty years ago in Vietnam. For the last month it has rained at least five days out of every week. The storms are damaging the electronic WiFi relay stations all over town and our service has been sporadic. Kevin came out this week and realigned out antennas to locations that were still operational. I'm sure it will be costly for him to replace all the equipment he lost.

Two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon we had a large group of boys playing basketball here and one long toss at our backboard was all it took to put a basketball sized hole in our backboard again. We may have to go to plywood backboards. In the meantime I was able to find a backboard just like this at Castaway's for $12.50. Somehow Jerry wrestled it into the backseat of my car and we brought it out here. He should have it up in a few days. At one point in the big game I saw a truck enter our gate code and drive in from Phase II to drop off two boys to join the big game. In the not too distant past I probably would have said something, but I just can't do that anymore. Father Time and Mother Nature are not being that kind to me recently.
I have had a few questions from owners recently about finding someone to clean their condos for them. It seems the going rate for a three bedroom is hovering between $65 and $75. I know it is a lot of work. Coastal Management is charging guests $75 plus tax to have a three bedroom cleaned after the guest's stay. Kontiki Management is still paying their housekeepers $27 and allowing three hours for the job. They do seem to have a bit of turnover in their employees. I don't know yet how Penny will handle the housekeeping for the condos she manages.

During this morning's trash pickup this truck had a hydraulic line burst and leave the dumpster in mid pickup. The fluid ran almost to the 300 building. Allied had to call a cleanup contractor to come out to clean up the mess to avoid a fine for a hazardous waste spill. They finished up about 4 pm. What we did learn from Allied officials who came out was that there would be no problem in adding our extra summer dumpster in the enclosure next to the 708. The drivers told us last year that could not be done and we built another pad near our office that was not the best location, but all we could do at the time.
David Schneider(205) came by to see me on Saturday. He is having his condo painted inside. David is seldom here and it was good to see him again. Three weeks ago I was going in to eat at Paradise Key and just as I reached my table, someone tapped me on my shoulder. It was Keith Boyer. He and Ruth Ann were in town to visit their son, Kent and daughter in law, Kim. It was great to see them. I thought after they sold their condo(606) I would never see them again. They are doing well.
Tomorrow our last winter Texan, Joyce, heads back home after her six month stay. She said it snowed in Minnesota today.
I talked to Penny on Saturday. She said she now has signed up 14 owners from Bayfront and Phase II combined to manage their condos for them with her new company, 5 Star Rentals.
Jim and Sandra(guests in 407) fished Carlos Bay yesterday and picked up four keeper trout. The owners of 707 were in town this week to spruce up their condo to sell. They met with a realtor this morning to list it. I had failed to mention earlier that Ole was the big winner in this year's Oyster Eating Contest. He set a new record in winning, but said he wished he had known he could have eaten 87 less oysters and still won first place as last year's winner finished a distant second with only 150 oysters eaten in the time allowed.

The 36th annual Fulton Oysterfest drew a crowd of approximately 35,000 people throughout the four-day event with approximately $310,000 raised for the Fulton Volunteer Fire Department (FVFD).

The event kicked off Thursday night, March 5 with a firework display over Fulton Harbor. The festivities continued Friday with an oyster-decorating contest and live entertainment throughout the day. The Oysterfest parade down Fulton Beach Road led by Oysterfest king and queen Charlie and Carol Potter, drew a crowd of children and parents alike Saturday morning. The Town of Fulton also showed off its newly-purchased trolley during the parade, carrying several Oysterfest pageant winners. The men’s raw oyster eating contest was held later that day, with 13 contestants. Winners are Olaf Granheim of San Antonio, first, 238 oysters; Joel Pruitt of Rockport, second, 150 oysters; and Joe Bickham of Orange, third, 145 oysters.

 This oversized red makes our 20 inch cutting board look pretty small. Best I could tell it was about 30 inches. Kurt(guest in 304) caught this yesterday afternoon on a cut perch.

This morning started off with one of the more severe storms I've seen in a while. Some reports in Rockport said up to six inches. Our gauge behind the office measured 2.5 inches. In the afternoon, the skies cleared somewhat and the water was smooth. Jim(210), John(202), and I went out for my first voyage of the year. We went to most all the usual reefs and found trout and gafftop scattered in several areas. They didn't start off using DOAs, but it wasn't long before we all had DOAs tied on. The trout have not yet lost their taste for the DOA.
My boat ran really well and all is good.

Pat and Sibyl(602) went with a guide yesterday to pick up their limit of nice looking drum.

Mel Biggs(207) sent this note to me to send out.

I found a very good spring-cleaning service for around $100 - $120.  Fridge comes, out cabinets emptied etc.  A very thorough job and leasing owners can get an invoice to write it off against tax. Please bulk email this to the owners or blog it and anyone interested can contact me.

Mel Biggs

melbiggs@att.net

281 346 2187