August collecting and get together.

[::pete::]

August is approaching fast and the date was previously set for August 6th and 7th for our annual collecting trip at the coast.

There have been a few inquiries about this and if it was still on, so here is an announcemnet with a poll so we have an idea of who is still interested and might make it.

Due to the time of the year we are unable to get any kind of a group discount on lodging. Some of us will be spending the night and others might just be doing the day trip.

[::pete::]

I will be there and spending the night.

[SBreef]

Ahh Man!!!! :angry :angry
That would have been my normal weekend off!!! That bites!!
My boss is on vaction at that time and I will have to work!!!
I am sure that My wife Linda (Mrs.SB) will not be happy about this!!!!
When will the "actual" meeting time be?
We might be able to make it after I get off from work.

[::pete::]

Roy
I dont beleive it has gotten that far yet, but we will updating this post with information.

[Mrs.SB]

SBreef was right...I'm very sad about the dates. Guess we can hold our breaths to see if we can go for a few hours anyway. :D

[JesterGrin_1]

I am in :) Maybe we can have a convoy. :). Okay who has the rubber Duckey lol. :)

[tgray]

Where on the coast do you go?
Tim

[gjuarez]

yeah, what part of the coast? South Padre Island perhaps?

[don-n-sa]

Last year we met at the main jettie at Port A...we collected at night and nabbed around fifty peppermint shrimps and several blennies, sergent majors, and several other critters.

[edge78041]

As discussed before, I am new to saltwater aquaria. Is it safe to collect fish from the beach.If so, how do you acclimate the fish. Do you put them in some type of quarentine tank.

For those that will be going, have a safe trip.

[pilot_bell777]

Polkster and I are already talking about flying down....not sure if he is wanting a day trip or over night.

LOL..............so.....still not for sure! LOL

[::pete::]

Fredrick is planning on staying ...

[NaCl_H2O]

I missed it last year, no way am I gonna miss it again!!! I'll be staying overnight!

My brother lives in Corpus ... maybe he would enjoy 25-50 MAASTards sleeping in his living room :lol

[edit] can't make it :(

[Shark_Bait]

I can put up a few of you too. Hmmm will trade a bed for frags :innocent
If some of you need a place to crash for the night let me know..

Oh and yea I'll be there for the collection trip

[Polkster13]

Yes, my wife and I are planning on staying overnight (Saturday night) at the La Quinta in Corpus. I would be willing to car pool with someone if pilot_bell and I are unable to do the plane trip.

[brewercm]

I need to check with the other half but sure would love to come down. Probably just for the day though if she comes along though.

[GaryP]

For those of you that are going down for the weekend, my wife are going to be hitting the beach and flying kites. That's our other hobby. You are welcome to join us. I'll be giving stunt kite flying lessons to anyone that is interested. We'll work it around the MAAST schedule, whatever that is. We'll be easy to find, just drive down the beach until you see a bunch of laundry up in the air. We have about a hundred kites.

We just got back last night from flying at Padre this weekend.

[brewercm]

just drive down the beach until you see a bunch of laundry up in the air

Ahhh, that's what folks are doing with their MAAST thongs. :lol

[Darth-Tater]

Boy would I love to go..but................ sand in a cast isn't any fun. :o So I hope that you all have fun. :roll

D

[NaCl_H2O]

... sand in a cast isn't any fun.

That's what those big ziploc bags are for ;)

[Tim Marvin]

Sounds like fun! I don't think my kite will fit in the plane though so I may have to drive. I have to hook my 11 meter kite to a board and ride it across the water to keep it down. LOL...

[MikeP]

I will try and get down there. Most likely I will just sleep on the beach and do some fishing during the day.

[Thunderkat]

Sounds like a bunch of fun. Just watch out for the crabs, there are two things baby crabs dream of, one is life in a well fished spot that uses lots of shrimp as bait and, the other is living the cushy life in an aquarium. :lol

[jaded]

finally i get a lucky break... Our annual family vacation will put me at the coast this very weekend!!! Yehhaaaaa, otherwise no way I could have made it. I'll be down there Thursday and will be staying until Sunday. I've got a few cell phone numbers so I should be able to find you down there.

Gary, I have a rookie kite with a birdsnest for strings. Maybe I will bring it down and we can see who can backspin cascade & wap do wap the most.

[Shark_Bait]

I spoke with the people at THE LFS (tropical Fish Haven) here in Corpus. They said they would be happy to make arrangements, if people are not leaving till Sunday but would like to stop in and buy some corals on Staurday. They said they would open for a while on Sunday to let people come pick up thier purchases. I don't know about any discounts but, is still nice to be able to pick up your stuff the same day you leave. Or you can leave it in my tank ;) ;)

[demodiki]

How's the weather going to be?

[Shark_Bait]

Hmmm... right now it's hard to tell how the weather's going to be in the next 5 minutes. But once the storm passes I guess it will go back to normal------ 90 to 95 with a 20% chance of rain

[GaryP]

Sounds like fun! I don't think my kite will fit in the plane though so I may have to drive. I have to hook my 11 meter kite to a board and ride it across the water to keep it down. LOL...

We were down flying on Padre last weekend and there were some kite boarders down near us. Done some kite buggying but never boarding. They were in the surf with their quad lines while we were on the beach with our single and dual line kites and foils.

[captexas]

Is this still on for the 6th/7th ?

[GaryP]

Is this still on for the 6th/7th ?

Yes

[satx-94integraLS]

so, whats the deal? buncha guys hitting up the beaches for fish? hows this work? i know i can go on the weekends, but id like to work something out ya know? like carpoolin n stuff. i can pay for gas, but i have no means to stay overnight, so if i carpooled, it would be with someone who was only there for a day, or vise versa (i do have a car, so if someone wants to carpool, i have a comfy 94 integra LS). let me know, im real interested in this!

[NaCl_H2O]

Things have changed and I won't be able to make it after all :( I edited my post above in case someone is counting.

I really wanted to make this, but work is just not gonna budge for me :angry

[falcondob]

Things have changed and I won't be able to make it after all :( I edited my post above in case someone is counting.

I really wanted to make this, but work is just not gonna budge for me :angry

Tell them "Vito" said "Whadda ya' mean he can't go? Are you talking to me? Are you talking to ME? Get outta here! I'ma gonna come over and make you an offer. You won't be able to refuse!".

You don't want to make Vito mad. You won't like Vito when he is mad!

[brieman]

I will get to go found out my vacation starts this weekend, will be my first time. where does everyone meet at
Thanks Brian

[satx-94integraLS]

no idea mang. still tryin to figure that out myself. i may just wait until the meet next weekend to get things cleared up since pete will be there...

[don-n-sa]

where does everyone meet at
Thanks Brian

Last year I went and the first meeting was at the Corpus Aquarium(on a saturday), then we had a get together at Minh's house who happened to be a MAASTARD and had an incredible 400g reef tank. Later that night a handful of us drove to PORT A to do some collecting. We met at night at the last "big jetty" and we had a blst catching blennies, peppermint shrimps, damsels and others. Then we all basically split up and went our separate ways.

There was no group rates for hotels or at the aquarium due to the time of year so we basically went on the trip with our own friends and family and met at those locations.

Unfortunately I will not be going down this year due to several reasons or else I would help coordinate meeting times and locations.

Maybe Sharkbait can set a time on Saturday for everyone to meet at his house so you guys can plan from there?

I am the meetings committe person so it is my fault that this is not better planned...I apologize for this and I assure that this won't happen next year.

[captexas]

Don - no aplogies needed. You took over the job not long ago and it's not easy planning something in a short time period, especially for a location that is at it's busiest time of year. I'm sure it will be better planned out for next year if everyone wants to do it again.

Hopefully a time can be set to all meet at the aquarium and then everyone can sit and discuss options for collecting at the jetties. I didn't make it last year but hope to this time if things work out.

[::pete::]

I am the meetings committe person so it is my fault that this is not better planned...I apologize for this and I assure that this won't happen next year.

Don
This is definitely not on you!! With such short notice to take over where someone left off is not easy. I and I hope everyone else understands and we all will do our best to make it work. Thanks again!! ;)

[Shark_Bait]

OK OK It's my fault... :innocent :innocent . I was told months ago that the August meeting was going to be in Corpus. Didn't know that this was "the" meeting. Thought people were just getting together for a little jetty recon. Was happy that I wasn't going to have to drive to get to hang out with the other MAASTards that I just didn't think about actually arranging something. Thought the meeting would be later in the month and some committe member would contact me about it (hint hint).
I know it's short notice; but would be happy to try to make some arrangements if we can come up with a game plan on short notice. I'll call the aquarium (I know a person or 2 that work there) and see what I can pull out of the hat. I can have a some of you MAASTards over (sorry no 400 Gal tank :cry )until we go out to the jettys. I would say all of you but don't know how many actually planning on coming; and don't want us packed in too tight in the house.
If someone with a little experience in planning these things wants to call me and tell me the what's and where's to get this stuff done I'll do what I can. ReefOne is down here too and I'm sure I could get him to help :shades PM me and give you my #

[don-n-sa]

Thanks alot sharkbait!!!...your help and hospitality is much appreciated

[Shark_Bait]

If the poll is acurate and will only be about 12 people house will hold them no problem but not an 80 person meeting !

[satx-94integraLS]

well, i wanna go, but i dont know how this is gonna work out. id be happy to drive people down there, but id only stay for the day, as i need to come back before the gf gets home at 6am the next day... so count me in, no matter what, i wanna go and collect things! i have a few 20gallon tubs w/ tops i can bring with me, and transport some of the catches back to san antonio...

[SBreef]

What day will the "meeting" Be??
I have to work on Saturday, but if it is on Sunday, I wouold drive down Saturday night.

[::pete::]

Just an idea ... there isnt that many according to the poll so why not share cell numbers ;)

[satx-94integraLS]

on here? or in PM? either way i dont care, but if youre gonna call me, let me know your # ahead of time, because i ignore any number i dont recognize... anywho, anyone wanna carpool? id like to stay the night since everyone else is, but i do not have the cash to get a motel room, and i dont wanna intrude on anyone :|

[tgray]

My wife and I and perhaps my son will be attending and collecting. Looking forward to putting faces and names together.
Tim

[Mr_Cool]

This is pretty cool. I didn't know you were allowed to do this. (You ARE allowed to do this, right?) I've thought about doing this myself, but wouldn't have a clue as to how to go about it! I was supposed to be at the coast this same weekend, but plans have changed. Is this something I could do on my own, or with the help of my kids? I'm relatively new to the MAAST site (I really should send my dues in), and am just starting up with a reef tank. Could someone give a short description of where to go, and how to find things to collect? And, how do you catch things? Do you use nets, or traps, or what?

[Tim Marvin]

Mr. Cool, I beleive you need a fishing license, and your good to go.

[gjuarez]

Count me in. Corpus Christi is much closer to me than San Antonio is. I have my fishing license so I am all set to go. What else do I need? Nets? Life Jacket? What other stuff do I need, I want to be ready ahead of time? Is the meeting this coming weekend?

[GaryP]

This is pretty cool. I didn't know you were allowed to do this. (You ARE allowed to do this, right?)

Yes, you are allowed to do this as long as you don't collect regulated species. For example, undersized trout or redfish caught in a cast net.

I went to college at Texas A&M Galveston. Its their marine biology/transportation/engineering school. We used to go down to San Luis Pass almost every week and see what we could catch with a seine net. In the case of the seine we had to have a license, but we were covered under the schools license. We're mainly going to be looking for stuff like peppermint shrimp and macro algaes like Ulva (sea lettuce). Here's a trick I learned. Check out the sargassum that is still in the water. There are all kinds of critters in it. We used to find sea horses in them all the time. One of our members was down there last year during spring break and brought back a ton of sea whips (gorgonians) that washed up. Remember that the Gulf Stream comes our direction from the coral reefs in Mexico and Belize so you never know what you will find on the beaches that are carried our way. There are tons of anemones on the jetties too. They're not real colorful but for folks that want something "native" they are pretty cool. You can also stop on the in the marshes before you get to the ferry and collect a ton of grass shrimp there. You larger fish and predators might like a "fresh from the Gulf" shrimp treat. I like to keep some in my fuge so that their larvae provide some good live coral food.

Whatever you do, don't bring home a sargeant major. They are a demon damsel on steroids and no shrimp will ever be safe in your tank. :)

[tgray]

Also please never release non-native animals or plants or anything that has been in tanks at home with non-natives.
Tim G

[Shark_Bait]

Turns out I will have to work this weekend till about 4:30 on saturday. Those that want a place to hang out for a few hours, and relax can give me a call and I will give directions to my place. I will fire up the BBQ for a little food (will cook for frags :skeezy ) 361-774-3692

[tweety]

What does a fishing license cost?

[SBreef]

Mrs.SB and myself will not be able to make it. Too many other things happening.

[GaryP]

OK folks here's what we are going to do. My wife and I are going down early on Sat. and will set up our camp near the base of the jetties. We'll probably have a bunch of the kites up in the air so we'll be easy to spot. We'll use our camp as a rendevous. We'll be there on Sat. & Sun. My wife is supposed to be making a MAAST flag that we will fly off of one of the kite lines if there is enough wind.

[GaryP]

What does a fishing license cost?

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/shop/licenses/

[tgray]

This is pretty cool. I didn't know you were allowed to do this. (You ARE allowed to do this, right?) I've thought about doing this myself, but wouldn't have a clue as to how to go about it! I was supposed to be at the coast this same weekend, but plans have changed. Is this something I could do on my own, or with the help of my kids? I'm relatively new to the MAAST site (I really should send my dues in), and am just starting up with a reef tank. Could someone give a short description of where to go, and how to find things to collect? And, how do you catch things? Do you use nets, or traps, or what?

You can use traps, dipnets, seines, cast nets or even small 'perch" hooks with the barb removed. Be carefull on the jetties because you can lose a trap if it gets hung up on the rocks and you can't get to it. And then the trap continues to trap and kill fish until it rusts away.
Tim G.

[TroyPham]

fishing license is 33 bucks with a saltwater stamp. make sure you get the annual one. the 1day and week license are just as expensive as the annual. anyone is welcome welcome to use my ghost shrimp pump. just give me a call...

361-779-7327

[Brett Wilson]

I won't be able to go to this. I have a funeral of a friend to go to :(

[shellback]

Well thats that cant go :( ,missing out on a bleeny had my heart set on it but my girl has to work and she would kill me if I went and she didn't. If someone comes up with an extra one please let me know, can possibly work some thing out if its small.

[ReefOne]

what time is everyone meeting up on saturday? I'll go out just to meet everyone and hang out. I was supposed to go to SA this weekend as a matter a fact but my babycakes has to work and i dont feel like going by myself.

[falcondob]

Okay you people who have done this before...this lame, un-initiated newbie has nary a clue as to how to go about collecting, identifying, and transporting cool stuff to put into my tank. Can some one please give detailed answers to the following questions and confirm the assertions below?

Are we doing this as a group? If so, s there a coordinator and how do we contact him/her?

A saltwater fishing license is the only required permit.

How do you identify unprotected/protected species?

What species are good reef tank candidates?

What tools are needed to catch them?
(hooks, nets(what kind), etc)

Where can you buy them?

What are the best places to get them (bay, estuaries, jetties, open Gulf)?

Does the time of day matter?

What is best way to get inhabitants back (bucket, cooler, plastics bags)?

Know water should be aerated, does it need to be heated or cooled?

Will collecting live sand from underwater add good or bad stuff to your tank/fuge? Or does it make no difference?

How about bringing saltwater back? Good, bad, no difference?

Any advice on issues I can think of or don't know to ask?

Thanks,
John

[GaryP]

This sucks wish I was back in SA sooner than November. I would definately be going! Thoughs little blennies are awesome.

Some of those little blennies don't stay so little. I have seen some native blennies that got to be 6-8".

Flacondob, just look for the kites near the jetties. That'll be us. We'll be easy to find. I might even let you fly my 9 ft. Kestrel.

[MikeyBoy]

I am already in Corpus, staying at the Omni in case anyone is coming in town.

Call me at 210-889-8019

Mike

[Polkster13]

Well, ya'll missed a good trip. I only saw GarpP and MikeyBoy out at the jetty on Saturday. Don't know if anyone showed up on Sunday. We were there briefly that morning before returning home. I did get to meet two other MAAST members as I made two drop offs while I was down there.

Anyway, had a great time and looking forward to doing it again in the near future.

[bigdscobra]

So what did you guys get any pics????

We were at the jetty on sunday picked some green algea and some snails dont know if they are safe though.

Gary what is safe from the jettys everything??

Saw lots of cool anenomes too.

[motohead]

which reminds me frederick,thanks for the rock and the service of bringing it down for me.it looks great in the tank.was nice to meet you and melinda,i am just sorry that i did not have more free time to go to the jettys.rock looks awesome,check it out.all of it is on the right hand side of the tank........

[hammondegge]

hey everyone, what did you find down there??

[GaryP]

Lots of macros, blennies, a wrasse, crabs, shrimp.

Polkster and tgray did most of the collecting.

[bigdscobra]

soo prity much everything is safe???

[GaryP]

There were a few crabs collected that I recommend go into a fuge until their habits were determined.

[scuba_steveo]

any peppermints for me?