Even though July 2022 will go down as the saddest month in my lifetime, it was also a month of hunting several creeks that are my happy place when I go visit, so this was therapy for me, and yes I still miss my mother!! I haven't written about all the other trips I've taken between July and October 2022. I will eventually get there once I find all the pictures. My old cell phone died with all the pictures I had of those trips between those months! Somewhere I posted a few on Facebook, so I will have to go there and find them as well as other places in cyberspace? What a bummer man!
One of those creeks is always productive and looked forward to going to it. Several years ago I purchased a telescoping fishing rod of hopes of using it while on my fossil excursions. I had been noticing "dark holes" all along the creeks we'd visited and said to myself, surely there must be fish in them? On this creek in the picture above... to the right the water hole had to be at least chest level. From where I was standing the water level was below my knees. This particular day would be the time I put to use the investment. When we got to the site I had been finding all sorts of shark teeth and other marine fossils. I decided to, take a break from what I was doing. Earlier while looking around the bend in the creek I noticed a dark hole to the right of me while standing in the middle of the waterway. I cast my spinner bait called a rooster tail which is my trusty artificial bait when fishing.
First cast I snagged a beautiful Pumpkin Seed Bream. The next cast, just as I was bringing in the spinner bait, a quarter pound sized bass hit it and was able to land it. Then another one the same size. I toss them and tried again. Another hit the bait a few feet from where I was standing, and it's slightly bigger than the first weighing in about a 1/2 pound! I caught another one shortly after I tossed that one and thinking to myself they are getting bigger and if I stand here and catch another one it will be bigger? The line I was using was around a 6 pound test, so I didn't want to take the chance of losing the $4 lure I had on the reel, so I cast it one more time for posterity's sake. Just as I brought in the bait, another bass hit the lure pretty hard and had to fight this one! Once I landed it, it had to weigh in at least a pound a half. Okay, that bigger bass was the sign to quit while I was ahead. I caught dinner, that is if we were camping on the creek. I went back to shark and marine fossil sifting calling it a day. I tell ya guys that 30-minute break was thrilling. I don't fish much but when I do find it thrilling as finding treasures on the creeks I visit!
I had a pretty good haul that afternoon. In the picture above consisting of Cretalamna, Squalicorax, Pyncnodont and Scapanorynchnus fossilized shark teeth.
In that haul I also found some interesting fossils that had to be identified by the experts. The picture to the left, top right corner is a partial mouthplate of a Plethodid fish and the bottom left is coral? In the picture on the right I was told by an expert that the fossil is a turtle vertebrate.
More interesting fossils to come out of that creek are Shark Coprolites (poop) and a large rostral tooth from a sawfish snout named Ischyrhiza mira. I always find micro versions of this tooth but not this size!
I forgot to add the teeth in the picture on the left, Enchodus fish fang, Pyncnodont teeth and a colorful Scapanorynchnus tooth. The other fossils around it are clam steinkerns and partial Baculite. If you turn the piece at certain angles you can see the ammolite featured in the piece. As for the second picture the broken base of a tooth appears to be that of a Hybont tooth? The other piece to the right is broken and worn Tylosaur tooth, had it been intact and whole would of measure at least two inches!?
Alabama weather had to spoil it. We hear thunder in the distance, and it even got closer. All of a sudden the bottom fell out, and it was pouring rain and got really dark on the horizon. Our time was up and needed to leave the area. For a bit, both my hunting buddy and I sat under the steel bridge hoping the rain would let up, but where there's thunder it's a sure bet there is lightening near! Under a steel bridge is the worst place to be. The rain did lighten up some for us to make it to the vehicle. We got soaked while getting our gear inside. Good thing we left when we did, it continued to pour rain for an hour or two, pretty hard. As we drive down the interstate the skies were intensely darkened as if tornados were in the area behind us. We stopped to eat Mexican when we got into Jefferson County. The food definitely hit the spot with good fellowship and stories about the great day we had and our finds!
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