EDITOR’S NOTE

Fish out of water

Jubilees are an amazing phenomenon. The fact that this upwelling of dazed sea creatures happens just two places in the world, and one of them is our very own Bay, makes it almost unbelievable. (The other, if you are wondering, is Tokyo Bay, Japan.) I’ve been lucky enough to witness more than a few and enjoy the bounty they provided.

A jubilee can be hard to predict, especially the smaller ones that might happen just along one stretch of shore. The big ones, however, have been known to affect almost the entirety of the Eastern Shore, from Daphne down to Mullet Point, and those are the ones people still talk about. A Mobile Press-Register article from August 4, 1993, reports what was “possibly the biggest jubilee ever seen in Point Clear,” as described by Lloyd Hall, security guard at The Grand Hotel. I remember that particular jubilee, as much for the overflowing coolers of fish as for the company we had that day. We were hosting an exchange student from Austria named Marc who was studying at NC State and had come to stay for a week of Alabama culture. The conditions had seemed favorable for a jubilee by bedtime the night before, so my dad set his alarm for some ungodly hour to check what was happening on the water. By 5 a.m., he had awoken the family and called some neighbors to let all know that it was on. Marc stumbled out of bed, confused and amazed at the spectacle, like all first-time witnesses. Those who have seen it before, however, just run for a bucket and a gig, not wasting a moment to gather the goodness that early settlers and native people thought must surely be a blessing from God.

In reality, it takes a number of very specific factors to induce a jubilee, including a late afternoon rain or cloud cover and an east wind, followed by a falling tide. It must be late summer, and only very early in the morning. The slightest wave action, like a boat going by, can churn enough oxygen into the water to end the excitement for all.

Before long, our Austrian friend was stalking the shoreline, gig in hand, with his black European socks pulled up high in his loafers. Fortunately, he had been fly fishing before and had even cleaned a fish or two, so he was a quick study when Dad showed him how to filet a flounder in preparation for that night’s fish fry. If he was looking for a dose of Deep South culture, man, he got it.

In the old days, I am not sure there were limits on how many fish you could gig or gather in your cast net, and most people filled their buckets. Once limits were set, I think most locals assumed rules don’t apply to jubilees. This was sent straight from God, right? Surely the Department of Conservation has nothing to say on a “manna from heaven” type event.

You rarely hear cries of “jubilee!” anymore, either. I suppose that tradition was lost with the onset of air conditioning. With windows open and folks reclined on sleeping porches, a good holler would have worked fine. Today, however, the windows are closed tight, and it takes a text message to rustle the troops. I hope this annual Coastal Issue can be your call to the water. The beauty (and bounty!) of the Bay is waiting.

Maggie Lacey

EXECUTIVE EDITOR maggie@pmtpublishing.com

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