By LOGAN HAWKES Fishing the waters of the Gulf and Laguna Madre around Port Isabel have been an important part of local history since two legged, upright creatures began populating the area a few thousand years ago - maybe longer. But perhaps long before that happened creatures of every imaginable size, shape and origin may have been native to these same waters before man was around to record it, and just perhaps the rise and fall of the various species (two-legged and otherwise) may have overlapped, possibly expalining past reports of strange creatures that today are nothing more than hearsay and myth. We don’t have to look very far in our past to find one such strange report of a “sea monster-type creature” spotted just offshore from Port Isabel - an incident that captured the headlines in one Valley newspaper and even prompted a special search and capture expedition to prove it. The year was 1938 and life on the lower Texas coast depended largely on the surrounding waters and their natural resources. Commercial and recreational fishing was even more vital to the local economy then that they are today. In the month of August that year several reports began filtering in about a strange sighting off the coast. The headlines in the Brownsville Herald suggested the creature was a sea monster, a 40-foot monolithic shape spotted by fishing boats and crews on shipping vessels. Apparently a large number of people had spotted the “creature” - far too many reports to ignore. As mentioned, recreational fishing was a big draw in a fledging 20th century Port Isabel. The popularity of sport fishing, indeed, was proving to be an economic benefit to the pre-war region. The Rio Grande Valley FIshing Rodeo - later to be known as the Texas International Fishing Tournament - had been around about five years when the sea monster report first appeared in the newspapers. It was long, naturally, before local fishermen began to pick up on the story and soon reasoned that catching such an unusual creature would be a ‘feather in their caps’ that would bring notiriety and fame and subsequent benefit to their guiding operations. But it wasn’t man, rather a woman, who set out to launch an intense investigation into the strange creature. Mrs. Charlotte Sewell, winner of the Valley fishing tournament’s women’s division championship in 1936 and again 1937, announced she was organizing an expedition to seek out the monster. A fishing vessel equipped with harpons and  500 feet of rope affixed to “tightly plugged barrels” was launched in search of the monster. But it wasn't just pro fishermen that held an interest in the sea monster sighting. On Aug. 16, 1938, the newspaper reported that a cabin cruiser named the Andrey left Port Isabel for the Gulf to join the search, Captained by skipper B.B. Burnell, who just happened to be the vice president of the Port Isabel Chamber of Commerce. Also on board was T.R. Hunt, Port Isabel Mayor and 1938's fishing rodeo president. Eight other local prominent citizens were onboard, including tournament founder Dr. J.A. Hockaday and nearly a dozen other Valley residents.   The hunt was on! By now the story had captured the heart of every professional fishing guide. It sttod to reason whoever caught the creature would become an overnight sensation. It seemed no one wanted to be left out of the hunt. So extensive was the search that the U.S. Coast Guard announded they would “keep a protective eye on the sea monster expedition when it sets out to capture the mysterious creature.” Capt. Pablo Valent, commander of Padre Island was quoted in the McAllen Herald as saying said, “We do not contemplate that the search will run into trouble, but it is in line of our duty that we be ready to profer aid should it be needed. Our boats will be within reach from the time the fish is sighted until he is lost or returned to port.” The search apparently lasted for days before enthusiam waned after no more sightings were reported. But despite failure to find the “sea monster,” Captain Burnell of the Andrey remained upbeat and confident. “We know he exists and we believe he again will put in his appearance here,” the chamber of commerce official said. “When he does we will be ready to go after him.” It wasn't long before interest faded. There were no new reports coming in and the expense of massing an organized search was greater than the results. The sea monster had either disappeared or heaeded off to distant waters. But gaugung by the large number of reported sightings, it's evident that something was spotted in the waters not far from Port Isabel. What it might have been remains a topic of discussion. Sally Crowe, identified in the Herald as a stenographer for the Rio Grande Valley Fishing Rodeo, suggested that perhaps the creature was a basking shark, creatures that could grow up to 40-feet in length. While rarely seen in the gulf, she speculated perhaps the monster was just such a creature. Others had said the giant 40-foot creature could have been a whale shark; a few locals scoffed and called the entire incident either a hoax or misidentification. Whatever the creature was and where it might have gone remain a mystery today. Further research indicates no further headlines were recorded in local newspapers and it may represent they only time there was written record of such a strange sighting. But next time you find yourself offshore and spot something that looks abnormally large and unexplained, remember that at least at one time in the not-too-distant past there may have been sea monsters in the waters of South Texas. And history, they say, has a strange way or repeating itself in spite of popular belief.