Castin' ...

The chopper filmin' overhead with
Senior Field Producer Joe James for
a new episode of Finding Bigfoot ...

     Howdy, y'all ... just got back from a 550+ mile round-trip to Caddo Lake with friend and fellow NAWAC investigator Travis Lawrence.  While Travis and I went there primarily to bass fish ... I was also there to meet with Senior Field Producer Joe James from Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot and show him around the swamp.  James’ job was not only to scout the area, but to set-up and organize everything for both the film crew and cast prior to their week of filmin’ for an upcomin’ Caddo Lake episode.  On Friday, James had hired a chopper to film aerials of the lake and surrounding woods.  We saw ‘em flyin’ about while Travis and I were spendin’ the majority of our time on the water dodgin' inclement weather and doin’ lots of castin' ...

     As Travis and I were fishin', we noticed a large group of pelicans feedin' on somethin'; well, if those birds had corralled the bait, I was sure that there were predator fish such as bass feedin' on 'em as well.  We cast around that general area for a while, but didn't have the luck that those pelicans were havin'! And speakin’ of castin', I had originally been contacted by another associate producer Nick Crow a few months prior, who had asked that my son and I appear on camera to tell of our account of exactly what we had witnessed in Smith’s Slough back in June of 2009.  I just don't think I fit the bill for "town hall" material; however, some of my fishin' & huntin' buddies may say otherwise!  While TC and I opted not to be filmed, I told them that I would be happy to show them around the lake and take them back into the area of Our Encounter .  Travis and I picked-up Joe at Johnson’s Ranch Friday afternoon.  We quickly headed to my buddy’s place in Cypress Village to unload our fishin’ gear and top-off the fuel in my boat for the ride in.  The weather was cold, overcast & drizzly … so I knew right off the bat that our trip would not be a comfortable one.

Well, this group of feedin' pelicans didn't seem to mind the chopper filmin' overheads for Finding Bigfoot, nor did they seem
to mind Travis and I tryin' to "potlick" on their fishin' spot!  Needless to say, they spanked us with their expert fishin' skills ...

     Joe James is a really cool guy, and he seemed to be in awe of our lengthy jaunt through the swamp.  After blastin’ down Big Cypress, I made the cut towards Carter Lake between Hell’s Half Acre and Horse Island.  The water was about 1½’ to 2’ low, so I kept us at a slower speed as we bumped stumps and submerged logs a few times.  After showin’ ‘em where we actually saw this animal, they both decided that they wanted to go onto the island and scout around.  I poled my 1,300 lb. + boat through the slough, but due to the shallow depth, we were still about 8’ shy of dry land.  I climbed into the almost boot-level water, and even though I was careful … ended-up gettin’ wet from the knees down!  I scavenged a few logs & branches to build a makeshift bridge from the bow of the boat to the shore so Travis & Joe wouldn’t endure the same cold, wet fate I had …

     Once on dry land, I took them to the place where TC and I camped back in March of 2010, and showed them where I had set two of my five game-cams until I was forced to remove them in September of 2013.  I also demonstrated that the flooded forest was actually traversable without sinkin’ up to one’s knees, as one would certainly do if they were to walk into the water of that slough.  I’m 220 lbs. and left no tracks, even though the animal that we had witnessed was obviously much bigger and heavier, though it seemed to have moved through the flooded timber with ease.  Travis found a 3’ length of wet 2” x 12” … and used it to smack the side of a large bald Cypress to produce a wood knock.  After a few moments of silence with no response, we moved on.

Travis with his first chain pickerel!

     After polin’ the boat back into a channel, I took them past Carter Lake and onto Big Cypress as it started to get dark.  As cold as it was, surprisingly the bats were out and danced through the beam of my GoLight as we motored into the darkness.  I picked a spot in Stumpy Slough to shut-down the boat, turn off the lights and drift while listenin’ to the barred-owls and discussin’ each other’s time in the grime in pursuit of these mystery animals.  Joe was obviously not inexperienced when it came to bein’ out in the field, and as far as I was concerned he had a dream-job … especially if you were at-all interested in searchin’ for apes all over the place!  As the weather turned south, it was decided that we get our new friend back to civilization.  He had to meet someone in Shreveport, and would endure a busy schedule of preppin’ for the upcomin’ week.  Travis and I enjoyed Joe’s company; hopefully, the three of us will all cross paths some time again …

     Travis and I fished most of the day Saturday, but did not hook-up with any of the double-digit bucket-mouths that I’d bragged about lurkin’ around the secluded Cypress of Caddo.  Even though we dodged & sat-out a couple of thunderstorms, we didn’t get skunked.  However, the few bass caught were small and the rest were lip-locked due to the bitter-cold weather.  Travis caught his first chain pickerel … which was the highlight of his trip as far as the fishin’ went.  One big highlight of the trip for me was gettin’ photos of some Canvasbacks … a hen and two drakes that Travis saw lite in a sea of giant salvinia.  Livin’ on the Gulf coast, these were the first Canvasbacks I’d seen in over 25 years, since my Mississippi flyway duck-huntin’ days with my father-in-law in northeastern Arkansas.

Travis watched as three Canvasbacks landed in a sea of giant salvinia.  I was amazed that I was able to get this shot ...

     Fishin’ ‘til dark, I decided to go ahead and trailer the boat on Saturday evenin’.  Once again, I ended-up wet from the knees down at the boat ramp!  Thank God we took it out, because another front came through that night and we both would’ve been much colder & wetter dealin’ with it on Sunday mornin’.  We packed-up our belongin’s … visited with our host and hit the road by 10:30 A.M. for lunch with my daughter & her boyfriend in "Naconowhere".  I got Travis back to his place and was finally home, un-hitched & unloaded by 6:00 P.M.  Incidentally, the temperature was a balmy 72° until the front came through about 9:00 P.M. at our place.  Caddo was hit with “iceswampocalypse” today, with snow, freezin’ rain and temps in the low 20’s.  My friend in Uncertain said that the roads are a mess, and everyone is hunkered-down.  Hopefully, the freeze will knock down some of that damn giant salvinia!

     As far as castin’ goes, I wish Joe James the best in his endeavors for findin’ credible witnesses for the show.  They’ll start filmin’ later this week, and I don’t envy anyone who’s doin’ any sloughstalkin’ out there in this mess!  Who knows, maybe the apes will be active and they might actually find somethin’; best of luck, y’all!  The next time I’ll be able to do any castin’ out there, I’ll hopefully fare better than we did this trip.  But I’m sure we’ll want to hit the swamp sometime soon, hopefully after everything is green & thick, and the swamp is alive with activity.  Until then, y’all stay warm and be safe runnin’ ‘round out there in them woods!