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!

Pray ...

     Hi, y’all … please don’t think I’m still Trippin’ but I would like to ask y’all to do me a favor, and pray.  Now I’m a Christian, but I personally would never push my religious beliefs on anyone.  I believe that everyone should have the right to believe or not believe in whatever they want.  I can remember as a boy, this one religious group would come ‘round knockin’ on doors in our neighborhood on Sunday afternoons … about the time that our family would get home from church.  My daddy had already changed into his robe, shorts and house-shoes and was camped-out in front of the TV set watchin’ football.  The doorbell rang, and I heard a bunch of folks congregated in the foyer at our front door.  As daddy answered the door, they started talkin’ … but daddy interrupted them, held-up his hand and said, “Hey, y’all … I really appreciate what you’re doin’ … but we just got home from church.  Now I believe what I believe, and you believe what you believe; but I believe y’all are interruptin’ my football game.”  then he promptly closed the door!  This is a true story.
 

     Now, some of y’all may be greatly offended by this and are fixin’ to hit your “Back” button or delete me from your “Favorites” … but I’m not tryin’ to get y’all into a religious debate.  The two topics that’ll fire-up a heated debate amongst most folks are Politics and Religion.  I take both very seriously … and this entry to my blog will touch on both.  If you don’t think that you can stomach this, please move on and God bless.  But what I am askin’ for is for some good-old fashioned prayin’ for what’s been goin’ down at Caddo Lake and the little town of Uncertain, Texas.  They are facin’ a problem of biblical proportions; and for lack of government funds, the future of Uncertain is, well … uncertain.  Short of a miracle, I don’t know what anyone can do to save ‘em.  But I am sure that your prayers will help!

     A plague has taken over most of Caddo Lake; giant salvinia.  If anyone doesn’t know what giant salvina is … I can best describe it as Hell on water!  Giant salvinia is an invasive plant from Brazil that can double in weight every 2½ days.  This aquatic floatin’ fern is chokin’ the life outta one of our national treasures.  Once the plant establishes itself in a body of water, it blocks the sunlight and deoxygenates the water … killin' all other plants, algae and most of the aquatic life.  That greatly affects the food-chain and environment, and the Texas side of Caddo Lake is almost completely covered!  Not only is it covered … but it’s piled-up so thick … you need an airboat or a go-devil to get through it.

     There are three things that can kill this plant: the first one is the herbicide fluridon, which can be sprayed topically … but any sudden influx of rain will dilute it and render the treatment ineffective.   Well, Hell (and speakin’ of) we’ve been under a severe drought for the last couple of years, so what’s the dang problem?  It seems that it all boils down to one thing … money.

     Again, due to the current state of our government (and/or the lack-thereof) or the misappropriation of our tax-payer’s dollars (not) at work … the sprayin’ of giant salvinia doesn’t seem to be on a lot of folks priority list!  So are we just goin’ to let Caddo Lake and Uncertain, Texas choke to death?  I tell you who I’d like to choke are some of them greedy-ass do-nothin’ and spend everything politicians who are smotherin’ this country!  Now, that might not be a very Christian thing to say … but I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em!  And I ain’t sayin’ that all of our elected officials are to blame, but who do we need to call to get these folks some help?  I read that the spray budget for 2012 was only $75,000.  Really?  I’ve seen that kinda money cruisin’ around most boat ramps … in the form of a pick-up truck pullin’ a bass-boat!  But if y’all have seen Caddo over the past couple of years, a measly $75,000.00 is pretty-dang insufficient, as far as fundin’ goes!

     The sad thing was that only $27,500 of that budget went towards the actual herbicide … the rest went for labor, maintenance, fuel and supervision.  Okay, I can understand that you cain’t get somethin’ for nothin’; the labor, fuel and maintenance I can understand.  But if only a third of the budget goes for the chemical, and it takes the other two-thirds to spread it, can our powers that be not see that they need more funds?  Am I missin’ somethin’?  Is someone insinuatin’ that us country-folk are remedial?  Hell, I’d bet the farm that Jed Clampett, Granny and Ellie-Mae could’ve figured-out that somethin’ ain’t quite ain’t right! They'd prob'ly make Jethro redo his dang “goesintas” when it came to askin' Mr. Drysdale for a more money to purchase them chemicals to clean the cement pond!

     From what I've witnessed around that lake and from what-all I’ve been readin’ in the Marshall News Messenger lately, them folks are fightin’ a losin’ battle.  Businesses are shuttin’-down or have been relocated, and the locals cain’t go nowhere by boat unless they live off of larger bodies of water such as Big Cypress.  The marinas had already been hurtin’ due to the drought, and the low water-levels combined with the overabundance of vegetation limits the launchin’ sites drastically.  I’m sure the fishin’ guides are feelin’ it, as well as the bed & breakfasts and lodgin’ surroundin’ the lake.  Combine that with an already crappy economy and things are lookin’ mighty bleak.  But, wait … have no fear … ‘cause weevils are near!  Weevils?  Yep, yep … that’s what I said … weevils!  Brilliant!  But read on, ‘cause it looks like things might be goin’ from bad to worse.  This ought to bug the sh¡t outta y’all (pun intended)!

     The second thing that can control this invasive weed is Cyrtobagous salviniae, a weevil!  Did I spell that correctly?  ‘Cause I dang-sure cain’t pronounce it … “Cyr-to bogus” … hmmm, sounds about right!  I hope the Hell I’m wrong … but somebody done decided that it’d be a good idea to put our tax-payer’s dollars into raisin’ friggin’ weevils!  Holy, sh¡t!  Let’s look at the logistics of this: weevils that you gotta spend money on to raise … then you gotta spend more money on to disburse.  Them weevils better do a whole buncha eatin’ and plenty of dang breedin’ to rid that lake of them weeds; hence the fraise, friggin’ weevils!  Brilliant?  I think not, ‘cause there’s one factor that will wipe-out this whole weevil idea …

     The third thing that will kill the giant salvinia is a freeze.  The main reason that the weed got so outta control is that Caddo Lake hasn’t had a hard freeze lately.  But guess what else won’t survive the freeze?  Weevils!  Brilliant!  And … as an added bonus … accordin’ to the Farmer’s Almanac, we’re s’posed to have a hard winter this year.  Oh, my God!  Now do you see why I was askin’ y’all to pray?  Have any of y’all ever read the book or seen the movie Catch 22?  Hmmm … I remember somethin’ about “ … a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule.”  Really?  Is any of this soundin’ familiar to y’all?  Yep, yep ... I’d say these folks need some serious prayers!

     I hope I’m severely wrong about them weevils, and all of that money and hard work from our elected officials and government employees pays off.  But from what I’ve read, most of the release sites had dried-up and them weevils done died!  That really bugs the sh¡t outta me (pun intended)!  Now I’m sure that my mini-man rant is just exacerbatin’ the situation … but just maybe it will help get the word out.  Caddo Lake is one of our national treasures, and if there is anything that I can do, I’d love to help!  I’d volunteer my time or help with some fundraisin’ if someone would just gimme a shout.  I made some calls after my spring trip to Caddo, but no one ever got back with me.  First I called Austin … and they referred me to the Caddo Lake Institute, who referred me to someone in the district who never returned my friggin’ call!  Sounds like a Catch 22 to me!  Maybe someone will read this and forward it to Don Henley, who has both the money and the influence to rock somebody’s friggin’ boat!  Until then, I’m goin’ to ask y’all to pray …

     I have witnessed the power of prayer and it works!  I have also witnessed the power of our government at work; and if the right people with the right intentions actually work, the job will get done.  So I pray that the right people read this, and can light a fire to get the appropriate fundin’ to get this problem under control.  When I make a call to our government … I don’t wanna get shuffled around; I wanna talk to someone who’s got some dang answers.  Ever heard of customer service?  If my boss asks me a question about my work and I couldn’t answer him, I’m sure he’d hire someone who could!  I pray that I never get that complacent with my position.  And I pray that the majority of everyone who reads this blog votes.  And if I’ve touched any nerves out there … I’ve done my dang job; and as for our government … I’ll keep on prayin’ that you’ll do yours.  In the meantime … “big brother” needs to realize that we’re watchin’ you, too!

     I pray that in time, my grandkids can see the kinds of things that I’ve seen out there in them woods and waterways around Caddo Lake.  I don’t want ‘em seein’ pictures about what the lake used to look like … I want ‘em to see and feel and smell and experience all that one of our national treasures has to offer.  And I’d like ‘em to meet the friends and acquaintances that I’ve made out there durin’ the past few years.  These are good, hard-workin’ genuine folks … and it’s sad to see their home and livelihoods get choked-out by some damn invasive!  God forbid, if that does happen … I pray that the wildlife can either adapt or move on.  So again, I’m askin’ y’all to do me a favor … and pray.  Pray for a freeze … or pray for our government to put a freeze on needless spendin’.  Pray that they’ll appropriate more funds to the Cypress Valley Navigation District and that it’s not too late to save Caddo Lake.  Thanks, take care and God bless!