Believe!

Spendin’ …

Livin' large yakkin' the Ozarks last September ...

     Howdy y’all!  It sure was a busy year for me, and an expensive one at that!  I just got finished tallyin’-up all the road-trips I went on and realized how much I’d been spendin’!  Good Lord, for just the cost of my fuel alone, I was really thankful that gas prices were down.  I’ve been to Caddo Lake & back … twice … pullin’ a boat for a total of 1,100 miles; to the Ouachita Mountains and back … twice … for a total of 1,700 miles; and then went to the Ozarks and back for another 1,500 miles; and finally, to the Bowman Lodge for the NAWAC’s Annual Retreat for another 975 mile round-trip.  That comes to a total of 5,275 miles since May, which means spendin’ a minimum of 90 hours of time just drivin’ my truck.  Now, if I averaged about 15 miles per gallon, it means I must’ve been spent about $900 in fuel on just these 5 road-trips alone; and, that don’t even include all the extra crap I bought runnin’ in and outta gas stations!

     For example, here in Texas we got these huge super-stations named Buc-ee’s.  If you’ve ever passed one you’d definitely know, ‘cause everybody goes and their parkin’ lot is always full.  Goin’ in and outta one of these places is kinda like wanderin’ around a friggin’ “Y’all-Mart”.  Hell, all you need is a beverage or a bag of ice; but then, maybe a snack … or maybe some new road music, or, hmmm … maybe I’ll even get me one of them-there Yeti cups everyone’s been braggin’ about.  Before you know it, you end-up spendin’ almost $90.00, and that didn’t even include any friggin’ gas!  How in the Hell did that happen?  I don’t know, but I’d bought $75.00 worth of crap at that exact same Buc-ee’s the trip before!  I seem to remember that included more Texas road music CD’s and some t-shirts for my kids.  And then, there’s the Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets … OH, MY GOD!  My inner fat-kid is kept at bay unless it comes to Beaver Nuggets.  And if I really wanna binge, I’ll mix ‘em with a bag of Crunchy Cheetos.  Hey, don’t knock-it ‘til you try it, ‘cause it’s damn-near as good as a Lone Star Beer poured over a couple of scoops of Vanilla Blue Bell Ice Cream in a tall frosty mug!  The downfall of mixin’ Beaver Nuggets & Crunchy Cheetos (besides all the friggin’ calories) is gettin’ a mess of sticky nugget-shards and artificial cheese-dust on the black upholstery of my truck!  About the time that my sugar-high counter-balances the carb-crash is about the time I start to wonder, “Hmmm … I thought I’d just vacuumed them dang seats?”

     And then there’s road food.  I usually try to stick with somethin’ simple that I can eat while drivin’, such as a Whataburger with cheese & jalapenos.  This always seems to end-up drippin’ mustard down the front of my shirt or, of course, on my dang seats!  On this last trip to Oklahoma, I stopped at this place called Bigfoot’s Barbeque.  It was this ‘lil shack on the side of the road which had at least three big-rigs parked out front … so I figured the food just had to be good.  I walk in, and there’s this 7’ Chewbacca-lookin’ “Bigfoot” prop standin’ just past the entrance, and the TV was blarin’ on H2 with Giorgio Tsoukalos spoutin’-off about everything bein’ friggin’ “alien”.  So me bein’ the other weird Greek with effed-up hair, I sorta felt right at home … sat-right down and ordered me a full-rack of pork ribs with an ice-cold beer!  Actually, I wasn’t disappointed; that is … until I went to the men’s room to try and wash my hands.  The sink had tape across it, with a crude hand-written sign on the mirror that said, “Please use the sink in the Ladies Room” … and yes, I knocked first.  To my disappointment though, that sink looked backed-up as well.  As I paid, I reported this to the woman at the register, who quite frankly replied, “Yeah, I just saw that; but it kinda looked to me like someone had just gotten sick.”  I sh¡t you not, I won’t be goin’ back to that friggin’ place, no matter how good them dang ribs were!

Loggin' miles after my White River trip!

     Seriously, I estimated spendin’ at least another $100 per round-trip on food & drink while travelin’ … but that ain’t countin’ all the stuff you have to buy to eat while yer actually at yer destination!  I try to pre-cook the majority of all my meals a few days before and then freeze ‘em.  Blasphemy, you say?  Yeah, I like to grill-out myself, but there’s a big difference between grillin’ while chillin’ at Caddo Lake than there is while tryin’ to hunt in Area X.  Out there, your need to sustain is usually immediate, and then it’s back to business; I’d rather heat & eat than spend valuable time preppin’ & cookin’.  On top of that, it’s kinda hard to observe or watch yer dang back if you have to concentrate on cookin’.  I guesstimate I spent just under $150 on food for each week that I had spent in Area X … includin’ all the ice, water, coffee and Gatorade.  But then, there are your essentials, such as propane, batteries and back-up batteries for fans, flash-lights, etc., bug repellent, toiletries & hygiene products, specialty ammunition, clothes & gear.  If I added it all up here, I might as well start diggin’ a friggin’ hole, ‘cause my beautiful bride reads this blog as well, even though she won’t admit it …

     In retrospect, it’s been an expensive year for me so far … so I may wanna watch my spendin’.  That is, unless it’s spendin’ more quality time with my wife, our family or friends as opposed to spendin’ any more of our hard-earned money road-trippin’.  It is pretty-dang expensive doin’ all the things I do … and my beautiful bride has told me on numerous occasions that I am an expensive habit!  I really do love that woman, but the final nail in my coffin will most probably be the new Cabela’s that’s been built less than 5 miles from our place.  I just cain’t imagine what-all sorts of new stuff I might possibly find in there; however, I am sure of one thing … and that is that any future visits there will most definitely be supervised.  Come to think about it, I’d simply be better off usin’ all the friggin’ gear I’ve already got  … and concentratin’ on spendin’ more time on some local waters or somewhere out there in them closer woods.  Hmmm … both The Sam Houston National Forest as well as The Big Thicket are not that far of a drive, and both are rumored to possibly harbor wood apes.  Truth.  Right?  As a matter of fact, David "Big Sexy" Riojas and I are fixin' to head out shortly.  No tellin' what-all has been flushed outta them bottoms with all this dang rain.  Hopefully, I'll be able to report back shortly; but 'til then, y'all have a Happy New Year!  Be safe, take care … and y’all come back now, ya hear?

Happy Holidays, y'all!

Uncertainties ...

Parked in paradise, the Sloughstalker
was loaded-down & ready to launch!

     Howdy, y'all!  My beautiful bride & I just got back from another week on Caddo Lake with two other couples ... which has now officially become an annual event.  In Texas this time of year, folks will face quite a few uncertainties as far as the weather is concerned; and, we damn-sure got a taste of it once we arrived in Uncertain.  Sunday evenin' thru Tuesday it rained straight-line friggin' Chihuahuas, which pretty-much-well put a damper on our outdoor activities.  With the arrival of the last cold-front, we had opened the cabin windows and enjoyed the sound of rain for the next day or so.  Yes, if a tree falls in the woods you can definitely friggin' hear it; but, all you can do is just pucker & pray it don't land on you!  At the point of gettin' hammered with 60+ mph winds, we dodged the bullet as far as any tree damage was concerned.  We had plenty of food & adult beverages to keep us occupied 'til the rain slacked.  Our friends from Arkansas brought their new lab puppy, which kept us all entertained along with the assortment of "Bigfoot" related DVD's I snuck-in to the dissatisfaction of my wife.  Other than that it was good company and good times!

     I had planned on doin' some hog huntin' with my new Henry .45-70 one mornin' ... but the game warden put a damper on that.  It seems that even if you have a valid huntin' license as well as a public land permit, you still cain't hunt hogs in the Caddo Wildlife Management Area during turkey season.  Really?  I always thought that you could hunt feral hogs most anywhere in Texas 24-7, 365 with a valid huntin' license ... but obviously this is one of them uncertainties life throws at you!  Our host and longtime huntin' guide Billy Carter thought I was funnin' him when I asked that question.  He immediately called three different game wardens (who at that time did not answer their phones) and proceeded to tell me that he personally had not seen any wild turkeys in that WMA in over 20 years!  When the Caddo WMA's state wildlife biologist finally called him back, she confirmed that yes, this law was on the books.  Really?  Good Lord, wake-up sheeples ... this is our tax dollars at work! You'll never catch me protestin' our law enforcement officers for doin' their jobs, but I'll damn-sure pay more attention in the future to keep bullsh¡t laws like this from ever gettin' on the friggin' books.  I pay good money for my super-combo huntin' & fishin' license, as well as the extra for my public land permit.  I damn-sure ought to be able to use 'em ... especially to eradicate feral hogs!  To add insult to injury, baitin' hogs in the WMA is not allowed either.  Really?  Thank God I had access to plenty of ice-cold Lone Star Beer to calm my sudden onset of mini-man madness!

     Well, once the rain stopped, I felt the need to put the Sloughstalker through its paces and see where the fish were bitin'.  The water on Caddo was at least 2½' higher than it was when friend and fellow NAWAC investigator Travis Lawrence and I last fished it in late February.  Matter of fact, if you wanted to seriously catch bass ... you had better have gotten as far-up into them woods as you could possibly cast.  Bein' that the Sloughstalker weighs about 1,300 lbs. I really didn't feel the need to get stuck in the flooded forest, so we just got creative with our casts.  My buddy G-Man took that to a whole 'nother level, as I had to retrieve his lures from limbs on several occasions.  What hurt the most was that our buddy Tysquatch, who was fishin' the Spatterdock with an Iron Man kiddie pole had caught several slab crappie and some really nice bream.  And yes, alcohol was involved.  I'd honestly hafta say that more fish were caught off the Carter's dock than outta my boat on this trip.  But that didn't stop us from goin' sloughstalkin' ...

The calm after the storm out on Big Cypress ... rarely would I ever lay a
$150 rod & reel down like this; but, that day, I had a damn good reason!

     On Wednesday, I took G-Man out to fish on Big Cypress.  We were on the WMA shoreline directly across from Blair's Landing, where I had placed two of my game-cams a couple of years before.  We were trollin' a good 20-yards from the shoreline in a swift current.  I was castin' into thick cover along the shoreline when I caught movement about 20-yards into the woods.  A huge black shape rose from the forest floor and casually but silently walked away from us.  At first, I had thought that it was a black bear until I saw the hide; all I could see was its back, but this massive feral hog was pushin' the 400 lb. range!  It was solid black except for the tips of its hair, which had a reddish-brown tint.  I had a fishin' rod in my hand in which I immediately put down and grabbed my holstered Springfield XDm .40 cal. from under the console.  As the Veridian Green laser found its mark, the hog vanished behind a huge tree-fall before I could squeeze the trigger.  This all happened in a matter of seconds.  G-Man, lookin' through his binoculars asked me if this land was part of the WMA, in which I reluctantly answered yes.  I had observed, identified and reacted ... but thank God I was obviously not fast enough.  I may be a bit rowdy, but I ain't no outlaw; nor did I want to shuck-out the bucks for a needless fine.  Had I actually have been wearin' my sidearm, it may have been a different story; however, even though open-carry had just been passed, it was not put into play yet.  All things happen for a reason, I guess.

Headin' into Back Lake on our last afternoon for a 'lil sightseein' ...

     And speakin' of uncertainties, while the women went horseback ridin' I took G-Man and Tysquatch out to the area of our encounter to do a little scoutin' from the boat.  Since the water was up, I decided to take them to the backside of Horse Island and see how close we could get to Back Lake.  On our previous year's trip, the water was much too low and I could not get the Sloughstalker back there.  I hear-tell that our host had taken some folks from Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot out there a couple of months back, and I heard that their trip was not a pleasant one.  No spoiler alerts here; you'll either have to wait 'til the Caddo Lake episode airs this fall; or, if you happen to run into Matt Moneymaker anytime soon you could always just ask him.  It may be a sore subject, so be prepared ... 'cause I really don't think he was.  I done told y'all ... Texas winters ain't kind, especially in the friggin' swamp.  Been there, done that ... so, no hard feelin's Matt.  I don't know ya and I don't owe ya, but I'm gettin' a 'lil too old to be out sloughstalkin' in the brutal, wet-cold.  I seriously don't think anyone could've packed enough Baileys' & coffee for me to have sat through that ... so more power to ya!

Yuki's slumber ...

     We had all knocked-back quite a few beers that afternoon, so short of turnin' our swampscapade into a booze-cruise we headed back to Spatterdock for some grub.  After toppin'-off the oil and a quick re-fuel, we grabbed our fishin' gear and blasted-out to Turtle Shell for one more try at fishin'.  The water was glass, and the lily-pads were just startin' to breach.  We spooked some fish trollin' ... but they seemed to still be lip-locked from the cold-front.  The biggest bass I caught was only 2½ to 3 lbs., but accordin' to our host we had done better than most.  With the long, hard winter and now the over-abundance of spring rains, even the guides were havin' a hard time findin' the fish.  We ended our trip by catchin' more pan-fish that night on Spatterdock, and closed with a roarin' campfire back at The Gallery.  By that time, everyone was pretty-much-well tuckered-out and turned-in just after midnight.  As usual, our mornin' of departure was spent packin' and thinkin' of the uncertainties we faced for our trips home.  We said our good-bye's and departed.  The next time I hope to see my friends will be in September, for another trout trip in the Ozarks on the White River.  Uncertainties ... but if God's willin' and we all stay healthy & safe, that will be yet another adventure.  Y'all come back now, ya hear?

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!

Missin' ...

     Howdy!  I know it’s been awhile, y’all ... but no, I ain’t missin’!  I’ve just been busier than a cat tryin’ to cover-it-up on concrete gettin’ ready for some upcomin’ excursions.  Due to this cold, wet winter weather … I’ve been gettin' a bit stir-crazy and need to get back out into them woods before I start havin’ a friggin’ come-undone!  After all that Preppin' ... I’ve finally finished the boat repairs and have culled my fishin’ & sloughstalkin’ gear for an upcomin’ trip to Caddo Lake.  A friend and I will not only be doin’ some bass fishin’, but we’ll be revisitin’ the area of Our Encounter with one of Animal Planet’s associate producers from the show, Finding Bigfoot.  Yeah, really.  Now, before anyone starts labelin’ me a friggin’ hypocrite, just gimme a chance to explain …

Late winter on Caddo Lake; the bass still bite, but nothin' gets green 'til at least April ...

     Back in early December, I’d received an e-mail from someone statin’ that he is an associate producer from Animal Planet, and is lookin’ for eyewitnesses for an upcomin’ Finding Bigfoot episode to be filmed at Caddo Lake.  At first, I thought someone was just funnin’ me; after all, I had just posted my rant “Exploitin’ …” a couple of weeks prior!  I thought to myself, hmmm … why in the Hell would someone want me of all people to be on their dang TV show?  I responded to him out of both curiosity and courtesy, and politely let them know that I was definitely not “town hall material” … nor did I want my 15-minutes, if y’all know what I mean.  After speakin’ with this person on the phone, he stated that they were lookin’ for legitimate witnesses to this animal in the Caddo Lake area.  Well, we fit the bill … but, did we really wanna be a part of what I had previously dubbed “surreality” TV?

     My son and I are both in a bit of a quandary about that.  After all, we get enough ridicule from family, friends & co-workers about havin’ witnessed this animal; so, why add fuel to the fire by bein’ on a program that’s lookin’ for an animal that’s not yet been proven to even exist?  Hell, we know what we saw … as in, close enough to know that it was a real animal.  The problem is, I’d much rather make a mark spendin’ time in the grime gettin’ some definitive proof, rather than havin’ folks tell us that they saw us on some dang TV program!  I have a few friends & associates who have appeared on different television programs, documentaries, radio shows and podcasts concernin’ this subject; however, I for one don’t feel the need to join in the fray …

A wall of Cypress on the glassy shore of Mossy Break ...

     While my son and I won’t be participatin’ in any of the actual filmin’ … I have agreed to take an associate producer out to the area where we saw this animal.  Of course, I told them that they picked the worst friggin’ time to film on Caddo, and that they really needed to be out there when everything was green, thick, alive & thrivin’!  The associate producer that I initially spoke with was very cordial, professional and understood our reluctance to appear on camera.  He then explained to me that unfortunately, they have no control as far as schedulin’ was concerned.  Even though this particular program is not really among my personal favorites, I ain’t the type of feller to be inhospitable; and, I offered to help them in their endeavors.  By the way ... that’s called southern hospitality!

     I ended-up sendin' the Animal Planet crew our photos and some audio files from the night that we’d spent out there one cold Spring Break, back in 2010.  I’ll be takin’ my friend and this other associate producer (who I have not yet spoken with or met) out to do some sloughstalkin’.  Durin’ the day I’ll give 'em the “nickel lake tour” and we'll hopefully spend some time in the grime!  At night we’ll run through Smith’s Slough between Horse Island and Hell’s Half Acre to see what-all we can scare-up.  Keep in mind, I ain’t part of the whoop or tree-knockin’ crowd.  This agenda, of course will all be weather permittin’ … ‘cause late February is not always kind (weather-wise, that is) in northeast Texas!  I’d hate to get them boys out there and get stuck in an approachin’ cold front, high-winds or a severe thunderstorm and come-up friggin’ missin’ …

     And, speakin’ of which, I’m really beginnin’ to miss my dang heat & skeeters right about now; this cold & wet has gotta get, no matter what that friggin’ groundhog sees!  Hmmm, wonder if one of them critters would make a good gumbo?  Anywho, I’ll be sure and give y’all an update after our trip, get lotsa pics and maybe even a double-digit bass or two.  Until then, y’all take care and c’mon back now, you hear?

Slough-scapin’ …

     Howdy do!  After havin' our encounter, one of the things that I began to do while bein’ out there in them woods was to photographically document our trips to Caddo Lake.  I am not by any means a professional photographer; as a matter of fact, I damn-near failed my photography classes when I was in art school!  But over the past several years I made a point to stop occasionally, no matter what I was doin’ durin’ my sloughstalkin' to record what-all I was seein’.  I have been truly blessed to witness my share of beautiful sunrises & sunsets while doin’ my time in the grime!  These pics are some of my favorites, are very candid and as best as I can describe, shots I’d simply categorize as slough-scapin’.  The beauty of the swamp has both captivated and mesmerized me since I was a child.  Doin' my time in the grime does have its perks, so I hope y’all will enjoy these!

One peacefully calm mornin' overlookin' Goose Prairie in early spring; a bit too early for topwaters ...

Dawn patrol; early one brisk spring mornin' in 2014 headin' towards Jackson Arm and the Caddo WMA.

Beyond this mirrored cove I would pole for hours through the Cypress knees and into the flooded forest ...

Another mirrored mornin' on Caddo ... headed towards "Old Folks Playground" and the Louisiana line.

Mossy Break lookin' toward Jackson Arm in late March; I used this pic when I created my blog's masthead.

Rustlin' ...

Boo! A doe gets busted ...

     Happy Halloween, y’all!  Not everything that goes bump in the night is scary ... even in the deepest, darkest woods.  Now, I ain't one of them "Bigfoot" researchers that are goin’ to claim that every friggin' shape & shadow caught on my cams could possibly be a wood ape.  Nope!  As a matter of fact, since my son and I had Our Encounter … we’ve come up zero as far as findin’ any definitive evidence of the animal that we saw waltzin' away from us back in Smith’s Slough.  The followin’ images are cropped from several trail-cam photos that our cameras caught at night out in the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area.  And out of the thousands of images & videos I’ve reviewed on our SD cards, these are just a few that might explain what makes some of that rustlin’ folks tend to hear out there in them woods at night.

 

     From coons to coyotes, I've caught all kinds of critters on film that have triggered my trail-cams.  Since it's Halloween, I'll quote Bela Lugosi from Universal Studio's 1931 classic film, Dracula; "Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make."  While the character Count Dracula was referrin' to wolves, this reminds me of similar sounds I hear at night on a regular basis.  Most folks who camp, hunt or live in rural (or now, even urban) areas are used to hearin' coyotes.  I've actually even had them come right into our camp site on occasion.  Though they yip, howl and growl they are actually pretty stealthy while movin' through the leaf-litter at night.  Foxes make some pretty eerie sounds at night as well; but like the coyote, they creep around undetected.  Other critters aren't so quiet ... such as hogs or armadillos.  The mink in the montage below obviously wasn't bein' quiet, as it seemed to be attackin' another critter!

 

A coon, a coyote, a mink, an armadillo and a buck in velvet in caught on trail-cams in the Caddo WMA ...

 

     I've read on some sites where researchers were abso-friggin'-lutely fascinated with eye-shine.  I've spent a bunch of time out there in them woods at night; and in my experience, the only eye-shine I've seen was caused by a light-source illuminatin' an animals eyes.  I'm pretty sure that if I ever came across a critter who's eyes glowed without me shinin' a light on it ... I might just squirt a friggin' grape!  Here is a great example of eye-shine that was caught by one of my game-cams through time-lapse on several frames, from dark 'til light.  This buck was bedded-down in thick foliage, while you can see the antlers of another buck in the daylight shot, which was right in front of my 5th trail-cam "Mini-Thing".  By the way, this model of Moultrie trail-cam was supposed to be infra-red.

 

 

     As cooler weather approaches, I'll hopefully be doin' a bunch more campin' and huntin' out there in them woods.  I'm sure that I'll hear some pretty peculiar things while I'm out there on a few of them brisk, fall nights.  But, unless I hear an animal doin' somethin' a little more substantial than just rustlin' ... I'll be sure to keep the safety on.  Y'all be safe out there, and have a Happy Halloween!

UPDATE: BLINDSIDED!

    While catchin’-up from my week in the Ozarks, I read another article by Conor Harrison in the Lone Star Outdoor News which stated that the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department will be extendin’ the use of permanent duck blinds through the 2015-2016 waterfowl season in the Caddo Lake WMA.  Really?  Hmmm, well … no one should stare a gift-horse in the mouth, but it seems to me that this is just a public relations attempt by TPWD’s upper echelon to try and save face.  Sorry y’all, but this issue ain’t goin’ away that easily!  Please don’t insult our intelligence by thinkin’ that folks will forget about this over the next year-and-a-half.  All parties involved should understand that this is a very unique situation.  But at the same time, please continue to appreciate what-all our taxpayer’s dollars help TPWD do for our WMA.  Quite a few of the locals impacted from your mandate have had duck blinds out there three-times longer than your Department’s inception in 1963.  Yeah, I’d say some feathers have been ruffled!  Do y’all not realize that these are the folks who are the true life-blood of Caddo Lake?  The rest of us, includin’ TPWD and myself are just the curators and tourists.  So in this particular situation … I think the locals deserve a much better resolution than an extension on their friggin' eviction notice!  I truly hope and pray that we can all play nice and come up with a solution that’s at least somewhat agreeable to the parties involved.  More to come …

Thanks!

     Howdy ... I just wanted to tell all of my readers thanks!  I started this blog one year ago, and what a long, strange trip it's been.  I've met a lotta cool folks and done a buncha new things over the last year.  And even though I haven't found any definitive evidence of the animal that my son and I had encountered waltzin' through an East Texas swamp ... I've had a friggin' blast out there lookin'!

This was entering Carter Lake from Big Cypress back in June of 2010 ... what a long, strange trip it's been!

     Thanks to y'all, I now have a fairly moderate, steady readership ... and a very sane one at that; no lunatic fringe and no haters.  I've purposely stayed away from junkin'-up this site by addin' ads or sellin' stuff.  Fact is, I really don't wanna be known as a dang click-whore!  This blog, otherwise known as the outlet for "the noise in my head" actually comes from the heart.  The benefit I get from doin' this is not a monetary one.  The relationships that I've built with folks over the last year cannot be bought or sold.  Period.




My only significant find in the five years since our encounter on Horse
Island; only somethin' with hands could've bent & twisted this saplin',
which was slightly larger than I could get my hand around.  This odd
limbtwist was found on a game trail off of Smith's Slough while I was
out servicin' my game cams on that fateful day that I got friggin' lost.
It was very fresh, and even though I'm not claimin' it was the work of
a wood ape, it was significant enough to catch my eye. Primates have
been known to mark trails in this manner, but after scoutin' around, I
did not find any tracks or any other limbtwists within' 100 yards.  As a
matter of fact, I've never found any tracks out there, other than deer,
hogs, coyotes, etc.  My son found and filmed a bear track the day that
we set-up camp to sleep out there.  Gettin' back to the limb, I noticed
that there were no scrapes or rubs around this saplin' ... which might
have concluded that it was the work of a deer.  Otherwise, I got zip ...

     No regrets; but, as previously stated, when I started this blog ... I had promised myself that I would only report the facts as far as my sloughstalkin' goes, and stay out of the world of "Bigfootery".  Well ... that didn't friggin' happen!  My mini-man madness kicks-in every once in a while, and I've pecked-out a good rant or two.  It's hard not to poke fun as long as you understand that folks are laughin' at you, too!  Even though I try to keep things humorous, I've maintained the promise to myself to keep it real.  I research an undocumented animal; but, am I unbalanced?  Hmmm, maybe.  Them stacks of BassPro or Cabela's catalogs that some folks claim that I hafta sit on just to see over the steerin' wheel of my truck might shift every once and a while, so deal with it.  I do ...

     Those of you who have been featured in this blog have never called me out, 'cause y'all know that I calls 'em like I sees 'em; no drama and no bullsh¡t.  And if sh¡t can happen, it has for this hapless knuckle-head!  Storms, mechanical failures and gettin' lost just come with the territory.  And there's some of y'all who are prob'ly very friggin' thankful that I've skipped some of those details of our antics out in the field.  Sometimes, what happens out there in them woods don't necessarily stay in the woods, 'cause some situations are just life-lessons learnt. Your comments are always welcomed, but please continue to keep the subject matter "PG-13".  No friggin' F-bombs.  Period.  If you feel the need to use expletives, be creative and maybe more of y'all's comments might just get published (i.e., Alt + 0161 goes a long way when typin' "sh¡t" ... ;)

     Thanks again, never give up and keep on grindin'!  The truth is out there, and hopefully sometime soon one of these mystery animals will finally be properly scientifically documented.  Yeah, that was a shout-out ... so, go team!  Whether you are an amateur field researcher, a naturalist, a conservationist, a field biologist or a "Bigfootologist" ... y'all keep on doin' what you do.  Your time in the grime is greatly appreciated!  Hopefully, we'll all learn a thing or two real soon.  Carry on, be safe, God bless and Godspeed ...

BLINDSIDED!

     Howdy, damnit!  And no, that ain’t an Aggie shout-out; I’m p¡ssed, and y’all will be as well after readin’ this-here entry!  Seems there’s a bit of a range war goin’ on 'round Uncertain, Texas; namely, in the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area.  Any of y’all duck hunt?  I do.  And ever since doin’ the camo wrap on my boat last spring, I’ve been chompin’ at the bit waitin’ for duck season.  But back in late August, I read an article by Conor Harrison in the LoneStar Outdoor News that sent a chill down my spine.  Today, Daylina Miller reported in the The Marshall NewsMessenger a follow-up to the dilemma.  It seems that the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has decided that no one should have a duck blind in the Caddo Lake WMA!

 

     Really?  The locals basically got blindsided!  Here are several generations of responsible, license-holdin’ duck hunters who have had blinds on Caddo Lake for almost two centuries, and the friggin' rug done got pulled-out from under ‘em!  Now, in TPWD’s defense, their wildlife biologist cataloged 130 some-odd blinds in the WMA, 45 of which were dilapidated.  TPWD’s argument is that these blinds have created a navigational hazard.  Hey, I’m cool with that; get rid of ‘em.  But why take away the other blinds that are maintained?  Those folks shouldn’t get punished.  I make every effort to follow every letter of the law, but in my opinion … this is an injustice to these resident waterfowl hunters, and boundaries are bein’ overstepped.  What fresh Hell, y'all?

 

     I’ve witnessed firsthand some of those blinds bein’ maintained.  Out-of (duck) season, I have fished around several of those Caddo Lake blinds, and I’m here to tell ya, there ain’t a lick of trash in the immediate vicinity of most of ‘em.  And I've noticed a few of the folks who maintain those blinds also treat areas around their blinds to keep the invasive giant salvinia in check.  There was even a suggestion at Tuesday’s meetin’ to register existing blinds, and use the registration fees towards the eradication of the giant salvinia.  So why in the Hell does the TPWD wanna punish folks who are environmentally friendly and whose sport pays for conservation?  Remember, the money spent on waterfowlin’ pays for things like them “friggin’ weevils” as well!  Somethin’ just ain’t quite right here; it seems to me like someone has clouded vision, a deaf ear and has done overstepped their bounds.  Hmmm, sounds more like someone’s bitin’ the hands that feed ‘em!

     This was T.C. back in '03.  I used to duck hunt Christmas Bay in Brazoria County, and had maintained a blind out there for a few years.  At the time, you could not construct any new permanent structure in the bay; however, the stipulation was that we could maintain existin’ blinds unless they were destroyed by a hurricane.  Because blinds were on public land, they were first come, first served for any hunter and were public domain.  You were not allowed to lock a blind.  If someone was huntin' in it, tough luck ... we'd simply hunt the marsh.  A storm finally wiped it out, pilings and all, so we moved on.  Next, we had a boat blind that we re-built, with permission from the landowner of the Spindletop Bass Club in Jefferson County, where I was a member. Because it was private property, no one could hunt our blind without askin'.  A very unwelcomed Hurricane Ike took care of that blind, as well as the rest of our lease in September of ‘08.  Now, as far as Caddo Lake goes, I wasn’t plannin’ on goin’ up there and free-grazin’ some local’s honey-hole! Not my style; but with the help of a couple of locals, I was gonna find a place that wasn’t goin’ to mess-up someone’s hunt and use my boat as a blind.  Well Hell, after March of 2015 … it sounds like everyone might be in the same friggin’ boat!

     What p¡sses me off more than anything is that “the powers that be” at TPWD just up and decided that this is the way it was goin’ to be.  Period.  No vote, no nothin’ … they just blindsided the locals.  Now, there's two sides to every story, but this version was the majority of what I'd heard.  But hey, y’all … this does not need to be the end of this-here story.  I know there’s got to be a buncha dang lawyers as well as lawmakers who duck hunt.  The Caddo Lake locals are bein’ treated like city-folk gettin’ bullied by a friggin’ home owner’s association.  And when HOA’s overstep their bounds, a good lawyer can usually keep ‘em in check.  Country folks laugh at the thought of an HOA, and live where they live ‘cause they love the land, water & nature.  Urban sprawl won’t ever take it, and the locals like it that way.  Bet them duck-huntin’ lawyers & lawmakers know that most responsible outdoorsmen (and women) vote.

 

     I generally respect game wardens and appreciate what-all they do, and let them do their jobs.  And those hard workin’ wardens who are out in the field will still get that same respect from me.  Period.  But this directive came from higher up the food chain, and I think they just bit into somethin’ that bites back.  Responsible outdoorsmen have a voice … and y’all are fixin’ to friggin’ hear it.  We just need to dig-in deeper than an East Texas tick and hold on.  Let’s be civil and put our heads together and come up with a plan that benefits all parties involved.  But to force-feed us horsesh¡t and tell us it’s just grits & syrup just ain’t goin’ down so well.  If y’all are feelin’ blindsided and wanna help out, gimme a shout.  Please forward the link to this entry to any duck hunter you know.  I'm not sellin' anything, I'm just tryin' to get the word out!  If you think I’m wrong for expressin’ my point of view … bite me.  Seriously, if you feel I’m off base (or off balance) please shoot me a comment or rebuttal and I’ll be more than happy to print your side of the story here.  I know that TPWD reads this-here blog … and I truly appreciate their readership as well.  More to come …

Peckin' ...

The Pileated Woodpecker is quite common in the south ...

     Howdy, y’all … I’ve had to lay my sloughstalkin’, fishin’ & hog-huntin’ aside for the past few weeks.  I even stopped doin’ a tactical refurb on my antique Russian semi-automatic carbine, which I’ve been itchin’ to make my new feral hog eradicator.  Reason bein’ … I’ve been busier than a cat tryin’ to cover-it-up on concrete gettin’ our 42-year old house all prettied-up for our son’s high school graduation party.  There’s never a lack of stuff to do on our spread, but my beautiful bride done sweet-talked me into gettin’ my fat-ass into high-gear and knockin’-out a buncha neglected honey-dos.  Even though I did the all the fixin’, repairin’ & sandin’, she’s run circles around me and painted almost every interior base-board, door frame & door, an entire hallway and two bathrooms!  I’ve replaced all the old stuff with all new hardware; door-knobs, hinges etc., and I still have a livin’ room ceilin’ to paint, steam cleanin’ to do and a room full of oak paneling to oil.  And, there’s a bunch of dang yard & garden stuff to jump-on as well.  But in my haste, I forgot to tell y’all about somethin’ that had happened to me as we spent our week in Uncertain Relaxin’ …

 

     I finally got a shot on a particular bird that I’d been tryin’ to get for the last several years.  If any of y’all may recall from an earlier post that I did back in January called Shootin’ Nature … I have been tryin’ like Hell to get a decent photo of a pileated woodpecker.  This may be no big deal to some of y’all, but I ain’t no birdwatcher nor am I by any means a professional wildlife photographer.  It seemed that no matter how much or how hard that I had tried … somethin’ always come up that kept my hapless-ass from gettin’ a decent pic of one!  But while I was out fishin’ one late April mornin’ I finally got an opportunity; and, it wasn’t that dang easy, either!  On that particular mornin’ it was 38° and there was a lake wind advisory on Caddo.  Have any of y’all ever tried to maneuver a boat while standin’ with one foot manipulatin' a foot-controlled trollin’ motor in 20-mph winds while lookin’ up and tryin’ to focus on a movin’ object in a friggin’ tree?  Y'all got all that?  'Cause I been there & done that ... but I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout all those times I was retrievin’ my dang fishin’ lures outta limbs due to my “unique” castin’ (in)abilities!

 



I won't call this my "money shot" due to the twig coverin' its profile.

     This time I was tryin’ to focus on my opus; so, not only was this big, beautiful bird movin’ from branch to branch but it was busy peckin’ … and it definitely didn’t stay still for very friggin’ long!  Even though it was very focused on gettin’ grub, I was tryin’ to focus on it while dodgin’ stumps and tryin’ to steady myself on the bow of my rockin’, rollin' boat in gustin’ conditions.  Thank God I used to surf and skateboard and still have some fairly-good balance … or I might’ve been payin’ for another new Canon PowerShot SX50 and wishin’ I had some dry friggin’ clothes to change into!  And just when I thought I could get a bit closer for a better photo op, it would take-off and fly to another dang Cypress tree.  Comically, what we had here was one persistent pecker-head chasin’ another persistent pecker-head all through the friggin’ swamp!  Like I’ve said, shootin’ nature ain’t easy, and it all depends on the nature of the beast you’re tryin’ to shoot …

 

     I probably only spent a good twenty minutes chasin’ that bird from tree to tree across Turtle Shell.  It finally grew tired of me and disappeared into the distant, dense flooded woods.  And again, out of the 35 or more shots that I was actually able to take … only about a quarter of those were usable, and I really didn’t feel that I got my “money-shot”, either.  But in the sixteen or so years of me tryin’ to get a pic of one of these birds … this was the best opportunity that I had ever had.  Of course, when I’m out sloughstalkin’ or runnin’ ‘round out there in them woods … I’m usually lookin’ for a much larger and much-more elusive kind of critter.  But I’m sure that if I continue to be the persistent little pecker that my wife says that I am, maybe I’ll get a shot of one sometime soon.

 



This was one of the better shots that I got on that unusually cold, windy April day, right before it flew away.

     In the meantime, I’d better stop peckin’ on this-here blog and get back to my honey-dos.  The sooner I finish-up with my chores … the sooner I can continue the tactical mods on my Tula SKS, in which I’ll detail in a couple of upcomin’ entries called Renovatin’.  That’s right; there just might be a part-two, as long as I don’t have catastrophic failure at the range!  Well, I guess that if that were to happen, it would be better to happen there than somewhere out in them woods!  Until then, y’all be safe and take care …