On my way home from work today and I stop to cut some bamboo that's growing in a culvert right next to the parking lot of a liquor store in Dallas. I cut about a dozen 12-foot stalks and some guy comes out of the liquor store with his beer and tells me he's calling the cops. He says I'm cutting an endangered Texas grass and that "its not bamboo". Sure the heck looks like bamboo to me.

So he produces a business card from his wallet that says he's a "master gardener" and claims he knows exactly what this plant is (but he doesn't remember the name). So he proceeds to lecture me for 10 minutes about what an expert he is about plants. We almost threw punches at each other than I told him what a [censored] he was and to enjoy his beer.

While he wrote down my license plate number I loaded the bamboo into my Jeep and drive off while he calls the police, or at least pretends to. When I got home I looked up endangered and threatened plants in Texas and there are only two grasses on the list and neither looks anything like bamboo. (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/endang/plants/index.phtml)

Anybody have any idea what this dude was talking about? This bamboo is growing in about 10 different places along culverts between my house and work. I plan on putting it in a bucket with concrete and sinking it at Grapevine tomorrow.

Bamboo is a noxious invasive plant tat grows wild in Texas. The only thing it is good for is fishing poles.

Put the boo out then while your in jail send me the coords so I can make sure the fish are coming to it.
Sorry to sound so cold, but fishin' is fishin'.
Really, thanks for the help in DeVine. I am going to put lots and lots out this fall. I just can't do it in this heat.
One idea for ya. If you could put multiple buckets per spot and tie them together they would have a better chance of staying together. I plan to haul multiple loads per spot and freshening up many old ones. I'm going for willow and hardwood.

911 can I help you? Hay theres a crazy man cutting the grass!!!

LOL! You should have smacked him up side the head with one of them. What a dumb@$$!

Oh, sure. You get fat on crappie while I eat beans and soggy bread at the graybar hotel. That guy was full of carp. I looked it up and its actually called "Arundo Donax" or "Giant Reed" and is considered an invasive non-native weed.


The stalks are like bamboo with hollow tubes and nodes but its more leafy. I plan on putting about six 12' piles out on the south side starting tomorrow. The base will be about 2 gallons of concrete. I'll take your advice and tie two of them together at each location with nylon or wire. I've heard some people say to drill holes in the stalks to help them fill with water and then I've heard others say that the air trapped between each node helps them stay upright. What should I do?

I'll send you the coords Big Mack. You helped me out with Grapevine when I first started crappie fishing there so I owe you one.

That's commonly called switch cane. Will work but doesn't last like Bamboo does. Forget the holes.

Also known as giant sea cane or just giant cane "ARUNDINARIA GIGANTEA". It was planted in some high erosion areas by txdot and some local counties many years ago. In fact it is a type of bamboo.

Please post the ooordinates on here and we will make sure Big Mack gets them.

CW

I can give you one hint I put about 30 stalks in a 5gal bucket of concrete it went down and came right back up.Its very bouyant.Darrell

Sounds like that guy had a few beers before he got to the beer store.....
Happy fishing...................

OK, got a motherload of switch cane and several 80# bags of concrete. Ready to sink the first batch tomorrow and will post some pictures. I'll take the cordless drill just in case they are too bouyant without some holes.

What depth would you guys sink 12' bushes of this stuff? I'm thinking at 20-22' depth off some points. Maybe deeper for summer? Lake Grapevine.

We used to have that in a corner of our yard back home. One of my museum shots is of it. Ernest and I may be the only ones that knows the origin of the name "Switch" cane.
A long, long time ago it was a proper thing for a mother to send a misbehaving child out into the yard to retrieve a piece of the cane. The light cane makes an excellent "Switch" to hit the bare legs. The indignity of having to have to retrieve your own instument of punishment was worse than the actual punishment.
Thanks Jeff in advance and yes 20ft should be good. You know how the vine can go down in drought times.

Exactly. Gotta love peeps with nothing better to do than stir up trouble.

im with paty. be it grass it wont last as long as boo.

opened beer in his hand? Boy, should have snapped a pic or just call TABC on that feller! they would heavy fined him & could put that dude in the pokey. more likely pulled that stores license for a while. but you dont seem like the trouble makin type:~)