I gotta hand it to one that got away yesterday. After being in my five gallon bucket for a couple of hours, this fish made a desperate jump out of the bucket, onto the dock. But the little guy still had trouble, he landed very close to the La Mancha dock cat. The cat got teeth and paws on him. Then he gives another mighty wiggle, and somehow shakes free. All this is happening as I am hustling over to grab him and put him back in bucket. Just before I get there, he wiggles and lunges once more and plops back into the lake, with me and the cat watching inches away. I just had to laugh and tip my hat!

He deserved to make it back in the water after that escape.

Crappie Houdini

Yep... earned that one!

If you catch him again maybe you'll make it home with him.

A few years ago I had a crappie in a bucket while fishing the state park at PK, a big racoon caught me sleeping and took it out of the bucket and he stood his ground while he ate it looking at me like I was in the wrong. Funny thing was I also had some crawdads in with the crappie, but guess I'd rather have crappie, too.

That must have happened just after I left then. That crappie was big. A good 2lbs and then some. What a bummer! Only feed the handcuffed bird from now on. Let the cat starve for awhile.

Hey thumpjunkies! Luckily it wasn't the hog that jumped. He got eaten by me! I ended up staying till seven, caught 4 and the other guy there late caught 2, put them in my bucket. That has been some tough fishing out there. Crazy that I still think it's fun to fish seven hours and scrape up 4 fish and handful of dink throwbacks. I'd go back tomorrow in a sec if I didn't have to work!

When we fished a boat stall at Grapevine a huge Egret would come by and wait about ten feet away til we caught one too little or gave him a shad or two. He's eat everything right there except little cat fish. He'd stab them with his beak and fly off with them.