This is by far one of the rarest sightings - ESPECIALLY this time of the year!

This is a Lake Waco Water Moccasin

My friend Kevin Krumm found this one - he and I use to hunt for snakes and lizards as kids.

He seemed to be the one that found most of the critters... 

Thanks for sending this to me Kev!

            I am pretty sure this is the best time of the year in Texas for almost anything! 

I think my favorite color in Texas is December...

This is one of our favorite "Honey Holes" - we have caught a lot of catfish in this area...

We also see a bunch of great wildlife while waiting on the bites!

Lake Waco is beautiful

The trees are turning colors - my great uncle Bill (Bryant) once said, "Fall is the year's last loveliest smile!" 

There is something about watching a bobber that just makes you forget about "unimportant stuff!"

Catching catfish or not - its great to be on the lake!

THREE CATFISHING TIPS WITH RICK, ROXY, and me.

Here are some BASIC guidelines for catching the three most common Texas Catfish: Blues, Channels, and Flatheads. 

Tip one. Good things come to those who BAIT!!! The following list is a guideline - BUT REMEMBER, we have caught all three types of catfish on Shad, Worms, Perch, Stink baits, and our SSB (super secret bait: HOTDOGS)...  

• Blues love FRESH shad (they will eat previously frozen shad - but, fresh is better).
• Channels will dine on stinky bait and worms all-day
• Flat Heads like perch, shad, crawfish, and even smaller catfish.                                                                
  

It is true that Catfish eat stuff off the bottom - but not always!  They are skilled hunters and have hundreds of thousands of tastebuds all over their bodies - some say they are the equivalent of a swimming tongue!    

Tip two. Some say the very best time to catfish is when the barometric pressure is kinda low (29.70/30.40) this when there may be a chance of rain...

Hot or cold REMEMBER THIS: Every day is a fishing day, but not every day is a catching day!

Tip three. Vary the depths - oxygen in the water is critical... catfish will hang out in oxygen-rich 70-80 degree water (cold water holds more oxygen).  Our average depth in Lake Waco for catching fish is 15-20 feet.  Lake Belton 20-25 feet.

Tip four. Most important: 

PRAY

 It was either my famous almost-uncle Alton Jones (great fisherman) or my Catfishing Buddy, Bob Cervenka that once said, "To me, a catfishing buddy is a much more esteemed relationship than a friend!"

Went out on Bob's Barge Boat to do some jugline catfishing - WOW! What a GREAT TIME!!! 

If you've ever Jugline Catfished before you know half the battle is chasing down the successful jugs as they spread out across the lake! 

We caught two REALLY big Gar and two REALLY big Catfish.  

This Cat weighed in at 22lbs! Caught on Lake Waco with live hand size perch.

 

WE COULD NOT PASS UP THIS AWESOME TEXAS WEATHER!!!

TightLine is back on the water...

Rick and I were so lucky to have our good friend and CATFISH GURU go out on the USSS Sassy with us...

the one and only DALE EVANS!

 

Dale is a tennis and fishing friend from WAY BACK THERE!!!

He and his wife Robin were active members (family) of the Charlie McCleary Tennis Center and helped me host MANY tournaments over the years. 

MANY YEARS AGO, Dale took me out on a catfishing trip and taught me the importance of the almighty drain plug - 

somewhere in my excitement of going fishing with the GREAT Dale Evans

I forgot to handle the ONLY job he gave me - "Put in the Drain Plug...!"

A VERY short time into catfishing, he said and I quote,  "Kevin, why are my feet wet...?"

    

Now, I wear a new hat...

Some might say, "Water under the bridge..."

Here are co-captains Rick and Dale waiting on the Catching to begin...

So we baited and baited and baited... 

and then we went to the Higher Power we came up short on the catfishing poles on this day - but, pulled in a bunch on the trotlines.  We will return with lessons learned...

So, this is the way I remember it...

 I have NOT been out fishing lately - so, as many of you fisherman know when you head out for the first time after a long break, you can hear weird things while on the water... this is a weird "hearing."  

"Pick me up," i heard, "Pick me up!" I thought I was dreaming.  I heard it again, "Pick me up!" I looked down and saw a frog.  I said in amazement, "are you talking to me?" "YES," she said, "Pick me up give me a kiss and I will turn into a beautiful fishing partner and give you two years of incredible tennis line calls AND no frustration will fall upon any of your Texas Officials in 2020-21!!!  I quickly picked up this frog and put it in my front pocket.  I clearly heard the frog say, "what are you doing? I said I will turn into a beautiful fishing partner and give you two years of incredible tennis line calls and no frustration will fall on any of your Texas Officials!!!" I said, "No thanks, at my age, I'd rather have a talking frog."

The experienced fisherman noticed the 4/0 circle hook....!

INTERGRITY 

Allow your integrity to be the referee in your personal and on-court decision-making process

Integrity as a Tennis Referee

Integrity is not what we do so much as who we are. And who we are, in turn, determines what we do for ourselves, family, and our customers. Our system of values is so much a part of us we cannot separate it from ourselves. It becomes the navigating system that guides us through every match every day. Our Integrity establishes our priorities and judges what actions we will accept or reject.

Integrity establishes the ground rules for resolving tensions on and off the court. It determines who we are and how we will respond before conflicts appear. Integrity welds what we say, think and do into a whole person so that we are not out of sync.

Integrity binds our person together and fosters a spirit of contentment within us. It will not allow our lips to violate what we know is right in our hearts. When integrity is the Referee, we will be consistent; our beliefs will be mirrored by our conduct. There will be no discrepancy between what we appear to be and what our fellow Officials know we are, whether your shift/match is calm or there’s adversity.

Integrity is not only the Referee between conflicting desires. It is the pivotal point between a happy, strong Official and a divided spirit. It frees us to be whole persons no matter what comes our way.

Jo-Ann Blackwell and Julie Taylor - a couple of Houston's finest!

Sherri-Ann Carroll is Houston's  Official of the Year!  

Here is Claire McFerran doing some social distancing!