Fishing Dude aka, "Wild Life Expert"....

We did not have our lines in the water more than 20 minutes before we started catching fish. This big Channel Cat is 7.5 lbs and 53 inches long! He was pulled in by the twin bridges in 12 foot of water using cut chad as bait.  

OK - some people have been asking what is "cut chad" - this is a bait fish that is abundant in the lake this time of year.  As a matter of fact they just went through their spawning season and catching them was very easy near the shore.  Sometimes - you could catch hundreds in a single cast.

Lake Waco has some ugly MONSTERS - (including the one below)...

This is a five foot long Lake Gar. They have some of the sharpest teeth EVER and each Gar must have at least a hundred teeth! They look pre-historic and are very aggressive. We caught this one on a trot-line in five feet of water. After taking the hook out - we let him go.

AND NOW FOR THE ENDING SHOT OF THE DAY....

This is a Southwestern Rat Snake.

So late last night - as I was watching Baylor beat TCU in the opening day of college foot...
My good (and snake fearing) friend Brian called me and said that he needed the - and I quote... "Wild-life Expert" because his lovely wife saw a snake in their bathroom (If you’re afraid of snakes - that is the place to see one - considering bodily functions and all).... Brian was not home at the time. So, he wanted to see if I could come and help.  Mr. No-Shoulders (the snake) climbed through a very small area behind their toilet... it really does not take that big an area for them to slither in, they are all around us...
Fact is, these guys are thirsty and looking for cool places.
My fishing buddy Rick calls all snakes by the same name - DEAD!  I am not a big snake fan and I don't really like the idea of them being so close to us - but, I kind of like thinking they are helping take care of our mouse and rat populations! 

AFTER MUCH DEBATE - Brian and I let this one go...