It has been written that Tallahatchie County is indeed a special place where "Everyday is payday, every night is Saturday night, and there are two vacations a year with each one lasting six months." As we begin our second vacation of the year or the upcoming duck season, I must pause for a minute and reflect on some things that have occurred since my last update in November 2005. My wife, Hedy, left us that month for a better place and we still miss her and all that she did. However, we continue to move our business forward. My daughter Clansey and daughter-in-law Emily have learned how to be gourmet chefs. My sister-in-law, Jennifer, and my nieces, Kaitlyn and Carly, are keeping our two lodges in immaculate condition for all of our guests. Alben, Stephen and John have gotten help from new guides Tim, Creighton, Duvall, David and Larry. Our old dogs, Turner and Roo, are still around and have been joined in the hunt by Tex, Swayze, Trigger, Wrangler and Maggie. As for me, right now I'm learning a little bit about the blues from a special friend that grew up on the opposite side of the Tallahatchie River from me. I hope to be an expert one of these days.

The upcoming season in our "Brazil Flyway" region will be similar to last year. We had adequate rainfall throughout the year but not an excessive amount. Enid, Sardis and Arkabutla Reservoirs will be approaching conservation pool levels by late November. What does this mean for the upcoming duck season? We will again be hunting many "shoot across holes" this season. We will not have many "ocean ponds" that we have when the Tallahatchie River is at or above flood stage. This means that the ducks should be easier to kill in these smaller potholes. The duck numbers are actually up some and the hunting should be excellent.

Catfish - November 26, 2008