John Norman, William, and Monica spent some time at the ranch last week. John Norman wanted to go fishing so I took him out on the raft and trolled a whopper plopper while he held the rod. He caught a 14″ bass and a 15″ bass, then the action slowed down. As we were about to head back to the dock, he landed his biggest fish ever, an 18″ bass that weighed about 4 lbs. As you can see from the video, he was pleased with his catch.
Snake Porn
Daytime temps have already started reaching into the low 90’s and that has the local snake population in high gear. Already we have spotted rat snakes, green tree snakes, black racers, garter snakes, copperheads, and even a coral snake slithering around the ranch. But last week when we spotted a couple of 5′ black racers, we managed to get a good video of what we assume to be having a “very good time” together.
Hunkered Down
We are now spending almost all of our time at the ranch due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Our nearest neighbor is about 2 miles away, and when we do need supplies the stores in College Station are less crowded and better stocked than those in Houston. Getting a lot of projects done and finally getting time to fish the lake a little more regularly. Hog hunting is slow because few hogs are showing up on the feeders, so my count for the year is only up to 10. Grape vines are starting to put out and the coons are getting fat on cat food. We opened a PO Box at the UPS store in College Station so we can now receive packages and mail while we are up there. Looking like this may be the way it will be for quite a while, but we are still healthy and doing what we like to do.
The Vineyard
Got a little puffy Friday night…
New Guest at the Ranch House
Last Friday, as Laurel and I were enjoying adult beverages on the front porch we had a special guest. He walked up to the porch, made a raccoon very nervous, passed directly in front of us, then proceeded to mark his territory on the wooden planter box on the corner of the porch.
Another Record falls…
We closed out the month of November by beating the previous record (set in 2017) for the number of feral hogs killed in one year. As of the end of now, we have dispatched 78 hogs with the entire month of December still left to go.
103 Years in the Family
103 years ago, my grandfather, John Moody, acquired a 25 acre tract of land, adjacent to Gibbons Creek. That 25 acre tract is now part of the 350 acre Stout Ranch.
The State of Texas has a program which recognizes family farms and ranches that have been in the same family for over 100 years, so earlier this year we went through the process of applying for that recognition. On October 30th, we were invited to the State Capitol for ceremony in which we were presented the 100 Year Family Land Heritage Certificate.
Hopefully this property will stay in the family for another 47 years so that our children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to receive the 150 year certificate.
Five for three
Had an interesting visitor on the front porch the other night. It was the first black kitty we have seen for a while. Needless to say, we hope this kitty finds other places to forage.
I had installed a new protein feeder deep in the woods, and the game camera I had watching it picked up something interesting. Its not the pigs or the nice buck. Click on the arrow and note the tree directly behind the feeder.
Tropical storm Imelda was coming ashore and must have caused the wind to gust a little harder than usual.
September has been very productive month for piggie eradication. The first weekend I shot 4, the second weekend shot 3, and this last weekend, over the three nights we were there, I shot 5. One ran off the instant I shot and I thought it might be possible I had missed. However, the next day, there were a couple of buzzards that were hanging around the feeder, so Laurel did some sniffing at the edge of the thicket next to the feeder and located the carcass about 30′ inside. This brings my total for the year up to 55. Coyotes be very happy at the Stout Ranch.
The tropical storm only dumped about 1″ of rain on the ranch, and the lake is still down about 2′. Still waiting for sweater weather to arrive, but the current forecasts say nothing is coming until October. On the plus side, we still have lightning bugs flashing the way when I am stalking pigs in the dark and rainbows perfectly positioned over the lake..
10.41
The year I was born, 1950, my grandfather built a lake on his ranch. When I was pre-teen I remember him taking me fishing there, using a cane pole and grasshoppers he chased down using his straw hat. In my late teens I started camping and fishing at the lake with my fishing buddies. About the time I retired in 2005, I installed a picnic table and deck at the southeast corner of the lake so that Laurel and I could spend time fishing, grilling and drinking a nice bottle of wine at the edge of the lake. In 2009, I installed a new road to the middle of the lake, built a small cabin, and started spending evenings with Laurel on the porch overlooking the lake, listening to the coyotes howl and making friends with the raccoons.
Then, from 2010 to 2011, we had zero rain. The lake completely dried up and all the fish died. I told Laurel that I doubted that the lake would ever recover during my lifetime. But early 2012 brought rain, a lot of rain, and within a year the lake was full. I restocked it with bass and bluegills, and by 2015 started catching bass again.
In 2017 I caught three large bass, 6-9, 6-13, and 7-6. These were the three biggest bass I had caught in over 60 years of fishing the lake.
Last Friday, just before the sun set, I was chunking a topwater plug when there was an explosion on the lure and a monster bass began tail walking. Fortunately the hooks were well set and a few minutes later I lifted the largest bass ever from the lake… 10.41lbs. After taking a few pictures, I gently released her back into the lake.
The other major accomplishment last week was the installation of high speed internet on the structure I had built and installed on the hill behind the ranch house. Finally I will be able to watch piggie tv from the Seabrook house.
We spent 6 days at the ranch this trip and got a lot accomplished. Piggie count went up another 3, bringing this years total to 34.