Watch Your Step

Trouble was, see, the gator was between me and the tree. And to make matters worse, he knew it! So how are you at hopping? Kicking? Screeching? Caught out in the way-too-open crossing a pond dam, there was but that one 10-foot-high patch of green. Oh, I’ll admit it wasn’t much of a tree; but…

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Wayne County Hog Jam 2022

Six tons of dead hogs make for a pretty impressive pile.  Ugly, too. Wayne County’s 2022 Hog Jam saw them coming by the truckload, as over a hundred hunters, including 14 wounded warriors, took advantage of  perfect south Georgia weather to help make a dent in the feral hog population along the Altamaha River swamp. …

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Oconee River Fixing To Load Up With White Bass

It’s breezy early in the day as Barry Hough and I motor up this northern section of the Oconee River, which has its origin just a few counties upstream. We’re an hour or so from Atlanta, depending, as always, on highway traffic. And it’s pretty much the same here on this gorgeous waterway. The locals…

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Tough Task To Tackle

Compadre called the other day. On his flip phone. Needed help, as in manual labor. Go figure. “Lookahyeah, I need you to ease over and help me clean something out. It’s backed up so bad it’s filled three stories at the house.” “You live in a trailer…” “I know where I live! But I can’t…

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Alligator Man: The Legend Of Trapper Jack

We go back more than 30 years now, even before the first year he obtained an alligator trapping license, 1989. When I think about him, the word “legend” comes to mind. But every single definition of legend I’ve found includes either “famous” or “fame.” But he never cared for being famous; he simply wanted to…

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Debacles In The Area

To be (wet) or not to be (drenched, rinsed and wrung)… That weren’t even the question. The question was whether or not to go hunting. Come to think of it, that ain’t much of a question either, is it? Problem was, severe storms were allegedly “in the area.” Just where is that, exactly, “in the…

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Lake Oconee Wintertime Spoon Fishing For Linesides

From the time I was old enough to crawl into a plywood boat on the Ocmulgee River, there’s one thing I was taught NOT to do: make noise. So why is this striper guide constantly rapping on the floor of his Ranger with the rubber-tipped butt end of a sawed-off walking cane? Because he’s learned…

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Jake’s 2022 Resolution

“So, Jake, tell me about your resolutions.” Five. Four. Three. Two. One… “Wal, I jes’ ain’t peeved at nobody.” Five. Four. Three… “You ain’t peeved? What are you even talking about?” “Seems lak to me you gotta be at least a little peevish with a body to start one of them revolutions. An’ I jes’…

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Born To Hunt

The race was on, and CB radio voices crackled with excitement as the buck turned and twisted through the south Georgia swamp, hounds swerving to his every move. Pickup trucks whirled plumes of dust skyward as they raced down narrow dirt lanes, hunters going all-out to get ahead of it all and hopefully into place…

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Outdated And Proud

Are you eclectic? (Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute to look it up so that you can decide. How are we ever going to get you educated if I don’t toss challenges at you once in a while?) OK, got it? Good. That’s what I thought. Me neither. How about erudite? Awww, don’t even…

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