Last Stand of Longleaf Pines In Wake County ?

Longleaf Pines at Harris Lake

Tuesday I planted 100 longleafs and gave Jordan lake State Park 50 seedlings which they are going to plant in a field.
I then stopped by to see what I believe to be the last stand of Mature trees in Wake County.

The Longleaf pine forest used stretch as far west as Cary and Raleigh on the beltline in Wake County. You can still see a few old trees(usually alone and surrounded by Lobllies) along the Beltline between US1 and Gorman St, and a few trees On US1 south of Apex. There is one old flat topped Longleaf  on Gorman St. within site of the Beltline.  There also used to be a nice stand on Hwy 64 Bus, just west of the Neuse River but last time through there it looked like they had been cut.
Several sites in Wake county are being planted in Longleaf but it will take awhile before they are  producing Longleaf seedlings.   This video below is probably the last stand of Mature Longleaf in Wake County. That said I use the term "stand" loosely.  This stand does have Longleafs planted around the mature ones but the mature ones number probably less than 50 trees.

Added: February 26, 2012  ....I ended up planting a total of 300 longleaf pines this winter....I also donated an additional 50 to Jordan Lake State park which they planted in a field. The 300 Longleafs I planted were mostly in  Chatham , Wake and Halifax Counties where each spot got right at 100 planted. ....I did put a few in Lee as well.... Hopefully next year I can add some to these locations and start a few others as well.

Added February 2023

The Planted Longleafs around the Native older ones are now ~25 years old and producing cones.

I visited this area last month and it has turned into a very nice forest, I even found some Fox Squirrel sign!!     I will post some pictures this spring.   Here is a recent google maps photo of the area in Orange and the red areas are where the few mature ones are located . 

Expanded area showing the resoration site. 

Mack

#longleafpine

Fox Squirrels in Eastern North Carolina ( Sciurus niger niger )

Fox Squirrels In Eastern Nc

Published 12/11/11 and updated frequently 

The Fox Squirrel found in Eastern North Carolina are the biggest squirrels in North America . The scientific name for this squirrel is Sciurus niger niger. The Fox Squirrel found in Northwestern North Carolina and a few spots in the piedmont is a different subspecies. Most biologist call Sciurus niger niger the Southeastern fox squirrel or the Southern Fox Squirrel  as it is found from SE Virginia to Northern Florida. In Northern Florida some call it the Carolina Fox Squirrel.

This squirrel favors  Mature Longleaf pine forest that are burned and have a scattering of oaks underneath and also the surrounding bottoms. The can and do live in other habitats like big mature Loblollies that are open(and burned) but the Lonfleaf pine forest is the best habitat. A preferred habitat is some golf courses in eastern North Carolina.  The fox squirrel has to have favorable habitat so some areas have good populations and then others the Fox squirrels are scattered in isolated pockets of favorable habitat.  This squirrel(S. niger niger) always has a Black head with white nose and ears. Some call this a mask. The rest of the squirrel can be any color. North Carolina allows hunting for The southeastern fox squirrel in 21 eastern counties(it is now allowed in all 100 counties). North Carolina allows hunting for the subspecies found in the west in only 2 counties. Here is a list of the 21 Eastern counties and I will add some tidbits of what I know. 
 
Anson- found in predominately loblollies in this county.
Bladen- Good habitat
Brunswick-  good habitat
Cumberland- good habitat especially on Ft. Bragg
Duplin -
Edgecombe- only opened recently-  Edited 2016 - I Saw a big Black one a few miles east of Wesleyan College  in March of 2016
Greene-
Harnett-
Hoke- good habitat
Johnston- most found east of I-95 but a few pockets of them west of I-95
Jones- I have seen a few in this county
Lenoir- I have seen a lot in this county
Moore- good habitat-I have seen a lot in this county
New Hanover- good
Onslow-
Pender-
Pitt-
Richmond-good habitat
Sampson- good
Scotland- good
Wayne- Lots of reports from this area
 
Now for counties where I know this animal exists but hunting isn't allowed. These are usually counties that border the above counties. and I will list then in no particular order.
 
Union- eastern part
Stanley-
Montgomery- candor south mostly
Chatham- Limited to a few isolated "pockets"
Lee-
Wake-Limited to a few Isolated "pockets"  a few found within a few miles of Apex/Cary
Wilson-
Halifax- Edited 8/2016  Getting more and more here,  Most east of I-95 but a few west of 95 as well. A lot near the Community of Tillery.
Northhampton-
Martin-Good reports from there- some on Roanoke River Refuge
Craven- I have seen a lot in this county - I have wondered why there is no season here???
Carteret-
Robeson-I have seen 1 there, it is decent habitat but not great.
Columbus-
Bertie-
Hertford-
Beaufort-
Pamilco- used to be a lot around Minnisott
Randolph-a few reports from very southern part 
 
The counties above defiantly have some , other counties maybe Gates, Nash and a few others.
The key to more Fox squirrels in eastern North Carolina is more controlled burns in the Longleaf  and  The Loblolly pine forest  but to leave some oaks underneath. The restoration of the Longleaf to its habitat it has lost will do a lot for the fox squirrel. The  Loblolly  forest around Jordan lake is being  thinned and burned some  by the forest service and the maturing of that forest may lead to very good habitat in the future.  If you look closely (But be careful while driving) you can see some Longleafs (very few) scattered along us1 in Wake and Chatham counties. Virginia also has some S. niger niger in a few counties above Northhampton and Hertford but it is very rare there.
 
I have hunted and studied  S. niger niger  since 1990 and Even though my favorite animal to hunt is the Fox Squirrel , I would never hunt them in a place where they were not common. if you have some on your land in a county where they are not allowed to be hunted please make sure they are protected and if you can,  plant some Longleafs and possibly do some controlled burns.
Like I said in my last post, this week I am planting 100 Longleafs. 100 is not that many but if every hunter in NC  planted 100 we would be in good shape.

Here are a few pics of ones I have harvested.  I will post some more pictures at a later date.

This is what is called a "saddleback" color phase.  Except most saddlebacks do not have the white tipped tail.

This was my son's first Fox Sq. he harvested about 5 years ago. He spotted it in the top of that big loblolly he is in front of.

This Black Phase Fox Squirrel was the first Black one I harvested back in the early 90's.

This squirrel measures fron the tip of his nose to the base of the tail 17 inches. Then from the base of the tail to the tip of the tail it is 17.5 inches making this squirrel 34.5 inches long!!!!!  When someone unfamiliar with these squirrels sees one they have no idea it is a squirrel because they are twice as big as a gray squirrel. Note - 25 percent of Fox Squirrels in Eastern NC are Black. This varies from county to county but usually 25 percent are Black.  

This Old guy below was a brute  going 3.4 lbs.  His Black face is almost faded out. This is one of the best looking ones I have harvested. You have to see him in person. The color is a blue-silver. I was about to quit squirrel  hunting that evening as I hadn't seen a Fox Squirrel all day so right before dark I went where the Longleafs give way to the thick bottoms and proceeded to call on a dying rabbit call to coax a Bobcat out of the bottom. Instead of a bobcat coming out of the thick bottom I kept hearing something behind me getting closer and closer every time I called. When I finally turned around this old guy was staring me down. Sometimes animals come to predator calls just out of curiosity. 

This is a recent one, This is one of the common color phases. Reddish gray. You can also see really good the black head with white nose and ears that they all have.

Mack

#foxsquirrel

#foxsquirrelhunting

Fat and Sassy Fox Squirrels

Gotta luv Fox Squirrel Hunting in North Carolina.  The Longleaf pine forest is one of the  most unique ecosystems  around. There is only 5 percent of this forest left which ranges from Se Virginia to Florida and then over to Texas.  My favorite animal to hunt is the ole wiley Fox squirrel that is found in this ecosystem.The fox squirrel can live in open burned loblollies but the ideal habitat is the longfleaf pine forest and the surrounding bottoms...I started hunting fox squirrels in 1990 and it is truely a great  game animal. ...If I had only one animal to hunt it would be the  Fox Squirrel .


So Wednesday , me and my buddy Rodney hit up our Fox squirrel hot spot.....Soon as I got there I headed down 1 path and saw a big ole Fox squirrel running from me(a fox squirrel will just run away most of the time staying on the ground) He made the mistake some do and that's after he was a good ways away he jumps 3 ft up a turkey oak to look back. 60 yds out and Kabooooooooom!. I wing him, rush in and finish the job. I am now limited out. Go to another spot and see another big black one. I Can't legally shoot him so I let him climb into his nest and now I know where my son can get one. Right before dark it started to pour so I went and got Rodney and he had just seen a big monster gray one but it ran away without him getting a shot.......It was a good day.....3 seen and 1 harvested. Today I used a 20 double both barrels full choked loaded with #6 shot( I Usually like 4's or 5's for Fox squirrels but was out).

Normally when I  hunt Fox Squirrels  I use a 20 ga single shot(Winchester 37A) with a full choke.
The reason behind this is I guess it brings me back to my childhood when all we ever hunted with was a single shot. I have 3 pump 12 gauges and 3 double barrels but the pumps rarely see a day in the squirrel woods. My shot of choice is High brass 4's,5's or 6's with 4's and 5's being my favorite. I use these as a lot of shots are way up big pines but most are at squirrels running away from you. If you happen upon a big ole Fox Squirrel on the ground a lot of times instead of  it going to the nearest tree they just take off like a deer...You need a good load to stop one of those runners.  I also usually bring along a couple of  3 in magnum shells as you never know when a big ole Fox Squirrel is gonna get 100 ft up a big pine .
Here are a few pictures

If you see cones heaped up in pile that look like these you know a Fox Squirrel is around. Gray squirrels will eat them in different spots but Fox Squirrels gather the cones and eat them in one spot.

Next week I am going to help out with Longleaf pine restoration and plant 100 longleafs.

Thanks Mack

101 Yard Shot with Pistol

Ok, so I cheated with a scope!.......looks like Otto did bring me some good ole luck....sat on the stand today from 2:30  until I Harvested her at aprox 4 pm. Saw several  squirrels and lots of crows and also 1 button buck then this gal came out twice....1st time for just an instant and 2nd time she was moving pretty quick so I had to rush the shot but connected.....I have seen this gal a few times and she is a wary one....101 yards and no tracking...... Gun used was  T/C contender with 14 in barrel chambered in .30-30 winchester shooting Remmington 150 grain sp.

Mack

Hunting with Otto

OK,  I don't fish much in the fall and winter as I am too busy Hunting......This year so far has been one of my worst I have ever had.....Too many acorns in the woods surrounding our property or too many deer being killed in the surrounding area?....Who knows but it hasn't been a stellar year. My son hasn't seen a shooter yet(nor have I ) and neither has his friend whom I have taken twice. My old friend Otto came to my store last week asking  me to take him hunting. I told him that if he wanted to see a deer this year he may need to go with someone else. He insisted that he really didn't care he just wanted to get out and enjoy the outdoors. It has been over 2 years since I have taken Otto hunting as 2 years ago my mother was really sick and this past year I have been busy dealing with all her stuff.




A little background on Otto. He was born in Germany and when he was a young lad his parents immigrated to Queens. For most of his life Otto ran a liquor store in Queens and he is an expert on wines and liquors. He is also an expert woodworker, and last but not least He is also an expert at hunting but now he is pushing 80 and a operation on his back that went bad has severely limited his ability to get outdoors. 

There are several reasons I cant say no to Otto. 1. He is a good friend. 2. He is pushing 80 and we have to look out for our older friends. 3. he is handicapped and 4th he is a Brother Mason.


So, today was the day,(Tuesday Dec 1, 2011)  I pick up Otto at 130 and by 2 I have him in a box stand that sits on the ground overlooking a power line. By 2:15 I am in my ladder stand . I was having a good time watching the birds, squirrels and even saw 1 gobbler and then right at 4:30 I hear some crunching heading my way. He walked straight at me and then turned broadside at about 30 yds. I leveled my Ithaca Deerslayer and sent a Remmington 1oz slug his way.....He never knew what hit him. I have a .270 and 4 30-30's but when that slug hits em you think they have been hit by a tank!..... I then drag the deer to the truck and get him loaded up right before dark. I shut the tailgate and hear KABOOOOOOOOOM!.......Did Otto get one too? Since it was right at dark I drove up to Otto's stand and he says he shot a buck 200 yards out. I go to where the deer was standing and find blood!.....I track the blood trail for aprox 80 yards and find his deer piled up in a heap. 2 guys 2 deer . Cant beat that with a stick. Now, I don't have to work out tomorrow after dragging 2 out of the woods. Here are our deer. Nats Dad, please don't look if u wish to have a good Friday.

Oh, I got a bucktail for Fly tying!!!!

What a nice day. Mack

Smallies, Northern Largemouth and Florida Largemouth in one Day

Fished The Dan river Friday October the 7th, 2011 with my good friend Jim.

Conditions

Water low and clear, 63 Deg
Air Temp 70's
Time- mid-morning to mid-day
Baits used 3/8 oz spinnerbait, 3inch tube, buzzer
Boat used- Old Town 119

Jim and I met up at mid morninfg and floated a short stretch of a good river. I immediately got a hit on the spinnerbait and then threw the tube back in and a nice 12 inch smallie nailed it. After a few more fish I moved downstream and a monster smallie nailed my spinnerbait but like a rookie i still had by drag set too light and didn't get a good hookset!....I was very  disappointed that I made such a rookie mistake. I quickly shook the bad memory of that fish and proceeded to work likely looking spots midstream. Most hits all day came from the middle of the river.  Almost all the hits came on the spinnerbait with just a few of the tube. I only had one hit on the buzzer and it may have been a redbreast grabbing the skirt. My top  3 smallies today  were 14 - 14 1/2 inches. The rest were 12-13 inches with none under 12. .....14 I think was the smallie total with the one lone largemouth that may have been 16 inches. It was a very nice day on the water with Jim and we were always surrounded by a few ospreys and even got to witness their fishing skills. We saw at least 2 ospreys that had fish  in their talons and other wildlife seen were a lot of geese and a few ducks.

See why I hardly ever fish a spinnerbait or a buzzer without a trailer hook!

Here is Jim and his Coosa. Not sure of Jim's final tally but I know he landed some smallies and also 1 largemouth as well.

.

Towards the end of the float I pulled this gal out from a laydown on the spinnerbait. A nice river largemouth.

Oh,  I almost forgot about the Florida Strain Largemouths. When I left the river I was set on getting to a very little known  lake ( Lake Burton ) that that has been stocked with Florida's. I was determined to get there even if only to get a view of it before dark.  I actually made it there with an hour to spare and immediately paddled down one bank throwing anywhere that looked good. After about 10 minutes I was rewarded with this Florida.

A great day on the water.  Smallies, Northern and Florida Strain largemouths in one day.

See ya on the water,  Mack

#fishing

#lakeburton

#danriver

A Grand Day Carp Fishing

Location- Piedmont Lake, 3' low
Conditions- Sunny , Air Temp 70's
Date October 4th, 2011
Time 3PM-6PM


I had a few hours to kill before my lodge meeting so I decided to do what I do about  every other year or so.

Carp Fishing.  I grew up carp fishing on the Haw and the famous Snoffers Lake on the Burlington Graham City Limit Line.  Today  a few hours would be spent relaxing  under the shade of a tree hoping to catch a carp or 2.

My bait today would be an old standby-

My outfits today would be a Shimano 3500 Baitrunner loaded with 15 lb line on an 8' rod and a Daiwa 2600 Tournament loaded with 20lb braid with a mono leader also on an 8' rod

I left the horizontal holders at home because the vertical ones are lighter and I had a long walk from the truck. Both reels will catch any carp that swims and here is what the Shimano caught today.

I was rewarded with this monster common carp which put up 1 heck of a fight!.

Don't laugh Aki and Santosh, at least I wasn't skunked!.

I'll  bet a few of you are thinking how can this be a Grand Day with only one little carp caught ?  Easy, Remember that shade tree I was sitting under???   I planted that tree approx 20 years ago. That little seedling started off as a 3 ft Bald Cypress and now that little seedling is 30' tall and doing well.  Mack



September Smallies

September 20, 2011
Boat - Old Town 119
Main Outfit used- Ambassadeur 4600 with 12 lb Ande line
Main Lure used- Strike King Spinnerbait, Chartreuse
Weather- cool and cloudy


I was dying to do a float this am as it has been July since I have done a float because of my operation. Should I go after Largemouths or Smallies?....Or should I go after Crappie or Carp?.....

The decision was to go after Smallies since I Have not fished for them much this year.  Weather was supposed to be cloudy with a 30 % chance of rain from 7am -12 and 50% chance after 12.  A daylight to 12 trip it would be . I  arrived at the launch at daylight to a cool 60 degrees air temperature and no one else there. Here is a picture of my "new to me" truck at the put in.  Note- my ole Honda will be doing 90 percent of my canoe hauling as it is a lot easier to put a canoe on a lower vehicle and strap it down.  Not really bad with the truck but alot easier with the car.

This "new to me" truck is a 2002 Sierra that I told my self if I bit the bullet and purchased it that I would also bite the bullet and purchase a good canoe rack for it. I have used Yakima racks since 1988 and have them for 2 hondas but for a truck the Thule racks look better and look better made. Ouch! that hurt as I have always praised Yakima.

The water was a toasty 67 degrees and clear. I started off throwing a Chartreuse spinnerbait and was rewarded with this Smallie.  She wrapped me up twice,  but fortunately I had 12 lb ande on the Ambassaduer 4600 and 7' allstar rod..

Get Your Strike King Spinnerbait here - https://amzn.to/3VOfDuR

I then caught a bigger one but she broke my spinnerbait and fell into the water as i tried to lift her into the canoe.

The smallies were really whacking my chartreuse  spinnerbait .

Lots of these little guys.

To Steve and Jim. this ain't where u think it is.

Out of 3 smallie fishing trips this year this was definitely the best out of the 3. Next time I will be better prepared with more spinnerbaits.  See you on the water Mack

#bass

#smallmouthbass

#fishing

Gona miss Ole Sassy

I lost my second favorite fishing partner on 9/9/11. Sassy the Boxer has gone to doggy heaven.   Sorry Todd, Steve, Jeff, and Rodney but my son is first and Sassy was second as she never whined about me catching  all the big ones, never had to be home at a certain time,   and never once did she have to ask for permission to go fishing with me....LOL.......

Anyway,  she was diagnosed with cancer in May and we knew that this day would be here soon. Friday was a very tough day. A very tough day indeed.

A little History about Sassy.  Sassy was my fourth boxer and my  first boxer That wasn't a puppy when I got her. She was 1 1/2 years old and had no boundary's where she had lived. I consider myself very good at training dogs and all my previous boxers would stay in their yard with out fences(no underground fences here) . Sassy was going to be a project and would test my training ability and herself.

The first month we had sassy she was going everywhere....Running all over the neighborhood. My previous boxer(Jordan) was admired all over the neighborhood as people were amazed at how well she stayed in the yard and how well behaved she was. I even had her trained to climb ladders and get on roofs.
Sassy coming after Jordan was like the coach after  Bear Bryant or whomever is going to follow Joe Paterno.  It was going to be a tough job for Sassy.  Even Ms. Diane down the road told me one day after one of Sassy's many escapes "you will never get her to stay in the yard like Jordan". I informed her that Sassy would it was just going to take a little time. She was a diamond in the rough.   A little time was less than 2 months. She was a very fast learner and Sassy proved Ms. Diane wrong. Very wrong..... Sassy may not have been quite as smart as Jordan but it was darn near close  and her personality, loyalty, and strength probaly made her my number 1 dog of all time. She loved kids but you could tell that Sassy would protect us , to the end if she had to. Sassy was my partner on many fishing trips and if I left the house with rods in hand and didn't take her you could see the sadness in her eyes,  so sometimes I had to sneak out..

 On our first  fishing trip together we arrived at the haw and I put her in the front of my Old Town 158. You could tell she was a little nervous and about 50 yds after launching she vaulted out of the canoe and hit the water swimming. I  immediately snatched her back in which wasn't easy as she weighed 70 lbs.  She never jumped out again and was always ready to go canoeing. We enjoyed many days on the water together  and we also enjoyed many days at home with Sassy.  She was happy right up till the end......  I never feed my dogs people food but Sassy was spoiled this summer. She actually ate better than me sometimes and several days before her death she had 2 nice big ribeyes that i cooked for her on the grill.

Here are some pictures of Sassy.

And Finally my favorite Sassy fishing picture......

No Offense to Jordan as she was a Great dog but Sassy arriving on the scene after Jordan was like if  Roy Williams had accepted Carolina's first offer to suceed Dean Smith and there would of been no  Bill Gutheridge and Matt Doughtery.

Sassy didn't miss a beat. You will be missed.  Cindy, Mack Nicholas and Myself

Sassy McCorkle 6-12-2003 - 9-9-2011

Catfish Jugs

Since its so hot and the fishing isn't so great I have been working on some fishing stuff and re organizing my utility building. Now since I am sidelined for a few weeks I can still  work on some stuff but cant do anything heavy.   One problem with my Utility building is my catfish jugs take up one corner. These are(were) big orange tide detergent jugs which I have used for a long time.  Lately, I have been seeing videos on YOU TUBE about using pool noodles/pvc  and smaller drink bottles. I figured i would make some of these as they are easier to store and by the videos catch big fish just as well as the bigger jugs.
Here are the 2 types I made.   I followed this guys suggestions as I thing he has the best Video out there on making these.   see     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHAxmOuK3Tg

The pool noodle one is aprox 18 inches with a 12 inch section of noodle. The pvc is 3/4 inch.  Inside,  instead of rebar and fishing weights I used 3 inch bolts. This bolt u position near the top and when a cat hits it slides down and helps the noodle stand up. It also makes a smack when it hits the bottom and some people believe that makes the cat swim harder thus setting the hook. All hooks are 5/0 circle hooks.  The water bottle is a 20 oz bottle , the bottom painted white. I am going to add some reflective tape and glo stiks  which can also be put inside. Its hard to see but the noodle one does have reflective tape at the very top. Hopefully sometime soon  I can give a report on how they do. They surely have saved me some space as I can get 10 noodles in a bucket.  Search you tube and you will see alot of vidoes on making these. Mack

Spring Shellcrackers 2011

I am home recovering from an operation right now so I fiqured I would post this spring trip I never got a chance to post.  I think the date on this was May 22, 2011.  Shellcrackers caught on the longrod in a local lake in the piedmont of North Carolina .  All caught by using a yellow popper and then an ant trailer tied to the bend in the hook aprox 1 ft behind the popper.  Most caught on Ant trailer but quite a few on the popper. Caught probaly 20-25 nice Shellcrackers

Rundown on gear

Reel- Daiwa SF 706

Line- WF-4-F

Rod- 8'

Flies- Yellow Popper w/Black Ant trailer

Avg size caught

These Crackers were a blast on the flyrod. 

Mack



Float for Stripers and Largemouths

Hit up a piedmont river on Friday June the 24th.  Jeff and I had wanted to go to the yadkin or possibly another river but rains in those drainages made the conditions not to our liking. I suggested a river that I have fished alot in the past but only sparingly in the last few years. It was a good gamble. I also brought along a freind of mine , Mike.  I think we all had a blast.

We launced just after daylight and Mike spotted some schooling action upstream. We all headed that way and Mike and Jeff were tearing up the stripers. I couldnt buy a bite. They were having nothing to do with the topwater lures I had brought.  Very frustrating. I was glad for them but still very frustrating.  Finally I dug a little deeper in my box and found a lure I had forgot was in there.  A clear chug bug. Man! I prayed and thought that would be the lure.  First cast . Bam! A striper was on.  I ended up with about 15 stripers from 3 - 7 lbs on the ole chug bug. This bite lasted about an hour and I think we could of caught them longer but a long float lay ahead, so we headed down. .   Mike actually caught some on the longrod but I couldnt get there to take a photo, without messing up his spot..
Well done Mike!

Here are 2 of the stripers I caught.

We then Started throwing lures for bass. I started off with a white buzzer but ended up throwing a white spinnerbait.  I chose white as the water was very clear. I probaly brought to hand 20 plus largemougths,  though most were small in the 1 - 1 1/2 lb range. I did catch 1 that was probaly 4 lbs and a 3lber. Jeff ended up with the biggest at almost 5 lbs.

My best bass of the day

This  redbreast nailed my spinnerbait.

Mike w/an avg bass we caught today

Me and one of the many bass we caught.

Here is the big one of the day

We were floating down the river in a channel between 2 Islands when I heard some rustling in the woods on the Island. All of the sudden , this beast is standing there and he doesnt look happy that we are around.
He may have been the highlight of the day.

Here is a nice pic of the water that we were catching bass in.

A great day on the water with some great freinds.  Its hard to beat topwater stripers and Largemoughts on buzzers and spinnerbaits.  We also saw lots of wildlife. Herons, ducks, geese , ospreys, and 1 lone eagle and the lone goat.  Also saw some big gar, big monster carp and saw some big and i do mean big freshwater drum.

Mack