February 19, 2018 - When I became pastor of The First Baptist Church of Mauriceville, Texas in 1963, I was welcomed by a group of the finest deacons that I’ve ever met during my years in the ministry. From day “One” they drove me around the community and showed me the school, The Texla Sawmill and the homes of some church members.
I was overjoyed when Ed Hall volunteered to show me the best squirrel hunting woods such as the “S-Curve Woods” off Highway 96 and “the woods across the tracks on The Lemonville Road.” He told me about all the fishing places…the stock ponds, “8-Gate check” on the irrigation canal and a small lateral near a neighborhood rice farm. I drove down to the rice field lateral one day and found it exactly like Ed described it: “a road runs thru the water lateral dividing it in two parts and the adjacent rice field is working alive with water moccasins.”
When I reached the lateral, I was dressed for action. I had my Colt Peacemaker 22 revolver strapped around my waist and carried a Zebco rod and reel with an attached black and white skirted H&H spinner. As I stood between the divided holes of water, I cast first as far as I could to the water on my right. When the bait hit the water, I thought I’d snagged a log. As I reeled it in, I figured if it might be a fish… with no “fight” in him. When I got it to the bank, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was a huge large-mouth bass…I could have put both of my fists in his mouth. But he was in a STARVED condition…one of his eyes was missing…and his frail skeleton looked like a fish that had died. I started to put him back, but decided to release him into the other body of water…figuring he might find food on that side.
I walked into the edge of the rice field and there they were…scores of moccasins …just like Ed said…catching small fish as they flowed from the lateral into the field. I shot snakes for about 30 minutes …and then on my way back to the truck made a last cast into the body of water that I had released the poor bass in…..AND CAUGHT THE SAME BASS AGAIN! I crammed him head first into a bucket of water and drove wildly to the Mauriceville Intersection and to the pond behind Wyatt Paul’s Grocery Store. As I eased the bass into the water, he began to gradually breathe and fifteen minutes later swam slowly into deep water.
When I went into the store and asked Mr. Phillips if I could leave the bass in his pond, he agreed, and then laughed when I told him the fish was already in his pond. “I was afraid the fish would die if I stopped by the store first,” I said. I periodically checked the pond to see if the bass was floating on top and finally assumed he had survived.
Over the years, I’ve caught fish that broke my line, fish that broke my rod and some that even broke my reel…..but this is the only one I ever caught………
……..that broke my heart.
