Thanks Erathkid, we also fished the "chicken coop", we even used dead minnows that had been taken off of hooks as they would hit just about anything when times were right.
Do you remember the fish scalers that looked like a washing machine at Harvey's? We would put a bunch of fish in them, drop a few quarters in and let her rip. Open up the door, take the fish out then finish by cutting them up or making filets.

Y'all stop now. I cut my teeth bass fishing on Toledo bend. We had a lake house (trailer) on the Louisiana side north of the bridge not too far from Zwolle. Some of my fondest memories are from down there wether it was bass fishing with an old culprit worm, catching perch for the lines or wrestling flatheads off those lines. Good times for sure.. different decade than you old hands though... The 80s

What's even funnier is I was just talking about it earlier with my brother. Screen shot a map and sent it to him we caught a lot of big blue gills by the island next to the fish cleaning station out of a flat bottom powered by paddles.

I dont remember those. I do remember cleaning 5-600 by hand, scaling them at the boat ramp then throwing the guts back in the lake. That's probably illegal nowadays. Caught nice bass on a fly rod in the same area. They would cruise by eating fish guys. Saw some biguns that way. Never hooked one though. They were stuffed, I'm guessing.

Let’s hear it

Has anybody heard of the Brag light ?? I saw it one night wow

As mentioned before good and bad folks everywhere, I know quite a few E.TX folks and they are great people

I hunted just west of Atlanta in Cass county with some peeps I worked with and a couple of mutual friends for one year in 1987. My boss at the time and his brothers were running the lease and were from Texarkana, lets just say they hunted deer year round and bragged about it. The X mutual friends from Dallas were almost as bad and now continue that tradition in west Texas and SW of the metroplex.

I hunted outside Robert Lee right on EV Spence Lake in 1988 and we would find poachers cigarette butts in our blinds all of the time. I hunted out of a tripod and saw two hunters with rifles within 200 yards of me opening weekend, whistled at them and they hauled azz.

I have not been in East TX in way to long, love the mixture of hardwoods and pines especially in the fall. Every now in then I would take a trip during fall just to enjoy the foliage colors.
This picture even though it is not that good is still hanging in my game room that I took in the early 90's while out cruising around during the fall in this beautiful country!

Yes I've heard about it and I've drove down Bragg Rd, but only during the daytime

Back on topic; Widest E.TX experience,

It was a long drive in the fall back in the early 90's with my then girlfriend nicknamed Cave Woman

I was walking in to my stand this year in Cass County. It was about 5am and a clear full moon night. The moon was so bright that I did not take my flashlight with me
as I was just going to walk down the middle of a logging trail.
It was cold and not a breath of air was stirring. As I got about half way to my stand, around 100 yards from me something howled a single long howl..It seemed to echo through the woods. Not a coyote or dog but it sounded
just like how a wolf howls in the movies. I had never heard anything like it. My safety came off for the rest of my walk to the stand. Whatever it was, it never howled again.
FYI...I always carry a good flashlight with me now.

Sound like you encountered a Rougarou that slipped over from Louisiana. On our hunting place in Panola county I recently had a conversation with my hunting buddy about how all the years I have hunted in East Texas how often I have heard sounds at night in the deep woods that I can never explain or identify. Especially during my years of night hunting with Walkers hounds. He has had just as many encounters with strange unexplained sounds in those East Texas woods as I have.

can someone elaborate on what brag lite is

I had never heard of it but googled it. Ghost story google Bragg Rd light and you'll see.

I never forget that night when we saw it I heard some old timers talk about it and thought it was just a joke.

In the late 70's early 80's the bar in Howard Johnson in Texarkana was plenty wild

lot more of them around Quinlan and Tawokoni. About the wildest thing I have heard in east Texas is a lady that had a big cat on top her blind. The cat's tail kept swishing in the window. She had no idea what it was and got tired of it. On one pass she reached out and grabbed it. When she did the cat jumped off the roof. The distance between the roof and the window was enough that it could only be one thing. There is now way this lady made this up. When she told me the story I could definitely tell she was very serious.

The women are trash and everybody is on dope and the cops like partnering up with the drug smugglers to make drug money. True very true.I live there. Secret society of sleezebags

Lone Star Law confirms the first part...

There are some good places though. We always have a good time and no issues. But get the hell out by lunch Sunday before the law comes looking for us...

This is down right funny! Man to be completely honest I much prefer folks over here in ETX compared to those in the central part of the state. Basically anywhere within 100 miles of I-35 is my no go zone. All that bein said there are quite a few bath tubs bein used for things other than bathing and yeah there are some poachers and rough folks but the same can be said for anywhere. To the OP, as far as the wildest thing I have ever seen here in ETX is a big ol' gal ( 350 maybe 400 ) beatin on a man about a quarter of her size in the Crockett Walmart parking lot lol. He didnt want none of what she was handin him neither. As far as in the woods, I've heard what I believe was a cougar screaming. I was about 18 and was squirrel hunting some bottoms in the big woods and the sun came down on me, and this god awful screeching started up probably a quarter mile through the woods from me. At the time I thought it was a friggin demon or something, but other people that I talked to told me about the cat screams. A little googling and youtubing led me to believe that was exactly what it was. Needless to say I was cutting a wide path through those woods in the dark trying to remember which way the road was. Lots of people say they aint out there in the big woods anymore and thats fine. Im not saying it was a panther or anything lol

I was raised in Marshall and had a wonderful childhood. Left for boot in ‘69 and didn’t go back. I still have friends there. Roaming the piney Woods is second nature to me. Currently I own a little place in Point Blank and have been working on it for a few years. I will say one thing that’s upsetting. I’ve not been able to find a honest helper down there and have given up. They all lie and will steal your money. This is only the yutes vs the Olds. If you can find a grown man or woman that’s willing to help, you will have a good hand.

I always think of east Texas starting with the pine trees thusly leaving out that particular group of lake trash but it is geographically east Texas. So I'll tell a good one.

I was about 19, 20 coming home from hunting with a buddy at fork. I was driving a 77 Chevy heavy half with a 454 and 4 barrel carb. It would pass anything but a gas station. I made it through west tawakoni and was almost to Quinlan looking for a lake access road to go look for ducks. I turned right off of 276 and was on a rock Rd with trailers. Second house I pass guys yells out "slow down boy" (speedo never worked on the truck but I could tell I wasn't going fast) I looked at him and let off the gas a bit but was confused. About 2 houses further down guy yells at me again. I go on ignore. Road turned to the right culdesaced and dead ended with no houses back in the cul-de-sac. I was mostly turned around headed back out when an old worn out ford came hauling in and blocked me in. No bs two guys wearing wife beaters and carrying nattys start walking towards my truck. I had a split second decision to make. Try to talk to these guys and get on down the Rd or roll the dice on running through the ditch (grass was tall and I did not have a 4wd) I took the ditch option luckily it was not a deep wet bar ditch. When I got around those boys I pulled a card from an old Charlie Daniels song power braked it and rooster tailed rock and gravel all over those two rednecks and that beat up truck. I let off that brake and gave that 4 Barrel some gas throwing rocks and fishtailing all the way down that rd. Literally everyone running into their yards screaming and waving I'm windows down finger out the window giving it back to them. Look in my mirror and a pretty new f150 was loading up a lynching mob. (ford had just went from square to rounded front end) they started following me with a half dozen fellas hanging out of the back of the truck yelling. They got quiet when I brake checked them as I was approaching 34. Followed me all the way to mid lakes, at that time 276 was a 2 lane road and I was stuck behind a mini van. When that mini van turned off I gave them one last number 1 out the window and fed that carb again and they were gone. I made it to back to Rockwall and never drove that truck through that town again.

And "they' were the "rednecks"?

I'll admit to being a redneck. But I draw the line at white trash.

The back of my neck has always had a little sunburn and 30+ years in the big city has not rubbed it off.

if hear a banjo playing , run like hell