We were at the Ice Plant near Panacia, Florida, int he mid 1930s, as the ice man folded two 25-pound blocks of ice in two crocker bags, folded them up and set them on the rear bumper of our Model-A Ford.

Mother liked up at the sky, sniffed the air and sed git in son. I got in and tore out to the road to Live Oak Island, a two rut dirt road where we were staying in the one big house up on top of the islands.

Mr. Buck Duke and family was staying, when we reached the house, she sed git all your stuff and come back and git in this car and wait for me. She got one of the men or boys to unload the ice, she had her suit case and came running to the car.

Mr. Buck called to her, “Miss Myrt, where you going?”

She answered, “Mr. Buck theres a hurricaine coming and I’m leaving,” she got int he car and headed for the two-lane road up to Tallahassee, Florida.  Then on U.S. 90 Quincey and on up Faceville and home. When the hurricaine hit the water come up to the top step of the house, they had to stay inside four or five days. She later explained to me how she knew it was coming. When the dog fennell blooms three days til a frost. When the willow blooms float off on dead air a hurricaine is due.

But, I declare these past weeks is hard to figure out even for the experts with all the instruments to predict. Snow, sleet, hail and bright sonshine, then rain again.

Gary Griffen, local fisherman has the only real brite spot in the bass field. Out of three trips this weed he’s landed 25 bass up to 6 pounds on a “Storm” curly tail worm.

Then our own Lucy Mae Sloan, 7 years old, landed a nice bass fishing with her dad, Mike Sloan and that’s about it.

W.C. Johnson and Bill Allen went back striper fishen Wednesday and only took four but two of them were over 20 pounds. Those two folks has caught more than 1,000 hybreds and stripers this year and released them. By now they are all leaving the lake and heading up stream to try and lay eggs. Some will hit a Dam (Chattahoochee) those up the Flint can find rocky shoals and in the flood stage we are in now, may lay eggs and they will float suspended until they hatch.

Crappie is still slow, however a few has been taken, and they have eggs that have stretched and are in a shrinking stage.

The team of Corrie, Kyle and Cone of Quinette County, Georgia, had exalant duck hunting, worked the decoys and brought down canvas backs, buffle heads, ring necks, blue bills, 20 in all on a two-day hunt. Friday, Saterday and Sunday They wuz a heap of shooting don’t know how hitting took place.

Scottie Shebel took two 6-point bucks over line in Flordia. He is a lucky hunter.

One youngster 7 years old on his first deer hunt, saw a deer.  His mother int he stand with him saw a deer, she sed, “git ready,” he eased up his rifle and shot the deer he saw and it fell dead with a neck shot, the deer she saw ran off she turned and sed you missed him, he sed no mother my deer fell, the one she saw turned around and come back to the stand and he dropped that one, two deer in 3 minutes ain’t a bad start.

Wingate’s Fishing Report

December 20 , 2009

Lake surface temp: 52Lake level: Near fullLake clarity: MuddyFlint: Flood stage and muddyChattahoochee: Flood stage and muddySpring Creek: DingyReport provided by: Jack Wingate