OUTDOORS

This past weekend, I joined my friends on the tree covered grounds of the Top Rail Cowboy Church in Greenville for our 5th Annual Spring Outdoor Rendezvous. A few years ago, long-time radio personality and good friend Friendlee Buffington and I were visiting about starting an outdoor spring event in Hunt County, and the idea of the Luke Clayton’s Spring Rendezvous was born. For the first couple years, the event was hosted by Randy Koon on his 4 acres near downtown Greenville. As the event grew, it was obvious we needed a larger place, and when Pastor Charlie Nassar offered the 14 wooded acres and the indoor arena in case of rain, the event had a new home.

Weather is always ‘iffy’ in March, but one of the prerequisites for the event was campfires. We wanted all the vendors to have their own campfire if they wished. The big covered arena is available as a backup in case of rain, but every year the Good Lord has blessed us with fine weather. The first Saturday of March was chosen as the big day; it’s usually cool enough in early March to enjoy a campfire. There were plenty of campfires burning and lots of great food being served and given to visitors this past weekend, nice and cool during the first few hours of the morning and then a nice warm up that helped boost attendance. The Top Rail Cowboy Chuck Wagon Team and the Lone Star Dutch Kettle Society were serving up mouth-watering dishes and the Church’s band kept everyone entertained with some great pickin and singing. I always have a campfire going and regulars to the event like Larry Weishuhn and Bill Carey look forward to my Dutch kettle peach cobbler. In past years, I seem to run out by early afternoon, so this year I made a ‘mega’ cobbler using 3 gallons of peaches. At the end of the day, there was even a bit left for the folks back home.

I also had a Dutch kettle filled with Kuby’s famous smoked links. I invited guests to grab a piece of bread, apply a little barbeque sauce on the link, and serve themselves. Some were hesitant at first, but at the end of the day, the kettle full of links had almost disappeared! Guests were at first a bit hesitant by my invitation, “Grab that welder’s glove to remove the lid to that kettle on the edge of the fire. There is the bread and barbeque sauce. Help yourself.”

My daughter’s fatherin- law, Phil Zimmerman, and nephew Billy Kilpatrick were on hand with a couple of propane burners going for the fish fry. These two do know how to turn out a well-seasoned, crispy fish fillet as well as a ‘done to the center’ hush puppy which is a challenge for many cooks. Phil and I have been stockpiling fish fillets for a few months for the event, and with spring fishing season just underway, we needed to create some freezer space for a new supply of fish. We served a mixture of catfish, white bass, and striper, and I enjoyed asking folks what type of fish they were eating. We had some serious fish eaters in the crowd that easily identified the species they were chowing down on, and many commented that it was some of the tastiest fish they have eaten in a long time! I’ve always been challenged with hush puppies. Seems they are often too done on the outside and a bit mushy on the inside. Lower heat and an extra minute or two in the cooking oil is the secret.

Donny Lynch and his lovely wife Lucille came up all the way from Lake Caddo. Donny is well known for raising some of the best squirrel dogs in the country and, as my friends around the campfire learned, he’s also pretty good at keeping folks entertained with some very funny jokes.

Events such as our yearly rendezvous are a great way to get folk outdoors and connected. Regardless where you might read my weekly column, I’m betting folks would enjoy such an event. Not everyone that comes to the rendezvous are hunters and fishermen but everyone seems to enjoy the opportunity to be outdoors during very early spring when the trees are just beginning to bud and there is still a bit of a nip in the air.

My good friend Jeff Rice was on hand with a video camera filming a segment of our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” that airs on CarbonTV.com and YouTube. If you are an avid hunter, fisherman, camper, or outdoor cook, you will enjoy our show we bill as “real world outdoors”. We don’t always shoot a big buck or catch a big fish but we do try our best to depict what enjoying the outdoor lifestyle is really all about.

WHITE BASS RUN White bass are making their spawning run up creeks and rivers above lakes throughout much of the state. Early warm weather and runoff from rainfall a couple weeks ago set the stage for what should be a great ‘run’. Downsized baits such as Roadrunners, Beetle Spins of Lil Fishies will all produce action. The key is to fish baits that won’t easily get snagged on tree roots in the creek and the little spinners on these baits help to reduce hang-ups. I like to walk along the bank tossing the baits into deeper holes in the creek bed. A very slow retrieve always works best, and the strike is usually hard. White bass are laying wait for baitfish or crawfish moving along with the current, and they are definitely not soft biters. Spinning reels spooled with twelve-pound line work well, and it’s a good bet to carry a good supply of baits. I often attach about 6 feet of 8-pound test leader that will break easily when a snag does occur.

Email outdoor writer Luke Clayton through his website www.catfishradio. org.