Lakes in certain parts of the country contain more than something you want in your livewell. Alligators. They can be no more obvious than a rock or a log, so be careful. You want to get a bite, not get bit.

Let me share one of my bass fishing experiences with you.

This is bayou country. When I go to the lakes south of Houston, I have to watch for gators. So I'm always keeping an eyeball peeled for 'em. But sometimes ...

So last night I look and everything is clear so I walk down to the water and start bass fishing. After a few minutes, while I'm looking around I see this big log. This big log that gets oddly thinner at the end up on the shore and thicker in the water, and has odd bumps on it. Hold on .. that doesn't look right. I look further up the log to see how far it extends into the water and...

It has 2 big ol' eyes ... lookin' at me!! And it's only 10 feet away (just a quick couple of steps for a gator). Ooookay!

I slowly and calmly reel in my line (on the outside - on the inside, I'm in total panic) pick up my gear and move on.

So I go over to this other part of the lake, and now it's dark so I get up on a pier. I'm sitting in the woods in the dark and I hear something walking down the pier towards me. Not heavy enough to be human footsteps. With what little bit of starlight there is, I can see something about the size of a medium dog coming at me. What do I do now?

Well, I can't see what it is, but I can tell it's not a dog. So I get aggressive towards it to see if I can scare it away. Fortunately, it worked. I pointed the tip of my fishing pole towards it and it scampered away.

As it left I thought it looked like a large raccoon. Probably nothing to worry much about after all, but they can be aggressive and rabid. But it's creepy in the woods in the complete dark not being sure what's around you.

Then, in the water, I see the outline of this huge catfish swim right up underneath me below the pier I'm on. Wow! That's a big one! I've got to move bait up and fish under the pier and catch him!

So, I decide to put a light on it and see if I can get a better look at this monster. I aim the spotlight straight down into the water and...

Hey, look at that weed ... there were no weeds along this pier earlier. Hmmm. So I lean further over the pier to get a better look at this mystery weed .... YIKES!

THAT'S NO WEED - IT'S A CLAW - A BIG CLAW!

There is a gator right underneath me!!

Apparently (and I was able to confirm this on follow up visits) the gator is savvy to the fact that people catch fish and put them on stringers around the dock; making a great free and easy meal for the gator.

That's enough. I'm goin' home. Forget all about that macho stuff and learn how to play guitar.

Michael Russell
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