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Caddo Lake
By Russell Graves
Road trips are always epic for me. I live in the Texas Panhandle where chronic dryness and drought are the rule. Aside from an intermittently running river and a handful of farm ponds, water isn’t in abundance near where I live. Therefore, to get to unique and out of the way fly fishing waters, I have to travel often.
Early one October morning I packed my camera gear and fishing equipment for the long drive to unfamiliar waters. From my house to Caddo Lake is 409 miles of long and lonely roads that take me across the top of much of Texas along the Red River corridor. Somewhere near Bonham, I made a bend to the southeast and traveled the last quarter of my trip. Along the way, the landscape transforms from open rangelands to hardwoods and pine trees, and the culture morphs from a western attitude to one that’s steeped in traditions of the old south.
In the past, I’ve traveled all over Texas and have been to nearly every corner save, for some reason, this one. Caddo Lake is a mystery to me, and I’ll find that it is indeed a mystery to others who have experienced it in its 200 or so years of known existence.
A Lake Shrouded in History
From the banks, Caddo Lake doesn’t look all that big since there is not a huge body of water that lies before you. Instead it exists as a giant swamp with backwater sloughs that wind in and out of the giant cypress trees that stand draped in Spanish moss. In all, 25,400 acres of big, mysterious swamplands straddle the Texas/Louisiana border and takes its name from the indigenous Caddo Indian tribes who once inhabited the area.
Overall the lake is shallow and is only 20 feet at the deepest. Much of it, though, is shallow enough for trees to crowd the water. So numerous are the cypress trees that they make up the world’s largest cypress forest. There are some areas of significant open water, but many of those places have a carpet of lily pads and other aquatic vegetation that stretch for hundreds of yards. In fact, 60 percent of the lake is covered in aquatic vegetation.
This place is so unique it is recognized as an internationally protected wetland. The lake is also the second largest natural lake in the south and the largest (and one of the few) natural lake in Texas.
To read more pick up a copy of the September 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
One of my professors out at Texas Tech University always told us that we aren’t just raising cattle, we’re raising grass, because without grass there is no cattle business. The same applies to most livestock species and crops we seek to raise- without good land management, no good yield can grow.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Tony Dean
There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.
Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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