I Wanna Sleep All Day and F(ish) All Night

Lend me a few bucks?
A friend of mine has some property for sale that I would dearly love to own. It's a little more than 1800 acres bordering the Mississippi River up in the Delta around Addie, MS. It's got its own oxbow lake as well as having easy access to the river, so you just pick the kind of fish you want to set out for and choose your spot. I do love to fish, and this place has got to be like fishing in Heaven. Rick shared some of his experiences fishing the lake, and described slab crappie bigger than his construction worker-sized hand. Now, every fisherman has his tall tales, but judging by the gleam in his eye I think he wanted to be there right then, catching some more.
The property has plenty of beautiful timber land as well, and everyone knows how big the Whitetail get in these parts. Now, I'm not a hunter anymore, but I would love to roam that countryside just to get a peek at the big bucks that roam that neck of Mississippi woods.
Speaking of peek, I've seen a few pictures of the duck and geese that come into the area. The property is right on the Mississippi flyway. My friend took some pictures of the geese coming in and showed them to me. The earth was literally white with them. It looked like it had snowed geese.
I was impressed.
"Rick, when are we gonna go up there so I can see it in person?" I asked excitedly.
"Nope, I don't have time to go up there just to show it off. Besides, if I spend too much more time up there I might not have the heart to sell it." 

Rick was serious, especially about the last part. There are a few areas in Mississippi and Louisiana that are still pristine and full of wildlife, and when you're in one of those places, well, the sights, sounds and even smells are inviting, invigorating - they bring out the country boy in all of us.  It's adventure, peace, and some primitive longing to just be simple again and part of nature instead of staring at pictures and computer screens.

Now, the purpose of his showing me all this was so I could help him sell it, but I couldn't help but daydream a bit about owning it myself.  Truly, I've not often thought about leaving the Natchez/Vidalia area, with its own beauty and the people I've come to know as friends, but this was tempting.

So I'm not in the market myself, but in case you are - or if you're just curious enough to want to see some of it, go to www.deltahuntingland.com and take a peek. 

And if you end up buying the land, maybe you'll take pity on us poor folks and invite me up for some fishing?  I'll cook!

Cabins, The Other Accommodation

I'm finding that one of the best sources of topics for my blog comes from emails sent to my travel guide, NatchezMS.com. These emails contain the many questions from folks who are planning trips to Natchez.

Recently, Keith asked about cabins in the area. He wants to do some fishing, but he wants to be close enough to tour Natchez' attractions as well.

The Natchez State Park was the first place I mentioned. The lake is a great place to fish. Mississippi's record largemouth bass was caught here several years ago - more than 18 pounds! The MS Wildlife & Fisheries site is being worked on apparently - not very informative and with some misleading photos on the Natchez page. I sent him to the ReserveAmerica page instead.

Giles Island is the premier spot to hunt and fish in the Miss-Lou. The advantages to this sportsman's paradise are too numerous to mention in this blog. Go see the website!

Sportsman's Lodge is located on Lake Concordia, about 12 miles northwest of Natchez in Louisiana. Concordia is chock full of largemouth, crappie, bream, catfish, and even some stripers or striper hybrid. The Lodge has numerous cabins, a great pier with boat slots, outdoor grills, and a store with gas, bait and snacks.

Lakeview Lodge, on the southern tip of Lake Concordia, is one I don't know a lot about yet, but looks good from the site, and appears to be a good place for groups of fishermen.

If you're looking for something more upscale, try Cypress Shore. It's a two-story house on Lake St. John, just one lake up from Concordia, with a multi-faceted private pier, full kitchen and nice living area. Great for family vacations in the Great Outdoors!

Keith had one caveat; he wants to bring his dog. This isn't always a problem, but it's a good idea to check with the proprietor before bringing a pet to any accommodations.

I hope this proves helpful to those planning vacations in our area. Hotels here can be convenient, comfortable places to stay, but sometimes you want something just a little different.
If I've missed anybody I apologize and I welcome your reply to tell me about your place or your favorite place to stay and fish!