- Outdoor columnist Ben Smith enjoys the annual Mississippi Wildlife Federation Extravaganza weekend for the memories made with friends old and new.
There’s something about sitting on a riverbank that purifies the soul. No lights, aside from a headlamp every now and then. Just sitting in a lawn chair in the dark waiting for that bell to ring. It’s no secret that I’ve had a less than optimal summer. Our family has suffered its share of losses since school let out in the spring. It’s part of life and getting older, and I’ve accepted that. I’ve even joked that I’ve reached the age where we now go to more funerals than we do weddings. But believe it or not, there’s a short term cure to a broken heart…the riverbank.
The Mississippi Wildlife Federation hosts their annual Wildlife Extravaganza the last weekend in July each year. For the last few years, I’ve attended and become friends with all sorts of people. It’s a great event to attend if you enjoy anything outdoors related, so it’s obviously right up my alley. I like just walking around and looking at all of the new gadgets and tools that people are selling. From hunting apparel to game calls, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Seriously, if you can’t find a turkey call to fit you at this event then you’d just better make your own. I felt like every other booth I passed by last weekend had turkey calls for sale.
There were new tree stands and hunting blinds. There were real estate agents that would sell you hunting land. Any kind of seasoning that you could dream up was being sold along with cookers and cutting boards. There were apparel companies galore. Outside there was handgrabbing for kids, retriever dog shows, and coon dog races. Fishing rods, fishing lures, guns, and so much more. The Magnolia Records program workers were busy scoring deer from last season and hanging them up on the main stage. For three days the Clyde Muse Center was something to give a PETA member nightmares for a lifetime.
And mixed in with all of that were celebrities from all kinds of different shows. Swamp People, Naked and Afraid, Moonshiners, and several more shows were well represented. And if you really wanted to be entertained, my buddy Justin (you may know him as Stalekracker) was there signing autographs on paddles all the while telling you “Das money dude” with his thick Cajun accent. The people that make this event possible do such a great job. I don’t know all of them, but I do know Dan Robinson and Ashlee Smith, and they are to be commended. But as much as I enjoy the Wildlife Extravaganza, there’s another tradition that’s been created that I look forward to most.
Over the last few years, I’ve gotten to where I’ll stay at the camp during the Extravaganza weekend to avoid hotels, or driving back and forth. It’s about a thirty-five minute drive from the Muse Center which is the perfect amount of time to get my ducks in a row before going to the show and the perfect amount of time to decompress afterward. But that’s not the best thing about staying at the camp. The best thing about staying at the camp is doing a little night fishing on the river.
Joined by my cousin and one of our best friends, we met up at the camp to see if we could pull in a few catfish. I rolled into the driveway of the camp in a downpour, which had followed me all the way from Collins. The radar didn’t look promising for us to have the chance to fish. It’s not that we can’t fish in the rain because we have certainly all done it before. It’s the fact that we are getting older, and maybe wiser, and don’t really like being wet all night.
Just before the last remaining light faded, the rain let up giving us an opportunity to fish. To be honest, I was elated. Fishing makes me feel better, and given the last few weeks I feel like I’ve been constantly searching for good feelings. And I’m not the only one. My cousin and his family have had more than their fair share of grief recently, also. The rain subsiding was what we both needed, so we decided to take advantage.
The three of us set out to catch bait for the evening, which proved to be eventful in itself. One of the three of us absolutely hates any type of reptile. I won’t name names so you can guess who it might be. As we were getting bait, we were joined by a rather good sized water snake that took offense to us fishing in his spot. No matter what we tossed at him he did not want to leave. To be a non-venomous snake it was probably the most aggressive one that I’ve seen. Several times he tried to get out of the water up on the bank of the lake next to us.
After getting enough bait, and avoiding a snakebite, we headed down to the river. My cousin drove rod holders into the bank and rigged up three rods. After throwing out the bait, he attached a little bell to the tip of each rod to alert us of when we were getting a bite. Then began my favorite part…the waiting. I’m not usually a patient person, but this is one of those times when I could sit there all night. We went through periods of conversation and periods of silence. The night air was so thick it would stick to you. As the clouds from earlier moved on stars dotted the black sky. An owl called in the distance. Then, that familiar “ding ding ding” cut through the silence.
We’d been sitting there for several hours with no luck. Not that it mattered, but it is nice to hear that bell ring every once in a while. I hopped on the rod and started reeling. Best I could tell, it felt like a pretty nice fish. If you’ve never caught fish in the river, the fight is a little better than in a lake or pond due to the currents. I cranked on the reel until the fish landed at my cousin’s feet. He reached down and pulled up the sixteen pound catfish with the biggest smile on his face that I’ve seen in a while. Our night was complete.
We released the fish to catch again another night and packed up all of our gear. Usually, I’d want to keep it and eat it, but it had gotten pretty late. Plus, this trip was more about hanging out than it was about bringing home fish to eat. On the way back to the camp my mind was finally at ease. The look on my cousin’s face told me that his was too.
Ben Smith
