WEBVTT - Ep. 121: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Frog Giggin!

0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:09.240
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves

0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.680
<v Speaker 1>from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.040
<v Speaker 1>I want you to stay a while as I share

0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.479
<v Speaker 1>my stories and the country skills that will help you

0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.360
<v Speaker 1>beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as

0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.880
<v Speaker 1>part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best

0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.960
<v Speaker 1>outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends,

0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.080
<v Speaker 1>pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I

0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:40.200
<v Speaker 1>think I got a thing or two the teacher frog gigging.

0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:47.680
<v Speaker 1>If there's a more identifiable country summer nighttime grocery gathering

0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.640
<v Speaker 1>endeavor than frog gigging, I don't know what it'd be.

0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:56.480
<v Speaker 1>What other activity combines water, the darkness, a flashlight, sneaking

0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:59.200
<v Speaker 1>up on prey and going home with a toasack full

0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:03.200
<v Speaker 1>of goodies better than frog gigging? I dare say none.

0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.119
<v Speaker 1>There's different ways to do it, but the end goal

0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:08.360
<v Speaker 1>is to get a mess big enough to get the

0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:11.160
<v Speaker 1>grease to stinking. I'm going to tell you where to

0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:13.280
<v Speaker 1>find them, how we catch them, how we clean them,

0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.200
<v Speaker 1>and how we cook them up. Better get you a

0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:18.560
<v Speaker 1>snack before you listen, cause you're going to be hunger

0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.479
<v Speaker 1>when we get done. But first I'm going to tell

0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:24.160
<v Speaker 1>you a story of how I came to poking holes

0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:35.160
<v Speaker 1>and frogs on the History Channel in twenty eleven, we

0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:37.640
<v Speaker 1>were sitting at the table eating supper when an unknown

0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:41.520
<v Speaker 1>number from Los Angeles ring on my cellphone. I didn't answer.

0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.240
<v Speaker 1>Had to be a wrong number. I didn't know anybody

0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.880
<v Speaker 1>in Los Angeles. We finished eating and they called back.

0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:51.080
<v Speaker 1>Now I have to admit I love wrong numbers and

0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.640
<v Speaker 1>texts from wrong numbers. They're like a bird nest on

0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.000
<v Speaker 1>the ground. They're easy pickings, Like the time I got

0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.240
<v Speaker 1>a random text from someone at a conference who was bored,

0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:04.240
<v Speaker 1>and it went something like, this is this the right

0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.120
<v Speaker 1>number for your new phone? Lisa? This is Janet. This

0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.200
<v Speaker 1>conference is so boring. I wish I had an excuse

0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:13.040
<v Speaker 1>to get out of here. I'm sitting down front and

0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:15.680
<v Speaker 1>I can't turn around to see where you are. Man,

0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:18.000
<v Speaker 1>I remember this like it was yesterday. It still gives

0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:23.760
<v Speaker 1>me chills. Here was my Here was my response, Yes, Janet,

0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.359
<v Speaker 1>thank goodness you texted. I had a burrito from the

0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.720
<v Speaker 1>complimentary breakfast bar and I'm dying. I'm stranded in the

0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:33.000
<v Speaker 1>bathroom and no TP and my phone is almost dead,

0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.200
<v Speaker 1>grab a roll and run to the lobby bathroom hurry.

0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:40.760
<v Speaker 1>Thirty minutes later I got a text saying, Lisa, I've

0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.400
<v Speaker 1>been to the lobby in every bathroom on six floors.

0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:46.919
<v Speaker 1>Where are you. I'm not sure how that played out.

0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.640
<v Speaker 1>I blocked her number after that last one, but I

0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:54.000
<v Speaker 1>hope she had a good sense of humor. So guess what.

0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:58.280
<v Speaker 1>My phone rang again, but this time I answered and

0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:01.760
<v Speaker 1>a lady asked to speak to Reeves. I said, this

0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:04.440
<v Speaker 1>is him. She told me her name and said, I'm

0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:06.840
<v Speaker 1>a producer for the BBC. We have a new show

0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:11.440
<v Speaker 1>to be on History Channel called Harry Biker's. We saw

0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.000
<v Speaker 1>your frog hunting video on YouTube and would like to

0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:15.880
<v Speaker 1>pay you to help us film a show like what

0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.360
<v Speaker 1>you filmed. Now, I did have a video on YouTube

0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.000
<v Speaker 1>that I shot a year earlier just for fun, that

0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:25.080
<v Speaker 1>I'd posted, but I made the mistake of putting Born

0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:29.000
<v Speaker 1>on a bio by Credence Clearwater Revival with it and

0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.760
<v Speaker 1>quickly got it snatched off the air by John Fogery's

0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:36.200
<v Speaker 1>lawyer or somebody, and rightfully so. So I'm thinking to myself,

0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:38.720
<v Speaker 1>this is a crocer bull and eventually this lady's going

0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:40.960
<v Speaker 1>to ask me for my credit card number so she

0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.640
<v Speaker 1>can help me get rich. So I said, I'm not

0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.000
<v Speaker 1>interested in participating in your scam today, and I hung up.

0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:50.640
<v Speaker 1>She called back, and it's a wonder I even answered.

0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.200
<v Speaker 1>But when I did, she said, mister Reeves, please hear

0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.920
<v Speaker 1>me out. We're a legitimate television production company and we

0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.520
<v Speaker 1>want to hire you to help us produce a segment

0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.120
<v Speaker 1>for the show. Oh, it's an American version of a

0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:04.920
<v Speaker 1>successful show in England, and we're going to be in

0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:08.840
<v Speaker 1>Arkansas film and several activities, and think you could help

0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.640
<v Speaker 1>us represent your state in your way of life. I

0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:14.960
<v Speaker 1>started to believe her, but I told her if they

0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.560
<v Speaker 1>were looking for someone to help them poke fun at

0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:20.200
<v Speaker 1>people in our whale life, that she'd picked the wrong

0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.240
<v Speaker 1>man to help her. I wouldn't be a part of

0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:26.000
<v Speaker 1>anything like that. She assured me that they loved what

0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.640
<v Speaker 1>I'd filmed and they wanted the world to see what

0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:31.680
<v Speaker 1>fun we were having and how we did it. She

0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:33.560
<v Speaker 1>didn't ask me if I eat the frogs I caught,

0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:35.560
<v Speaker 1>and I remember saying yes, I'm If I didn't need them,

0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.480
<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't be running around at night jobbing holes in them.

0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:42.200
<v Speaker 1>She thought that was funny as for my address and

0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:45.880
<v Speaker 1>said she was sending me five hundred dollars. Three days later,

0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:47.960
<v Speaker 1>I got it in the mail and ran to the

0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:52.560
<v Speaker 1>bank to make sure it was good. It was a

0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.880
<v Speaker 1>few weeks later, and after lots of planning and coordinating,

0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.360
<v Speaker 1>the production crew and hosts showed up for two days

0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:02.880
<v Speaker 1>of filming. A month or so after that, Yours Truly

0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:05.920
<v Speaker 1>was gigging Frogs on the History Channel with Paul Patrinella

0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.960
<v Speaker 1>and Bill Allen. These Texas boys were compadres and traveled

0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:13.760
<v Speaker 1>around the US gathering up victials and with the locals

0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.240
<v Speaker 1>and cooking them the way the locals did. Then they

0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.360
<v Speaker 1>flipped the script and fixed the food according to their style.

0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:22.839
<v Speaker 1>Paul was a short enough trained professional chef, and Bill

0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.000
<v Speaker 1>he was like me. He just a cat that like

0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:27.960
<v Speaker 1>to cook, except he was really good at it. They

0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:30.600
<v Speaker 1>got out of the TV business after a while, and

0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:33.960
<v Speaker 1>Paul owns the Bait Barn Fisheries down in Brian, Texas,

0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.800
<v Speaker 1>where you can order freshwater fish for your ponds and lakes.

0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.839
<v Speaker 1>And Bill that Rascal's busier than a one armed paper hanger.

0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:44.760
<v Speaker 1>He's in Brian too, and a genuine brain surgeon caliber

0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:49.640
<v Speaker 1>mechanic at Frank's motorcycle resurrections, and even manages his sons band,

0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:54.240
<v Speaker 1>the Southern Degenerates. That sounds like the recurring theme of

0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:57.520
<v Speaker 1>My family Reunions. It was a lot of fun doing

0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.080
<v Speaker 1>that show, and I count them boys as friends. But

0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:02.200
<v Speaker 1>they still ain't asked me to come fishing with them

0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:05.719
<v Speaker 1>in the Gulf. But anyway, if you're interested in watching

0:06:05.720 --> 0:06:08.280
<v Speaker 1>that episode, you can see it for free on the

0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:12.640
<v Speaker 1>Pluto TV app. Search for Harry Baker's USA at episode

0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:16.839
<v Speaker 1>Numero Uno is finger Licking Frogs with no Beard Brent.

0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.440
<v Speaker 1>My buddy Jeremy Humphreys helped me with that project. I

0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.360
<v Speaker 1>don't think he's been fishing with them either, But if

0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.120
<v Speaker 1>they're only inviting one of us to look, Jeremy get

0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:34.280
<v Speaker 1>your own podcast. And that's just how that happened. Now,

0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:36.120
<v Speaker 1>I wonder how many folks who listen to this have

0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:40.120
<v Speaker 1>ever been frog gigging. Even better, I wonder how many

0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.840
<v Speaker 1>folks of eating them now. Just like a lot of

0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:45.440
<v Speaker 1>the people I grew up with, I love frog legs,

0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:48.200
<v Speaker 1>batter and fried and scale it. My mama didn't eat

0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.119
<v Speaker 1>a lot of them, but she'd cook us as many

0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.760
<v Speaker 1>as we wanted on one condition. She didn't want to

0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:56.279
<v Speaker 1>cook them if they hadn't been frogs. Do you know

0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:58.919
<v Speaker 1>that you can make a fresh skipp frog leg wiggle

0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.200
<v Speaker 1>and twitch with just a pinch of salt put on them?

0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:06.279
<v Speaker 1>Apparently rigor mortis doesn't set in as fast with frogs

0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:09.720
<v Speaker 1>as it does other creatures, and fresh frog legs still

0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.120
<v Speaker 1>have some cells that can respond to stimulus and salt

0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:17.320
<v Speaker 1>hot grease. It can make them twitch. It would freak

0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:19.600
<v Speaker 1>my mama out, and we could hear her every time

0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:23.680
<v Speaker 1>it happened, regardless of where we were inside or out.

0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:27.360
<v Speaker 1>First things first, we got to catch them to cook them,

0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.960
<v Speaker 1>and there may be no cheaper source of entertainment. When

0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.000
<v Speaker 1>it comes to the equipment, you need to start gathering

0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:36.760
<v Speaker 1>them up because you really only need a light to

0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.440
<v Speaker 1>see in the dark with the blind the frog while

0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:41.880
<v Speaker 1>you slipping up on it. Now, when I was young,

0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.240
<v Speaker 1>and I can't tell you how many of those old

0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.520
<v Speaker 1>six Volk batteries I went through that attached with two

0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:49.960
<v Speaker 1>wires to a little light that was rigged up on

0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:53.400
<v Speaker 1>the headstrap. The metal bracket that held that light was

0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.240
<v Speaker 1>flat as a flitter, and by the end of the

0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.880
<v Speaker 1>night it made your forehead feel like Chuck Norris have

0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:00.880
<v Speaker 1>been using it for target practice. I started using my

0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.360
<v Speaker 1>coon hunting light after that, and that was an old

0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:06.680
<v Speaker 1>carbide light i'd wired up on my cap. I got

0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.520
<v Speaker 1>my first one when I was twelve from Johnson's Hardware

0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:11.920
<v Speaker 1>store and I paid eight dollars for it. If you

0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:14.760
<v Speaker 1>don't know what a carboyd light is, you'ta look that up.

0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:17.400
<v Speaker 1>I was basically walking around in the woods with an

0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.600
<v Speaker 1>open flame of settling torch burning on my head, not

0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:25.040
<v Speaker 1>kidding you. Adjusted the brightness by how much gas was

0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.440
<v Speaker 1>fed to the flame through a valve that was connected

0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:32.120
<v Speaker 1>to a small reservoir of carbide that sat under a

0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:36.080
<v Speaker 1>small container of water that dripped onto the carbide, creating

0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:40.240
<v Speaker 1>settling gas. Now what parent wouldn't want their child walking

0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:44.120
<v Speaker 1>around with a flamethrower strapped to their face. I'd love

0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:46.920
<v Speaker 1>to have that thing back, And if anyone out there

0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:49.360
<v Speaker 1>has one that works and they'd part with it, hit

0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:51.080
<v Speaker 1>me up on the old Gram and let me know.

0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:54.600
<v Speaker 1>And before we get to catching them, we got a

0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:58.400
<v Speaker 1>no word to look and win. Well. The wind is

0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:01.400
<v Speaker 1>easy when the frogs come out, And ten times out

0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.760
<v Speaker 1>of ten the frogs come out at night. That's one

0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.640
<v Speaker 1>of the ones we're after, do anyway, And the one

0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:11.719
<v Speaker 1>we're after is the American bullfrog frog nerds. Get your

0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.680
<v Speaker 1>pencils ready and understand I'm not John Prine and talking

0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:19.160
<v Speaker 1>ugly and Hawaiian. I'm fixing to speak Latin. Leido badez

0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:24.679
<v Speaker 1>cadis bajanas is the Latin name for our supper ben

0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.360
<v Speaker 1>bat and haight I do on that we got to

0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:31.840
<v Speaker 1>have water in just about any old water will do. Ponds, lakes, creeks,

0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:36.199
<v Speaker 1>boughs and rivers, they'll all fill the bill. Slow moving

0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:39.000
<v Speaker 1>portions of the streams are best, and the ones with

0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:42.760
<v Speaker 1>clean banks, well they're even better. That show we found

0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:45.120
<v Speaker 1>for the History Channel was done on a mental farm

0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:47.680
<v Speaker 1>where they kept the pond bank's mode and we could

0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.920
<v Speaker 1>slip down the levees, usually spying the frogs a long

0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:54.600
<v Speaker 1>time before we ever got to them. In the cottonel Us.

0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:58.079
<v Speaker 1>My research shows that every state except for the Peace

0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.839
<v Speaker 1>Garden state of North Dakota has a chorus of bullfrogs.

0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:04.360
<v Speaker 1>Do you know that's what you call a group of bullfrogs?

0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:11.520
<v Speaker 1>Of course it's a fitting a denter fire. If I

0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:15.599
<v Speaker 1>do save myself, I like to hunt them on boughs, sleughs,

0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.920
<v Speaker 1>and canals. You can get a small on a boat

0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.640
<v Speaker 1>or a pi row or a kayak, anything that will

0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.760
<v Speaker 1>cruise along in shallow water and use a push pole,

0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:28.560
<v Speaker 1>a paddle or a trolling motor to quietly ease down

0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.160
<v Speaker 1>the edges. That's where you're gonna find a old bully.

0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:33.680
<v Speaker 1>It'll be sitting right near the edge of the bank,

0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:36.280
<v Speaker 1>on the ground or in the water. Their eyes will

0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:39.360
<v Speaker 1>shine easy enough, but one thing I always look for

0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.920
<v Speaker 1>is that whitish colored patch of their throat, and most

0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:45.319
<v Speaker 1>times it's just as easy to see as their eyes.

0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:48.400
<v Speaker 1>If the woods are flooded, you can find them sitting

0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:53.040
<v Speaker 1>on logs, big lily pads, floating around moss, just about anywhere.

0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:56.280
<v Speaker 1>The key to the whole operation is having a steady

0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.120
<v Speaker 1>beam of light directed in that rascal's eyes to keep

0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.480
<v Speaker 1>them still along on them for you to get close

0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:04.320
<v Speaker 1>enough to add him to your limit. Gig Man, stay

0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.080
<v Speaker 1>focused on that frog and be ready in case he

0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.120
<v Speaker 1>starts to get away, but not so focused that you're

0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:21.080
<v Speaker 1>not aware of your surroundings. A good friend of mine

0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:23.560
<v Speaker 1>tells the tale of when he was a game warden

0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:27.080
<v Speaker 1>and received a complaint of someone gigging frogs out of season.

0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:31.120
<v Speaker 1>The frog season usually opens around the middle of April here,

0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:34.960
<v Speaker 1>but this spring had been unusually warm and frogs were

0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:38.520
<v Speaker 1>everywhere on this farm, and these boys were helping themselves

0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.800
<v Speaker 1>a few weeks too early, and on top of that,

0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:45.200
<v Speaker 1>they were supposedly seldom without a license. There was a

0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:48.680
<v Speaker 1>big cypress boo that wound through that property, and he

0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:52.079
<v Speaker 1>said it was covered up with frogs. So after getting

0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:54.920
<v Speaker 1>the complaint, he went down and snuck into a good

0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.920
<v Speaker 1>hiding spot to sit and watch for him. He did

0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:01.320
<v Speaker 1>it two nights in a row parking, hiding his truck,

0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:05.320
<v Speaker 1>walking a long way to his hiding spot, sitting in

0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:07.840
<v Speaker 1>the dark and watching him, waiting and listening for them,

0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:11.160
<v Speaker 1>and never saw a thing. He went back on the

0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:13.360
<v Speaker 1>third night and was just about to leave when he

0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.839
<v Speaker 1>saw a flash of light and heard him coming his way.

0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:19.520
<v Speaker 1>In a few minutes, he saw three folks in a

0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:23.560
<v Speaker 1>little aluminum boat going back and forth from bank to bank.

0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:26.400
<v Speaker 1>The man in the back was running the little troll

0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.200
<v Speaker 1>to motor, the man in the middle was holding the spotlight,

0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.960
<v Speaker 1>and the guy up front was gigging the frogs. My

0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.600
<v Speaker 1>friend slipped down from his hiding spot and stood behind

0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:37.839
<v Speaker 1>a big cypress tree waiting for the men to get

0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.640
<v Speaker 1>close enough to catch The bable was wide enough that

0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:43.480
<v Speaker 1>if he announced himself too soon, they could be on

0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:46.280
<v Speaker 1>the other bank, ditch the boat and get away, so

0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:48.520
<v Speaker 1>he had to let him get close enough that he

0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:52.000
<v Speaker 1>could at least identify them if they ran. He watched

0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.600
<v Speaker 1>him for ten or fifteen minutes as they got closer

0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:59.200
<v Speaker 1>and closer, going back and forth across that canal, gigging frogs.

0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.920
<v Speaker 1>When he thought they were getting close enough, he saw

0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.840
<v Speaker 1>that beam of lights surround the tree he was hiding behind.

0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:07.679
<v Speaker 1>He said he knew right then that they'd seen him,

0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.400
<v Speaker 1>and he went to step out from behind the tree

0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.679
<v Speaker 1>and try to get a look at their faces. As

0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:15.240
<v Speaker 1>he started moving around that tree, he saw a huge

0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:18.199
<v Speaker 1>bullfrog sitting in front of that tree he was hiding behind.

0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.720
<v Speaker 1>He said, it was like he was hunting over a decoy.

0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.600
<v Speaker 1>They had no clue he was there watching them, peeking

0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:28.720
<v Speaker 1>around that tree. He could see them all focused on

0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:32.000
<v Speaker 1>that frog as the light got closer and closer, and

0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:34.080
<v Speaker 1>he heard them talking back and forth about how big

0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:38.559
<v Speaker 1>it was. He could also see that the only visible

0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:41.360
<v Speaker 1>weapon they had in the open was the frog gig.

0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:45.120
<v Speaker 1>When they got right near the bank, and that gig

0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:47.880
<v Speaker 1>was only seconds away from sabbing that frog. He stuck

0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.160
<v Speaker 1>his arm around the tree and grabbed the frog gig,

0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.560
<v Speaker 1>snatched it out of the man's hand and simultaneously saying

0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:58.400
<v Speaker 1>game warders. He said it was the blood curdling squeal

0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:00.440
<v Speaker 1>of the man in the front that caused man in

0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.480
<v Speaker 1>the middle to drop the spylight and start screaming too.

0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:07.120
<v Speaker 1>They both started running out the back of the boat

0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:08.800
<v Speaker 1>and over top of the man in the back, who

0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:11.640
<v Speaker 1>started screaming, what is it? What is it? What is it?

0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:15.559
<v Speaker 1>He turned on his flashlight and hollered game warding again.

0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:19.360
<v Speaker 1>They stopped running through the waist deep water and mud

0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:21.560
<v Speaker 1>and crawled out on the bank where he was standing.

0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:24.480
<v Speaker 1>He said they was actually seemed to relieve that they

0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:29.360
<v Speaker 1>were only getting tickets and that a boogerman hadn't got them.

0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:33.760
<v Speaker 1>Oh lord, there's three legal ways to catch frogs in Arkansas,

0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:36.720
<v Speaker 1>and that's what I'm talking about. So y'all be sure

0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:40.920
<v Speaker 1>and check with your state laws and do what's right here.

0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.080
<v Speaker 1>If you're sixteen or older, you're going to have to

0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:46.680
<v Speaker 1>have a fishing license. In Texas you'll need a hunting license,

0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:49.320
<v Speaker 1>so wherever you are, make sure you get what you need.

0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:53.200
<v Speaker 1>In Arkansas, you can catch them with your hands, use

0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.200
<v Speaker 1>a gig or a spring loaded grabber attached to a pole,

0:14:57.120 --> 0:15:00.040
<v Speaker 1>or a bow and arrow, and the last way, be

0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:03.920
<v Speaker 1>it or not, is to fish for them. Now. Using

0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:06.640
<v Speaker 1>your hands is my least favorite for two reasons, and

0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.640
<v Speaker 1>those reasons are number one, I don't like poking my

0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.080
<v Speaker 1>hands in dark places where cotton mouse live. And number two,

0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:15.720
<v Speaker 1>I don't like poking my hands in dark places where

0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:18.960
<v Speaker 1>cotton mouse live. I got snake bit once, and I'll

0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:22.600
<v Speaker 1>tell you all that story another day. Another thing about

0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:25.680
<v Speaker 1>using your hands, you have to walk right up on

0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.080
<v Speaker 1>them or run the boat right up on them, and

0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.560
<v Speaker 1>sometimes you'll make a racket or hit a stob and

0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:34.000
<v Speaker 1>spook the frog, causing them to jump and get away,

0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.600
<v Speaker 1>even though you got him blinded with a light. I've

0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.160
<v Speaker 1>never used a bowl in ara, but that sounds like fun,

0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.520
<v Speaker 1>especially if I used archery equipment. I don't think I'd

0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:46.760
<v Speaker 1>to be slinging frog airs out of my compound. Probably

0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:49.400
<v Speaker 1>be a better idea to get you a traditional bowl

0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:52.840
<v Speaker 1>or recurve and do some instinctive shooting with a fishing era.

0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:55.760
<v Speaker 1>They're attached to your bowl with a real or by

0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:57.920
<v Speaker 1>a spool, and you can shoot them and then reel

0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.160
<v Speaker 1>them in. I can't think of a better way to

0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:03.320
<v Speaker 1>stay and practice for archery. It's sure beach standing in

0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.360
<v Speaker 1>the backyard shooting a styrofoam target that wouldn't taste good

0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:09.720
<v Speaker 1>even if a Harry Biker cooked it. Fishing for frogs

0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:13.080
<v Speaker 1>is an easy way to let everybody have a cracking

0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.960
<v Speaker 1>catch and supper. If you knew the frogging and you

0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:19.760
<v Speaker 1>haven't developed those long forgotten caveman skills the chunking spears,

0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:23.480
<v Speaker 1>let the frog catch himself. Just get you a long

0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.920
<v Speaker 1>cane pole or a jig pole, attach a few feet

0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:29.480
<v Speaker 1>of fishing line and tie cropper jig on it and

0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.720
<v Speaker 1>dangle it in front of that frog. Frogs are predators

0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.920
<v Speaker 1>and they'll eat just about anything. Once he bites it,

0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:38.200
<v Speaker 1>just pull him to you and drop him in the sack,

0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:40.480
<v Speaker 1>and then it's on to the next one. If I

0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:43.440
<v Speaker 1>got to making some notes and getting organized to talk

0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:46.080
<v Speaker 1>to you all about frog fishing, I found a whole

0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:48.680
<v Speaker 1>bunch of videos of folks catching frogs this way on

0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:53.160
<v Speaker 1>the interwebs forget walleye fishing, seth and Chester. The bullfrog

0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:57.680
<v Speaker 1>tournament trail is where it's at, plus no waiting frogs.

0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:02.000
<v Speaker 1>I've used the grabber before. It's a tension loaded apparatus

0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.840
<v Speaker 1>that folks gig fish with too. The proty using a

0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:08.960
<v Speaker 1>grabber is when you gig the frog, you're really just

0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:13.000
<v Speaker 1>catching him. The trigger hits that frog when you spear him,

0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:16.040
<v Speaker 1>and tension loaded springs collapse and the jaws of the

0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:19.119
<v Speaker 1>graver they come together and trap the frog instead of

0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.560
<v Speaker 1>poking new holes in him that he wasn't designed to

0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:24.080
<v Speaker 1>live with. Then you just drop him in the ice

0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.679
<v Speaker 1>chest or in your tosac and move on to the

0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:29.560
<v Speaker 1>next one. All your frogs stay fresh and you can

0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:31.720
<v Speaker 1>wait and clean them in the morning without any problem.

0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.639
<v Speaker 1>The cons he using a grabber, and my experience is

0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:37.919
<v Speaker 1>that joker will go off if you bump something in

0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:40.960
<v Speaker 1>the boat or hitt on limb at the worst possible time,

0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:45.200
<v Speaker 1>usually spooking your supper away. And fresh frogs are always

0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.680
<v Speaker 1>trying to get back from whence they came, and you'll

0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:49.960
<v Speaker 1>spend some of your time re catching the frogs that

0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.600
<v Speaker 1>hop out of the bag or the ice chest. I

0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.440
<v Speaker 1>like to catch my frogs once, and when I'm using

0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:57.840
<v Speaker 1>a gig. It ain't like I'm running a sword through

0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.119
<v Speaker 1>them and throwing them in the dungeon to slow to

0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:04.480
<v Speaker 1>meet their fate. That would be cruel and unnecessary. It's

0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:07.119
<v Speaker 1>just a frog, someone would say, Well, it may be,

0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:11.560
<v Speaker 1>but they're a creature we've been given dominion over to utilize, enjoy,

0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:15.640
<v Speaker 1>and respect, even if it is just a frog. When

0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:17.359
<v Speaker 1>I pull him off the gig, I give him a

0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:19.560
<v Speaker 1>good watch four on the knogging and by taking hold

0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:21.760
<v Speaker 1>of his legs and using the part of his head

0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:24.080
<v Speaker 1>where his hat would go for a hammer on the

0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:27.960
<v Speaker 1>side of the boat, wham and drop him in the bucket.

0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.320
<v Speaker 1>Now you got to mess the dead frogs, And if

0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:32.600
<v Speaker 1>you ain't planning on cleaning them when you get done,

0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:34.920
<v Speaker 1>you better have some ice ready to keep them good

0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:37.080
<v Speaker 1>and cold till you get ready to ject the breeches

0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:40.520
<v Speaker 1>off of them the next morning. That's easy too, and

0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:42.919
<v Speaker 1>I'm fixed to tell you how to do it. You

0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:46.240
<v Speaker 1>gonna need a dead bullfrog, any kind of kitchen shears,

0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:49.159
<v Speaker 1>a pair of plyers, and a pocket knife. You know

0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:52.160
<v Speaker 1>what kind of pocket knife. Grab your shears and cut

0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:55.560
<v Speaker 1>his feet off at the ankles. Then with your pocket knife,

0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:58.720
<v Speaker 1>cut a line across his back about even with the

0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:02.280
<v Speaker 1>armpits of his front leg. Take your plyers and grab

0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:05.240
<v Speaker 1>a hold of the skin as you just cut, and

0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:07.960
<v Speaker 1>take your other hand and grab him just above that cut,

0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:11.920
<v Speaker 1>using his front legs for leverage. Pull down with you plyers,

0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:16.760
<v Speaker 1>and just that easy off comes his breeches. Then I'll

0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:19.000
<v Speaker 1>take the shears and cut across where his back meets

0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:22.400
<v Speaker 1>his legs. You should have two legs ready for fry.

0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:26.080
<v Speaker 1>Some folks will separator or leave them together. What are

0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:34.600
<v Speaker 1>you preferred on mat? All right, somebody get the peet

0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:37.440
<v Speaker 1>up old to three hundred and twenty five degrees. We're

0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:41.480
<v Speaker 1>about to get busy cooking up our veentles. Buttermilk, egg

0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.720
<v Speaker 1>flyour salt and pepper. That's about his basic and he

0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:46.919
<v Speaker 1>gets and that's all you need to cook up a

0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:49.960
<v Speaker 1>mess that's really good food. I like to add a

0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:53.719
<v Speaker 1>little crawfish bowl and lemon pepper to my fly. I

0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:57.080
<v Speaker 1>talked about that batter mixture on the Catching Catfish with

0:19:57.160 --> 0:20:00.560
<v Speaker 1>Trotlines episode. If you ain't heard that one, you need

0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:02.479
<v Speaker 1>to get your ears over there on that one and

0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:06.679
<v Speaker 1>get to listening. Sometimes I'll go with two parts fired

0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:10.320
<v Speaker 1>to one part cornmeal if I'm feeling fancy, and I'll

0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:13.560
<v Speaker 1>use the same spices or a combination. There ain't no rules.

0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:16.800
<v Speaker 1>Just fix them the way you like them. But when

0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:19.720
<v Speaker 1>you fix them, holler at me when they're ready. A

0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:22.000
<v Speaker 1>basic way to make them is mix that egg up

0:20:22.000 --> 0:20:24.560
<v Speaker 1>in a bowl of buttermilk, dip the legs in there,

0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:26.639
<v Speaker 1>and then roll them in the flour that you've added

0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:30.320
<v Speaker 1>spices to and drop them into grease. You can double

0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:33.600
<v Speaker 1>up the dipping process legs and buttermilk, then in fly

0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:37.360
<v Speaker 1>back to buttermilk again, back in the fire to give

0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:42.080
<v Speaker 1>them that extra crust. Man, it's good if you deep

0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:43.960
<v Speaker 1>fry them. Well, you know how much oil you need

0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:46.359
<v Speaker 1>If you do it in a skillet, about a quarter

0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:49.359
<v Speaker 1>to a half inch is plenty. The best part of

0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:52.920
<v Speaker 1>this activity is it's one of many ways to introduce

0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:57.160
<v Speaker 1>children to the outdoors and the concept of being self reliant.

0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:01.040
<v Speaker 1>With your help, you can teach them that darkness can

0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:06.199
<v Speaker 1>be inviting and wonderful, filled with adventure and fun. I

0:21:06.200 --> 0:21:08.440
<v Speaker 1>hope y'all be inspired to get out with the little

0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:12.200
<v Speaker 1>folks and have fun. Schools out and when I was young,

0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:15.879
<v Speaker 1>and school being out meant that school was in with

0:21:16.040 --> 0:21:19.720
<v Speaker 1>my dad. There's a whole other world going on out

0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:22.320
<v Speaker 1>there at night, and it's responsibility of those of us

0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:25.399
<v Speaker 1>who are familiar with it to show those that ain't

0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:29.439
<v Speaker 1>how good it is. We value and look out for

0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:33.119
<v Speaker 1>the things we love, even if it is just a fraud.

0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:38.240
<v Speaker 1>This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful.