The calm before the storm.

i had yet another exciting weekend in the delta getting prepared for the shoot coming up july 6th. mike jones and company decided to treat me (derk!) to a non stop, jam packed, life altering experience on lake washington! for starters, we woke up at 4:00am to kick off the annual magnolia crappie club tournament finals. there were around 50 or so fisherman fighting for cash and bragging rights! there were a ton of boats on the water. more than i have seen before. they looked especially nice when viewed from a cessna airplane. that's right...mike had me up in a airplane shooting photos of the event and other landmarks of the area. a big thanks goes out to john darnell of jd flying for making that possible. after that, i ran into some local fishermen at "bait-n-thangs" and they took me "hand grabbin." which is exactly what it sounds like. basically, these guys plant buckets and pipes all over the lake and wait for catfish to inhabit them. then, they stick their hand in the fish's mouth, wait for it to bite, and throw the fish through the air into the boat! NUTS...you have to see this to believe it. after that was a cookout to celebrate the weigh in of the crappie tournament. good food, good people, good times! i don't know who won, but everyone was having a good time. i was suppose to take an "air boat" tour of the cypress swamps, but the boat was out of commission for the day. although, mike did promise me it would be ready for the "4th of july" party. nice! instead, his son josh jones took me on a tour of the yazoo wildlife refuge. lets just say...this place is definitely wild. aligators, snakes, and deer oh my! this would be a good time to mention the roadkill. im convinced that there are more dead animals per capita in glen allan than anywhere else in the world! im "dead" serious...hahaha. anyway, everyday is a new adventure here. i never know what to expect. each day is better than the one before. mike jones never ceases to amaze me. i am starting to fall in love with the delta. if we could just do something about these damn bugs! oh yeah, and the heat... -derek