Fall has arrived at Lake Caddo
Uncertain, Texas -- As we motored down the Big Cypress channel aboard guide Billy Carters comfortable fishing barge last week, the day before the first cold front of the season, the promise of fall was definitely in the air. Cypress trees with their long beards of Spanish moss had already begun to change into their fall foliage. Overhead, a flight of gadwall swept past. They obviously had sensed the onset of cold weather a few days earlier while on their summer nesting grounds somewhere up in the prairie pot hole region of the Dakotas or possibly Canada.
Thanks to the most severe drought since the mid fifties, hundreds of acres at Caddo that are usually fishable waters this time of year are now high and dry. The pylons supporting the docks and store at Johnson’s Ranch Marina were seeing daylight for the first time in over fifty years.
The river we were negotiating was as calm as the adjacent coves and backwaters. Big Cypress is usually running strong during early fall. I’ve joined my friend Billy Carter for our annual ‘yellow bass run’ for almost two decades now but this year, conditions were vastly different. Billy and I always thought it was current that caused the vast schools of yellow bass to pack the river channel each October. As our first spot to fish clearly attested, the ‘yellows’ and crappie were definitely here and in large numbers. Billy and his clients had been enjoying excellent fishing for the previous two weeks.
National Fuel Gas' CEO Discusses F4Q 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
National Fuel Gas Co. ( NFG ) F4Q 2011 Earnings Call November 4, 2011 11:00 AM ET
Operator
Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Fourth Quarter 2011 National Fuel Gas Company earnings conference call. My name is Larry and I’ll be your operator for today. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)
I would now like to turn the conference over to your host for today Mr. Tim Silverstein, Director of Investor Relations. Please proceed.
Timothy J. Silverstein
Thank you, Larry, and good morning everyone. Thank you for joining us on today's conference call for a discussion of last evening’s earnings release. With us on the call from National Fuel Gas Company are Dave Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Ron Tanski, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Dave Bauer, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer. Joining us from Seneca Resources Corporation is Matt Cabell, President. At the end of the prepared remarks, we'll open the discussion to questions.