SMITH COUNTY - East Texans enjoy their fishing, but one of the best indicators of how well a season might be going, is taking a look at how many folks are fishing.
At one East Texas lake, crowds are gathering, and the anticipation, just like the lakes levels, is building.
One fisherman tells KETK, "I haven't really caught a big one yet, but I'm waiting for it."
Richard Ott with Texas Parks and Wildlife says there's a unique trend occuring in our lakes.
"Right now the fish are, it's almost like an unexploited population. It's a whole like what they'll get if they fish a farm pond or another body of water like that.There's a couple of things going on. First of all last year the water level got so low that it was very very difficult for anglers to get on the water. So, what that means is that the fish have gotten a little naive since they haven't seen baits, they haven't been fished for. They've had a chance to forget to be afraid of boats and motors and things like that."
Another thing that's helping the population is the restocking efforts of Texas Parks and Wildlife officials for lakes all over East Texas, and as long as the fish keep biting, East Texas will be here, hoping to catch the big one.
"Even in the summer heat, I have an umbrella, if I need it."