TYLER, Texas — These days a digital following can be as good as your favorite rod and reel. We went fishing with one angler with a catchy nickname and a growing social media following.
We met up with Dewayne Ligon at Lake Palestine on an overcast cool day in March. But the weather didn't stop us as we set out to find and catch the biggest crappie we could fine.
If you want to see some of his catches you can check out his YouTube Channel. Ligon credits the custom made crappie jigs he uses.
One is made by Speckled Hog Customs and and another is called the Palestine special which matched the color of the shirt he wears while fishing on this day.
Ligon is on a mission every time he fishes. Whenever he fishes and catches the biggest slabs, he lets the world see it on social media.
“I saw a thing on Tik-Tok. It said fishing is not a hobby, it consumes me. A hobby is something you do in your spare time, something like eating is a hobby," Ligon said.
What surprises most people is how long Ligon’s been fishing.
“April will be two years crappie fishin. When I tell people….it blows them away. It blows them away," Ligon said.
I ask Ligon how he got so good in such little time.
"Time on the water is the only thing that’s going to get you as good as I am," Ligon said.
The cloudy cool weather made fishing a challenge but we did managed to get a few in the boat and before we left the water, the East Texas Thumper lived up to his nickname landing more than a two-pound crappie.