An Epic trip to Caddo Lake Tx

My friend and I just got home from three days of paddling Caddo Lake in deep East Texas. This is one of the few  cypress swamps in the world and the only naturally formed lake in Texas. Most boaters of all types stick to the well marked trails and keep the map handy. My friend and I each carried one,  We stayed off the bayou and explored the chutes, sloughs, ditches and the lakes.
Glossary 
Bayou, slow moving waterway, looks like a river on a map, where the motor boats are
 chute, Carter Chute, arm off the lake, paddling through a flooded cypress forest
slough, shallow narrow, twisting, slow moving waterway, out there through hardwood forests
ditch, man made slough, tend to be straight 
One morning we were at the CL Wildlife Management Area boat ramp and on the water by 630, we launched into the pitch black of a very dense cove. I used my headlamp to find the license plates nailed to trees that serve as trail markers.
Undoubtedly the spookiest thing I have done in a long time. Some large fish moved under the boat and made me jump. The way sound and light are distorted out there and the sounds swamp makes you  understand why people think they see Bigfoot. 
Some photos and short videos   1drv.ms/a/s!ArNMWZN7wa-AkiiVlQ-W7VIDVla9
I encourage all to check out Caddo Lake, it's like this, you want to be able to see it all, the sunrise, midday, sunset, the stars, and paddle all day. 

Thanks for sharing, you took some beautiful pictures.  I live in Central Texas and  would love to make it over to Caddo sometime.

Beautiful and intriguing! Didn't know that place existed! Thanks for sharing.
BTW, how many gallons of mosquito repellent did you need?

The mosquito repellent was not used and not needed during the daylight hours, in most places. Once you wind back in there where it's fairly closed in they are after you. On the more open water the little vampires are not a problem. Now I wore long pants, long sleeve shirts, hat, etc.
At dusk everything changes and tons of them come out, we went in. Sometimes we would burn those  candles in the evening, they seem to work.
I've been there twice both times for four nights, and have not been bitten by a mosquito.
As for the other concern for some people, the alligators, never saw one. Hoped to see one,  no luck.