Knocking in Red River County, Texas

While fishing late one evening in the late summer of 1979 I had a brief encounter with something that I cannot readily explain. I was fishing at a pond in an open field across from some apartments that my grandparents and I were staying at until our house was ready. I had been fishing for about an hour when I got the feeling that someone or something was watching me. I wasn't in a secluded area, but there was no one else around. No activity at all from anybody. All of a sudden the birds and normal animal noises silenced like they do when a predator comes around. I could feel something watching me. I looked back to the south across the field to the fence line that divided the field. Along the fence line were several cedars ranging from 6 ft to 15 ft or so. I stared at what I thought was a small group of trees when something stepped out from them towards the fence. It was dark brown almost black with grass and debris in its hair like it had been laying down. It came up to the fence and watched me from beside a cedar tree, almost blending in with them. Frozen in fear all I could do was stare back. When it moved again I ran. I left my fish and my stuff right where it was. I ran for the fence that bordered the apts. I jumped the fence and ran home. I told my grandparents what had happened. To my surprise they sort of believed me. My Grandfather would not venture out at dusk to retrieve my gear, he said we would get it in the morning. The next morning we returned early to find that my tackle box had been knocked around like a toy, my rod was undisturbed, but my stringer of perch was gone. The only thing we found of that was a fish head between the pond and the fence line where I saw it.