To say this has already been a good year for music releases would be a huge understatement.

I continue to spin the Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses release virtually non stop. It has a harder edge than the first outing, and deservedly so. The sophomore jinx is ground down in a sound that borrows, this time without stealing, from the likes of Neil Young and other legends (you tell me who you hear) of an era before Bingham was even born. The band and Bingham are maturing at a rapid rate, perhaps even in reverse – the Benjamin Buttons of the music world. Bingham sounds younger and stronger than the previous album Mescalitio would have lead you to imagine him to be capable of being, and the band is caught in a time capsule of the music most of us here grew up with – lacking heavy post production and completely ignoring the unreal bass depths found in virtually all modern rock & roll recordings.

The album, Roadhouse Sun, rightfully ushers in the (re)naming of the band as Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses. Just think Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and you see what the future holds. I can’t believe the Dead Horses – Crazy Horse simile was arrived at without some forethought.

Also on the turntable are a smorgasbord of other releases:
Joe Pug – Nation of Heat EP
Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
Assembly of Dust – Some Assembly Required (free downloads) released on July 21
U2 – No Line on the Horizon
Wilco I listened to and loved the entire thing when they were streaming it FOR FREE on their site. If you want to listen to live shows go to WILCO LIVE SHOWS
Son Volt – heard them roll a couple of the new tunes live at Dan’s Silver Leaf show
Green Day – 21st. Century Breakdown

There is a lot there, and there has already been a lot to pass between my ears completely forgotten.

I also have yet to feast my ears on the new Dave Matthews Band, Steve Earl “Townes”, Incubus “Monuments and Melodies” a greatest hits release, Pete Yorn “Back and Fourth”, and I am sure there will be some more surprises along the way.

COMING THIS WEEK – Report on Texoma; Yes it is on. A look at the Fly Bar under construction, and maybe something completely different by the end of the week.

Much to the surprise of many, the idea and practice of fly fishing for carp is still alive and thriving. I read on some message board recently that fly fishing for carp was “so 2004″, and it made me sit up and take notice. This comment was from a bona fide self-professed, North Texas, carp-on-the-fly-guru.

Not only do I agree with him, I will take it one step further. Some vintages are better than others, as we know, and from the same winery. Sure fly fishing for carp may have hit the zenith in 2004 or thereabouts, but from all appearances it is aging gracefully.

The stalk is on at Ray Roberts Lake in North Texas.

STAYING POWER

Companies are taking note, with all kinds of carp related products. US companies are mostly reactive, so they may be a little behind the 2004 zenith, but better late to the party than never. New carp fly lines, carp flies and anodized carp reels by Abel can be purchased by anyone with the money and a hankering to go overboard.

Will the carp phenomenon sweep fly fishers off their silt soaked Marlwalkers? If it hasn’t already, the answer is – probably not. Carp are a good fix for what ales a lot of fly fishers; they are a worthy opponent, they are big, and they are strong. Sure there will be more converts, and sure there will be some guys always looking to notch another species, but it gets difficult to remain focused as the numbers blur.

Imagine some exotic location that is on par with North Texas for heat and humidity – then keep the pressure on!

Call me crazy, but when I fish for carp, I turn it into an imaginative game of “Bones & Reds”. I try to think about using these experiences to be better at catching Redfish, and maybe someday if I win the lottery, Bonefish. Stealth, presentation and accuracy are all in play just like the big boys on the big trips.

Smallmouth Buffalo keeping Dusty Montgomery significantly slimy.

Now that the Lone Star Outdoor News piece is done and run, I decided to go ahead and do the coup de gras on the whole flats fishing for carp story line – at least from my perspective. Unless carp show up at some new, exotic location (use your own definition of exotic), I think that except for records, this goose may be about cooked on this site.

On a different and more, shall I say hopeful note, the parents are headed for Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula today. I didn’t hesitate to tell them it is, according to highly placed sources, a fly fishing frontier.

So, I will again violate the principals of good blogging here today, and run the entire story and images to finish this chapter on fly fishing for carp on the flats of North Texas.

A smaller common carp caught by Joel Hays. It isn’t silver, and it isn’t red, but it is gold.

Here’s a cool story off the Texas Parks & Wildlife wire

Larry D. Hodge Photo – TPWD Little Anglers Big Fish
Is it just me, or does she look like she helped him catch the fish?

ATHENS, Texas — Out of the more than 1,000 people who visited the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens on National Fishing Day June 6, 65 boys and girls entered the fishing contest.
Fishing in two divisions, age 11 and under and ages 12-17, five girls and three boys took home prizes for catching the biggest catfish.
Winners in the 11 and under division were: First, Lorem Wofford, six, of Tyler, 3.58 pounds; second, Jo Micah, six, of Jacksonville, 3.42 pounds; third, Nicholas Lopes, six, of Athens, 3.22 pounds; and fourth, Haley Herriage, eight, of Athens, 2.56 pounds.
In the 12-17 division, first place went to Tyler Pustejovsky, 12, of Waco, 2.68 pounds; second, Kaylee Nicholson, 12, of Athens, 2.56 pounds; third, Rachael English, 13, of Wills Point, 2.28 pounds; and fourth, Mason English, 12, of Wills Point, 2.22 pounds.
Kaylee Nicholson also caught the new junior angler rod and reel state record bluegill, a 1.14-pound monster that also qualifies her for a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department big fish award, a catch-and-release water body record and the Lake Zebco water body record.