PUT ANOTHER DIME IN THE JUKE BOX BABY

By now you already read about the honorable mentions for the 2010 music countdown. I am still defending the decision to drop “new” releases of “old” music like Bob Dylan’s the “Witmark Sessions,” among others. The final word on that is; All of the Beatles music is either being, or has been remastered and re-released. The Beatles could make the top ten right? All these releases do is serve to 1) increase income at desperate record labels, and, 2) reassure old geezers that their music was pretty darn good. That’s just not enough. Onward to the Top Ten Fly Fishing Music Releases of 2010.

Number 10
Jamey Johnson – The Guitar Song
Country is cool, that’s all I can say. Jamey may be a hellion on his fans, but he’s country the way it’s supposed to be done. I guess this is his “concept” album, one black and one white, all thought out to be yin-yang, but don’t hold that against him. He’s rough, sounds rough and that’s fine by me.

Number 9
Robert Plant – Band of Joy
The “Golden God’s” solo stuff isn’t always accessible, but good music doesn’t always have to be easy listening.

Number 8
Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses – Junky Star
I don’t really know how he dropped on this one, but the better Ryan Bingham gets, the more I demand of his work. Yes, Grammies, and yes an Oscar, long after TFC declared him cool, but now the new has worn off, and the long haul sets in. It’s a wild guess, but I bet his next release is either a live disc, or a “concept.” Listen to “Direction of the Wind” for what I think is either an answer or echo of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They are a Changin’.”

Number 7
Patty Griffin – Downtown Church
Maybe it’s the getting onto the second half of life that makes good old church music sound better, but Patty mixes it up just right on this one. It continues to grow on me.

Number 6
Jimmie Vaughan – Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites
This is good stuff. It should have cracked the top five, but just missed. I still wonder if the rest of the world knows about his guitar skills. Stevie always thought his brother was better, and he’s certainly no worse. Jimmie Vaughan is Texas, and his music is part of what continues to define the Texas sound.

We will ring in the new year with the final five countdown tomorrow, but for now – HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks for reading Texas Fly Caster this year, and look for some continuing series as well as a look back at a year of ups and crashing downs at Texas Fly Caster.

PLAY – Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses

I hope all Texas Fly Caster readers had a wonderful Christmas, and you are still lounging by your computer, looking for something new to read somewhere – about fly fishing in Texas, or better yet on the Guadalupe River in Central Texas. This is the final installment on the Guadalupe, or “Guad” as it is affectionately known, and if you have the interest the previous posts will make sense of this one -
Fly Fishing The Guadalupe Tailrace – Bill Higdon
Introduction to Fly Fishing The Guadalupe
Part Two in the Series – Technical Information on Fly Fishing the Guadalupe
Part Three – The GRTU and Lease Access

As soon as the series on Fly Fishing the Guad started, the phone calls started coming in: “Do you really think it’s worth it? Fishing the Guadalupe?” The reaction was anticipated in the stories, where I tried to put the North Texas balancing act into distance perspective. Sure we are closer to Oklahoma, but really, what’s new at either the Blue River, or Beaver’s Bend? Sure the Lower Mountain Fork (LMF) area was redesigned by floods, but you would have to show me something spectacular to prove that change, in that instance, is not good.

And Here’s Why

As for beauty, you could be hard pressed to pick the Guad over the LMF. However, they really don’t compare to each other on that level. The Guad is a special river in Texas, while the LMF at Beaver’s Bend is one of the jewels for the State of Oklahoma. Geologically, it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Camp sites and cabins at LMF are all in the LMF’s win column – hands down.

Now, where things get more interesting is when you step out of the water, and go eat or to a fly shop, or to hear live music. What are the three rules of retail? Location. Location. Location.

First, you are a stone’s skip from New Braunfels, San Marcos, Gruene and the weird capital of Texas – Austin. Inside the city limits of each, you will find spectacular dining, entertainment and of course shopping. And we know who the shopping is for – those who don’t like to wait around for hours, days, on end while we fish.

In Gruene, you could eat at a significant other friendly place like The Grist Mill, and shop the main drag that includes, of course, Gruene Outfitters owned and operated by Tiffany Fluitt. If you stop in at Gruene Outfitters, be sure to tell Tiffany where you read about her place. Gruene is one of those enchanting places where a river, literally, runs though it.

Then, if you are feeling adventurous, head over to San Marcos and check out the Mexican food near the campus of Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State – party capital of the State) at Taqueria Del Charro on Hutchison, or Garcia’s on LBJ.

A little further on up the road is Austin, the capital of Texas. It’s weird, quirky and a small blue pimple on the red-ass State of Texas. Sure they have a progressive agenda, but Austin also represents some of the best things Texas has to offer a more active crowd. There is so much to Austin, it’s impossible to even do it partial justice. Music, dining, entertainment, lodging, shopping, and my favorite – people watching. For fly fishers though, you can get some fantastic warm water action at Lake Austin once the trout settle down and the temperatures go up. I don’t hear a lot about fly fishing shops in Austin, and have never been inside one, but there is the Sportsman’s Finest out on Bee Cave, and I have been inside the Cabela’s in Buda – which leans more heavily toward saltwater fly fishing in their shop.

So, you can see that this region of Texas has it over the area around the Lower Mountain Fork. There really is no comparison, and it’s mostly unfair to try to even make one between these two locations. Currently, the quality and quantity of large rainbow trout in the Guadalupe far surpasses those in Beaver’s Bend Lower Mountain Fork. The challenges of catching Guadalupe trout are greater than the challenge of Zone I in Oklahoma -hands down. Maybe that’s why, if you’re looking for a fix, you want to get that trout drug as easily as possible? Oklahoma is easier, on the driving, on the access and easier to catch numbers.

Thanks for reading the Four Part Series on the Guadalupe River, and I trust Texas Fly Caster readers to strip in the intentional slack on this story, and add your two-cents-worth to entertainment ideas, complete with experiences you have had in this part of the huge State of Texas.

• #flyfishing 80 degrees tomorrow. Water levels dropping like a rock. Sand bass by the dozens – http://twitpic.com/3hvxyh #
• #flyfishing Somebody needs a vacation, and it's not me. She came up with Belize on her own. Who am I to disagree? Recommendations? #
• Buccaneers And Bones | fishing | boat | actor | television | film | fish | Outdoor Channel http://t.co/sAl7zzg via @AddThis #
• #flyfishing Sitting in the Fly Bar wondering what next year will bring and if I will EVER catch a smallmouth because Santa didn't bring one! #