Rain is coming down this morning, and it’s a pale shade of grey outside our new windows here in Denton.

TO DO LIST

If you were thinking about hitting Lake Fork For the Bass Fly Fishing World Championships, you never know – it could be a bright sunny day at kickoff tomorrow morning. Last year, we were pummeled by severe thunder,lightning and rain the night before we paddled out to do battle with largemouth bass, and found our quarry had retreated to locations unknown to us. Defeat was ours. Read all about it at “Lake Fork: The Devil You Don’t”,“The Devil You Know vs. The Devil You Don’t'”, and this year’s release on the tournament – “Bass Fly World Championships Lake Fork”.

When the weather goes this way, it really is a grand time for exploration and rediscovery. I’ve had ideas about Lewisville Lake, found launch points, and watched intently as the lake level seems to be remaining pretty constantly at conservation level. Looking out the window, I don’t think there was enough rain to alter that assessment, but who knows how much it rained elsewhere. The idea that interests me most, is

revisiting the cut in the old dam on Lewisville Lake

, a place where I caught plenty of largemouth bass, an occasional palmetto (wiper in northern-speak), crappie and sand bass (this spot is where I set waterbody record for small, but largest, hybrid). The levels were so low that it was easy to walk to and across the cut. Not any more. Factor in the snakes, in walking across the top of the dam, and it’s a kayak reach with huge benefits of speed and access. And that’s just one idea I have for Lewisville.

Lake Ray Roberts is a known entity, and the northern reaches have been on my list since the end of last season. The vegetation and structure and clarity is the best on the entire lake – up north, way, way up north.

Oklahoma is calling my name these days, and a glowing report on smallmouth and largemouth activity on the enigmatic Blue River has me working to complete my weekend projects in order to get there first. I have a complete report from Oklahoma Wildlife coming out Sunday.

THE WELCOME MAT

I know there are some new locals reading, and welcome to you – from Montana to Texas is a heck of an adjustment. To help you in you assimilation, you must start with what goes in, in this case what goes in your ears. Strangely enough, while you are here, my stepkid is in Bozeman, Montana, taking in the scene there, and according to him, “getting tattoos and watching movies.” I am still trying to forgive him for not knowing Bozeman is fly fishing mecca. He’s a Boulder, Coloradan, and we all know there’s no reason to know any other geography besides where Lyons and upper Boulder Creek are located.

Also, to you new locals, enjoy this weather because it really isn’t like this anymore. We had extraordinary heat that succumbed to this rain respite. North Texas is no place to be in a Texas summer, and now that Austin and the Hill Country, the capital of Texas fly fishing, are getting some precipitation, it won’t be long to pack the tent and head south. If you want accompaniment (flies, rods and knowledge) in going to the salt, I am good for that too – just not certified to guide on salt.

THE SENSES

For newcomers and those relocated to Texas and looking for fly fishing cultural integration, we should probably start with a direct connection to the brain – the ears. Tonight in Denton, Texas, you can get a sense of what the genre “Texas Music” really is, when Joe Ely takes the stage at Dan’s Silver Leaf in the vital and growing (but still quaint) scene that lies on the east side of Downtown Denton, Texas. Joe Ely is top shelf talent in the “Texas Music” scene, and the ambience, a no smoking show, all combine to make Dan’s the place to be tonight.

With sound comes taste, and Denton, Texas, has a couple of newer places to contend for your buds. Mellow Mushroom has fantastic Italian fare, and a huge beer selection that most likely even contains Moose Drool! There’s a new (food-less) beer garden that is located on the site, and inside an historic house formerly known as the the Shipley Manor – the Oak Street Draft House could, after a couple, make you think you are in Boulder, Colorado, before the Californication. For a quieter time with wine and small selection of cigars, as well as a smoking room, stop at the Cellar 22, which gets its name from license plate number 22 from … Teton County Wyoming. Full circle, almost.

CHORES

We all have our respective weekend lists. Thankfully, my lists run all week long, and I have the job that gives me a chance to; plow, fertilize, purchase and plant in the garden / remember Mother’s Day / stock the bar / and a paltry few other things.

The other “chores” are to install the kayak saddles on the roof rack so my kayak doesn’t go sliding all across those cheap and virtually worthless nylon covered insulation foam kayak pads – like the one’s sold at Mariner Sails (today’s DO NOT BUY) -

Do not purchase this style of pad from Mariner Sails, or anywhere, unless your kayak has a flat bottom.

Because of the dynamic shapes of the hulls of my boats, I decided to go with the Yakima Mako Saddles, and have a pair of these to install today -

Accurately measure the distance between your crossbars, and then measure the distance between the saddles while your kayak is upside down on the ground if you want to get close on the first try of positioning these. The great thing about these, besides the fact they aren’t Mariner Sails worthless pads, is they keep your kayak forward aligned – pointed straight into the wind.

The next chore is tying flies. I was distressed to open my fly box while fishing with this undisclosed person on an undisclosed lake (pictured below), and find that I was out of my increasingly famous and seasonally deadly double bunnies – and we’re not talking Playboy here. The one double bunny I had left was shriveled, lifeless and limp until moisture was added … undisclosed lake water that is. The double bunny comes to life once it gets soaked, and I will put it up, head-to-head, against a plastic worm anywhere, anytime.

Have a great weekend!

Publisher’s Note – Reminder that anywhere I am invited to fish, is on the record, unless we agreed to keep dirty little secrets in advance. That’s how this site started, and that’s how it will always be. I have kept your spots quiet a few times, but mostly because they would never have been hit anyway. The only exception comes when being formally guided, and I will defer to a guide’s preferences every time. I trust that those of you scheduled to go out with me will do the same.

Go West Young Fly Fishers. Go West.

Notice how the fish blends well with the water color? This water has better overall clarity than, say, Lewisville Lake – the largemouth are greener too.

Bowie, it’s a knife. Bowie, it’s a tough-ass pioneer named Jim, who kicked butt at The Alamo. Bowie, it’s a place that doesn’t claim David. Bowie, Texas, located west-northwest of the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex, is well within reach of the Metroplex, but once you’re there, you will know you’re a world away from the hustle and bustle invisible in your heated, cooled, defogged, tinted and compassed rear view mirror. Bowie’s motto: “Bowie has the edge on progress.”

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BOWIE TEXAS

According to historical information on sites, Bowie is “probably” named after Jim Bowie, but could be a double entendre on a well known railroad worker with the name “Buie,” and that makes sense somewhat, as that is the way Texans pronounce the town’s name “boowe” long e. Don’t get caught pronouncing any Texas town name wrong – it’s a dead giveaway. There really is nothing like starting with mysterious origins for the town’s name, and building from there. The Bowie knife definitely has been attached to historical markers and much of the City’s advertising and logos.

Windmills north of Bowie, Texas, on 59, in Montague County.

Bowie came into being in the 1860′s and like so many Texas towns we pass through, and wonder why they’re even there – it was a railroad town.

Look around at the modern side of Bowie, and it doesn’t take long to see what’s driving the Bowie economy nowadays (and has been for years) – the Barnett Shale oil and gas boom. Even the high school stadium has the old style oil field derricks on the field – on the FOOTBALL FIELD SIDELINES! Make sure to check that out.

PART 1 – Off The Water Fun

A smart fly fisher has plans for everyone who may be along for a day trip, or any length of trip. Thoughtful and knowledgeable information, ideas and knowledge give those along for the ride something else to do while we fish.

Old downtown Bowie is not visible from the fast track 287 that leads to the Texas pan handle and on to New Mexico and Colorado. You will have to get slightly off the track, and head into downtown Bowie to get a taste of a small Texas town. They all taste different, but that’s what makes sidetracking worthwhile.

Red brick backstreets, businesses that sell antiques and thrift stores are mostly what I found along the few streets of Bowie. I would be lying if I said walking the streets of Bowie would take very much time of your day. Creative thinking and following local’s leads for interesting things like the monthly Second Monday Trade Days and Flea Market will reward the non fly fishers with enough occupied time to forget their fly fisher on the water only a few miles away.

If your non fly fishing companions are interested in a little excursion, the wildflowers are absolutely prime right now, and you can take a fantastic drive up to the county seat at the town of Montague – just to see that Courthouse if nothing else. This is definitely fertile territory for photography.

FOOD

What comes to mind when you think of Texas food? Texas is pretty diverse, but chances are that a pulled pork barbecue sandwich is somewhere on that list. Go ahead and order the pulled pork sandwich. It comes with a knife driven through its heart, french fries and a fried pickle spear. The pork is mild, not overwhelmed with any sauces, or oversmoking – all those things that so many restaurants think are necessary to their unique flavor, are pleasantly missing. Instead you get perfectly cooked and pulled pork with a rough cut of sweet mayonnaise-y cole slaw, not too much, between two grill toasted buns.

As if that isn’t enough, don’t hesitate to order a fresh piece of homemade pie. I had the chocolate meringue, and it’s hard to believe they haven’t been making these in the back for years.

After a great meal and dessert, it’s hard to focus on service, but again service at Sweet Boys is also excellent.

Part 2 – Fly Fishing Near Bowie Texas

It’s easy enough to be lulled into thinking that just because North Central Texas is soaked, creeks still flowing and lakes are topped off, that the rest of the State is doing great as well. That’s hardly the case though. Bowie, is only about an hour northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth, but they are still feeling the pain of drought in a serious way. They did have a bit of relief, but now these western counties are right back where they were last summer.

A few miles away from Bowie is a lake I have come to enjoy as much as any lake I fish here in North Central Texas. I wrote about it last year when I was “Out in The Middle,” and coming back to Amon G. Carter Lake this spring filled me with high expectations of higher water levels, and fish back in habitat that had been dried to a crisp by last summer’s historic drought.

What I found was a lake at exactly the same level I left it at last July. What gives? Apparently, the water did go up with historic winter rainfall, but Montague County, where Carter Lake sits, didn’t get much more of the rains we’ve been experiencing after winter finally went away.

There are plenty of places to walk and cast while there are no real wadable shorelines due to the topography of that area. Bait patterns are yielding bites that can only be described as “chomps” right now, and I believe that if you were kayaking this smallish lake, your success would increase exponentially. There’s also the potential, by kayak, to find bedding areas as well as creek inlets. The lake is so nicely matured, you will be losing a fly or two on submerged timber and other structure.

Amon G. Carter does not seem to be too prone to rapid fluctuations in lake levels, and there’s still a lot of exploring to do. So far I have pretty much limited myself to the smaller portion of the lake on the southern side of the road, and that side does not allow skiing. As far as appearances go, the two sides look like two different lakes when it comes to houses, water (that I have seen) and topography.

Bowie Texas Sites of Interest
Bowie Second Monday Trade Days
Bowie Texas Official Website
Bowie Texas Chamber of Commerce

This begins a series of posts about fly fishing lakes west-northwest of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. We will be starting from Montague County and branch out from there. I’M SURE SOME LATE BREAKING fly fishing opportunities will show up between posts, so keep checking back to complete the picture of this part of Texas.

FLY FISHING IN AND AROUND MONTAGUE COUNTY TEXAS

You’ve heard the song that goes, “The stars at night are big and bright – deep in the heart of Texas” before. Funny thing is, if you think you are in the heart of Texas, you aren’t alone. Texas is a big state and big states have big hearts, or at least widespread claims on the heart of their state. Hearts do come in all sizes and shapes after all.

Chances are, if you are in the vicinity of the heart of Texas, the stars aren’t bright very much anymore. Texas, along with all its other types of pollution, has an epidemic of light pollution. Growth once again inserts and twists a double-edged knife.

In North Central Texas, we are flush with water. Lakes are full and frothing like a warm beer in a cold glass. Creeks are calming and clearing, but still running, and the ground is saturated. However, you would be surprised to go just slightly west of the Metroplex along highway 287 that runs toward the panhandle. As you head northwest, you will hit Montague County, a county experiencing a modern boom that makes those Spindletop photographs make sense.

You will also find some interesting lakes that are far enough away from large population concentrations to be healthy and populated with fish that haven’t seen many flies pass their way. Lakes I have fished out here include Amon G. Carter and Lake Nocona. While there’s no shortage of Texas crude in Montague County, there is still a serious drought hanging so close to DFW’s abundance that it’s absolutely amazing. Lakes on the list to seriously fish include Arrowhead and Moss Lake (not in Montague County).

I documented some of my lake explorations last summer, July 2011, the summer from hell – a time when drought was widespread, and no matter where you went that’s what you expected to find. Now, due to the good fortunes of being back in the oil fields, I have a chance to explore those lakes again under much more favorable calendar and weather conditions.

I am hopeful that you will enjoy and benefit from these upcoming posts, and find them more rounded – with information and ideas for non fly fishers as well as up-to-date technical information on where and how to catch fish on the fly in these lakes. There is plenty of history to be found in this part of Texas – Native American culture, the Chisolm Trail and so much more. If you have any more ideas on search and fish opportunities, feel free to suggest. If you want to go fish with me on these lakes, let me know while this unique opportunity still exists.