Summertime Rain Brings Relief
OLD FOLKS TALK
Old Folks Talk About The Weather & Their Health.
Take a look at that radar map will you! IT’s dark black looking out the windows right now, and after 24 hours of slow rain, they say we are looking at as much as 48 more hours of rain. For a State that’s used to being stepped on by the weather, this comes as a welcome surprise, and I have seen a number of people standing, playing, walking their dogs and celebrating – in the rain.
There hasn’t been a silver lining to the rain though. It’s a slow, light rain that is completely soaking into our parched ground, leaving no runoff. The streets aren’t rivers, and the drainages are only a trickle.
THE WEEK AHEAD
With the rains squelching outdoor activity, I’ll have a four hour slot to work on that Port O’Connor video I have been teasing you about. There’s nothing like building something up and then having to match the hype.
Later this week the focus changes to the Lydia Ann Fly Masters Tournament and that road trip that leaves early Friday. I have read through all the information for the tournament, but can’t figure out; is it a contest of the biggest single fish, or a tally of total inches of fish caught? Tournaments are interesting when it comes to how they actually organize the technical way that winners win. The tournament is Saturday, and it’s back here on Sunday … at least that’s the plan.
NEW CONTACTS MEAN NEW ADVENTURES
I have to thank all the new contacts I am getting, contacts that are dangling some pretty big carrots, like seeing how well fly fishing off a saltwater flats boat works for targeting carp on Lake Ray Roberts. We had a ride on Lake Ray Roberts scheduled for yesterday (Sunday July 14) morning, but the rain washed that away. The boat, a Spear Boatworks Skiff, may look like a mirage on a freshwater lake, but sooner-or-later some-way-or-other; we’re going to put theory to practice and see if technical flats skiffs are viable platforms for chasing local carp. I know it works very well from standing up in kayaks, but a technical poling skiff could take everything to a whole new planet, and make carp accessible to to an entire new crowd. Remember though – I write for public consumption, and the public is certainly consuming writing about fly fishing these days! However, I will use initials for names unless you specifically say it is okay to use your name – first and last.
Another e mail hit my mail box yesterday – an invite to fly fish Lake Kiowa, Texas. I have not talked about Lake Kiowa very much for reasons that amount roughly to “non disclosure agreements” with my friend and Lake Kiowa resident RD. RD is quite a character (he’s in the Galapagos Islands at the moment), and loves his lake, and loves his fish. And not only have I sat on the Lake Kiowa information, there’s also a very good story on what officials at that private lake are doing to try and do the impossible – keep the zebra mussel out of their little lake. Take a look at the map, and you see Lake Kiowa is situated between two zebra mussel positive lakes – Texoma and Lake Ray Roberts. Their mission is impossible, and it’s only a matter of time before this little private lake tests positive, but I have to give them credit for a solution that is killing two birds with one stone. More on that later. It’s a story that may appear in the Lone Star Outdoor News in the long run. I appreciate all of you who have communicated with me – through comments or the Contact Page.
LADIES DAY
Wednesday is “Ladies’ Day” at Lake Ray Roberts. Schedules allowing / weather allowing, and if you haven’t caught a carp, you have a chance to give it a go on Wednesdays this summer. Limit two people, and if you have caught a carp, you can still come if you bring someone who hasn’t! It’s a midday thing, so you’ll have to keep that in mind.
Category: Backcasting, Casting, Culture on the Skids, Destination Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing for Redfish
The Lydia Ann is a single best fish by measurement tournament. Single longest redfish. Single longest other species.