Eating and Drinking
Friday Fly Fishing Report and Events You Should Experience in North Texas This Weekend
Fish Aren’t Biting? Time To Grab a Bite and hit a real FESTIVAL!
Thanks for backing your viewing – of the Texas Fly Fishing Report – with some more information on what is going on in the North Texas area IN WRITING.
This comes out in advance of the video report which will be added to this post later today. Along with the video on the Texas Fly Caster YouTube Channel, that report will be simulcast live on the Russian Channel called Facebook. So welcome to all of our Communist friends via Facebook! Once that simulcast is recorded to (I call it) FaKebook, it will be deleted from their record. One cannot be too safe when it comes to FaKebook sharing these days!
STARDATE SUPPLEMENTAL
There may have been a worse fly fishing April in the last ten years, but I can’t remember a single one. This April (2018) has been marred by the strange weather patterns that allow for, at best, two days of fly fishing a week, and even then the damage from the prior days has carried over into the good days. For example, yesterday could have been fairly good, and I was out early with Finn, but no. Expectations and a decade of log books suggested it is time to look for carp on the warmer rocky points, as they begin to congregate and point in to the coves. If only the temperature were above 50-degrees when we started, and if only the water temperature were on the rise, and if only the wind were dialed down to (the predicted) five from the howling fifteen. Not only were the fish not there, they WERE NOT THERE.
So you and I are left to wait and rely on the internal clocks of our quarry – that is the final trigger that always gets pulled, regardless of conditions. I would suggest you bide your time at your neighborhood or pasture ponds, wait for your rivers to settle, head for the salt, or enjoy this weekend’s festivities …
DISSONANT CONVERGENCES
Just like there are harmonic (some would say dissonant) convergences of fly fishing events here in Texas, North Texas in particular, this weekend offers another convergence of events that our highly evolved audience may enjoy and bring family along with no hesitation.
While Denton continues to evolve at a pace I have never seen in my 36 years here, it still offers some down-home grass root fun. For example the Denton Arts & Jazz event, a true “FESTIVAL,” is going on this weekend in Denton. If you are a walk winer, and want a parking place up against the door everywhere you go? Too bad. You’ll have to walk a little – very little – to get to this event. Keep in mind, it is a Denton walk — meaning it is safer and distances are much closer than in the Messtroplex. And this event is bordered by some fantastic beer and food opportunities.
There are also events surrounding the FESTIVAL that glom on to the hundreds of thousands of people that attend each year. One such is the Grand Opening at Cave Handcrafted Home Furnishings put on by owner and artist Mark Holderbaum. Full disclosure – I built Cave’s website. The list of different related events are too long to print here, but are what makes the Arts & Jazz qualify as a TRUE FESTIVAL.
AUBREY & PILOT POINT
There’s a lot of flesh being put on the bones of these two small North Texas towns these days. And I don’t just mean the chicken-fried-stakes at Buff’s in Pilot Point, Texas.
SATURDAYS in Pilot Point mean the Whistle Post Brewery and Western Son Distillery are open for business! Located near the tracks, and about a block as the crow flies, from the increasingly famous Lowbrows, these three places are arguably becoming the center of gravity for new life in Pilot Point. Restaurants are popping up there now, and this is all framed by the fact that barely three miles away lies the most popular walk-wade carp flat in Texas.
SATURDAY is also the culmination of the Aubrey Pasture Pickins event. I’ve already gone over the history of the event, and this is most likely the LAST TIME THIS EVENT will be held here. No holds are barred, and deals are to be made for antiques, rustic pieces for your outdoor bar, fence posts, horse trailers, boots, faded jeans and old western memorabilia. When it’s gone, IT’S GONE. Nearby the Pasture Pickins is a little row of businesses that include the “World Famous MOMS,” and, “The Upper Park Cafe” on South Main in historic buildings still standing there. Here is your map hint — https://goo.gl/maps/8iKweoNZdET2 Be sure to watch the Instagram feed or the Twitter feed for photos from the Pasture today. Here is their FaKebook page – Aubrey Pasture Pickins.
Thanks for reading, and being able to read! THANK A TEACHER YOU KNOW! I hope you take the time later today to tune into the Commie-Cast or watch the YouTube report for information about fly fishing in your neck of the Texas woods.
Flinging Some Spring Ideas for Fun and Entertainment on the Sidewalk
Weather Keeps Fly Fishers Circling
Goodness gracious. Can we please get some weather pattern that sticks around for more than a day, please??
Today, probably by the time you read this, I am out there somewhere scouting the flats, and looking for those tell tail signs. But the reality is, even with a potential client in from South Carolina for a one-day-shot Wednesday, the odds are still bad. We have a cool front coming in on Wednesday and I don’t think the weather today is in any way similar to Wednesday’s weather.
So it’s time to look out for ourselves, as many of the millennials (I know) are so good at, and head elsewhere this week. You may recall that list of locations I threw down in anticipation of leaving fish to find fish? We literally – lit-rally as they say – have to get out of the way of the weather this week as we get another shakedown Wednesday.
Just like the hopelessly optimistic folks that brought you the Athens Fly Fishing Festivus too early in the year, there are some more local events that fall during this (taint) time of year that are worthy of note – not for their fly fishing, but for the cultural phenomenon you can only find in a college town like Denton, Texas. The most noteworthy is the Denton Arts & Jazz Fest, and the second is something of a “sleeper event,” called Aubrey Pasture Pickin in a beautiful pasture outside of Aubrey (much closer to the lake).
DENTON ARTS & JAZZ
Around here, we shorten the name of the Denton Arts & Jazz to Jazz Fest, and their musical lineup is something to behold. Saturday night, one of my all-time favorite bands Los Lobos takes the main stage, while Sunday night is considered the headliner spot, and that belongs to the legendary Michael Brecker. Their “Arts” have been trending down over the years mostly due to the heavy vig taken by the event to keep the music free, but there are still some fine artists that have this event on their calendar.
ANNUAL PASTURE PICKIN
The Pasture Pickin is the brainchild of a friend of ours and her husband. He’s now a widower, as she died quite unexpectedly and quickly last year. That makes it such a bittersweet event for so many of us who were lucky enough to know her – even if it was for the shortest of time as in our case. Our circles overlapped for less than a year, but the impact is still being felt. This is probably the last Pasture Pickin event after a nearly two decade run. You’ll find a wide range of stuff – horse trailers, tons of antiques, unique art, and a lot of pickings that come from barns, garages and storage. It’s almost impossible to walk away empty handed. If I have the time, I may be able to add some steel work to the mix.
Thanks for reading, and I am planning to do a simulcast of this week’s Texas Fly Fishing Report – either on Facebook (commies), or using Periscope. If you don’t already have the Periscope APP, you might think about going and getting that one. This is new ground no one on the fly scene has dared (I’m sooo brave!) to, or figured out how to, tread. The idea is to get some interaction – QUESTIONS – while doing the standard report. If you want to e mail me questions now, you can do that as well. If you have your own reporting, you can certainly send that as well. I will run your fish photos – if you send those in to me – on the report as well.
Water Wednesday – Rainy Season Yet to Come to Texas
Substantial Rain Precedes Texas Rainy Season Huge Impact on Warm-water Fly Fishing Season
The rains are finally letting up here, and I am taking a lunch break to sit down and search for that drought map. We’re not even in the rainy season yet, and lakes in the TPWD “Prairies & Lakes Region” are either full or filling nicely. We all know what these rains mean to our warm-water fly fishing – Boom or Bust. I heard a conventional fisherman complain about dropping water confusing fish, “They don’t like it,” and I believe that to be true whether it’s bucket mouths or carp. An upward surge is fantastic, but the way they drain lakes so abruptly? Heck, it even confuses me!
DON’T FORGET
Don’t forget the CCA Fort Worth Crawfish Boil tonight! Here is the flier on that event – Crawfish Boil CCA Fort Worth. Be there!
SUBSCRIBE!
Be sure to subscribe to my premium YouTube Channel soon! I have a detailed ariel map of a local lake that is small and loaded with big bass. It’s public, and the only way you can get these fish is on kayak. I am going to lay out the structure that makes it a killer location. It is the number one place I have caught the most big bass in the shortest time (a single outing) – ON FLY. There are double-digit bass, and a strange assortment of aquarium fish in the pond as well.
CCA Fort Worth – Free Food and Beer – What More Do You Want?
Spring Crawfish Boil CCA Fort Worth Chapter
You know, I never really explored saltwater clubs here, so far inland. But maybe it is time to wash down (yeah that is part of the deal) some crawdads with a tiny bit of beer? Maybe I will see you there? Fort Worth still has it going on.
Happy Monday Birthday Thomas McGuane
Good Monday Morning to you all! To say the world is frazzled just doesn’t do the frenetic pace justice these days … but today is Thomas McGuane’s birthday, and at the ripe young age of 78-years, I do hold out hope that I will find myself alive and well at his age.
For those unacquainted with McGuane, he is very nearly the antithesis of diarist John Gierach in his writing style. [ppw id=”183910827″ description=”Reading and Writing” price=”.25″]
Yeah, I read both, but I guess I am old enough to have my preferences — and crazy enough to express them in a public forum. Heck, PC’s done nothing for me, that much is certain.
If you are seeing holes in the timeframe of posts, fly outings and such; that is because we just finished our largest and most successful ever “Leslie’s Backyard Holiday Art Show” last Saturday (no fly guys showed up with the secret password by the way), and today begins a short run “Pop-Up Shop” in Downtown Denton, Texas. Throw that together with a 32-hour-three-day work weekend for yours truly, and now you’re getting it? … the big picture.
Texas turned downright cold last week and the folks along the coast were freaked by the snow show from Corpus Christi, all the way up to Houston, Texas. I am still shaking my head because we had no snow here in North Texas – simply amazing. AND we are in a full-on burn ban here in Denton County, and yes, a full on drought once again. I, for one, am very happy for the salt to have a winter cold snap. THAT IS normal, and I believe the fish need NORMAL.
I’ll say it once again: The only place that does not get drought? Saltwater. They can suffer in other ways from the lack of freshwater intake, but there’s always water on the salt. Are you getting the picture of the future yet?
I had enough time to talk with people I trust about the state of the Art State over the weekend, and specifically how the internet has changed flavors so clearly this year. Folks have gone from the ease (sickness) of Facebook (and its fake news), to even shorter formats – Instagram. Now, you know I never miss the opportunity to drop my year of membership to social media, but I am pretty much moved on past Instagram as a venue – especially since it has been corrupted this year by the “likers” who don’t look at actual images, but try and entice a “like-for-like” response from other “Instagrammers.” Instagram is corrupted, and therefore pretty much an illegitimate format. I only “like” things I look at, and that hurts my standings of course.
No, we’re headed into long form in 2018 – the Loooooong Form. From the continuing challenges of YouTube, and over to a new-again interest in Podcasting that I am taking on as the ultimate challenge: painting a story in the mind’s eye, but keeping it technically easy and easy access and easy listening. Those are huge challenges, by the way. AND we will move into live broadcasting in 2018, simulcasting actually, any fixed reporting from the Fly Bar as well as any other opportunity that lends itself to the Periscope or Snapchat world (once again out in front of the fly fishing powers that be).
Have a great week, and feel free to call me if you are interested in truly unique gift shopping here in Denton, Texas! I will be working at the Pop-Up Shop several hours on weekdays, so come on by. Our hours are such that you can get off work in DFW, and come up here for shopping and a meal out in Downtown Denton, Texas. This shop will close just after Christmas, and the hours will get shorter right at Christmas, so make your plans and call me if you need more information!
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