Fishing Reports
Monday Morning and We Survived
Texas Fly Fishing and April Events in Texas
Good Monday Morning, and welcome to another Yo-Yo week of weather and fly fishing spring give-and-take. This weather … hailstorms, wind damage, sunny and cold. What next, pray tell?
I guess many of us residing at, or above, the I30 line got spoiled by two past years of mild winters and equally mild springs. What we have here is part of the new reality – unpredictability.
ON UNPREDICTABILITY
(aka. You Thought Trump was Bad? Try Texas in Springtime.)
These unpredictable days, coupled with a weekly window shortened by three days, mean chances will have to be taken to do the research we had in mind for other fly fishing locations – listed earlier in the year. We are just going to have to roll the dice, and try to keep the damage to a minimum.
AS PER Lake Ray Roberts, and fly fishing that fertile field? It was beautiful, and untouched by carp as of last week. The water is still cold, and if they are just offshore; they are well hidden by the wind CHURNED water. The flats are greening up nicely though. I am still searching for that snakehead I saw there a couple of years ago, but I bet that was a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.
PILING ON
April has its share of public events as well. Already halfway through the month, some of the best events are yet to come.
- Denton Arts & Jazz Festival (yes a true “festival”) – https://dentonjazzfest.com/
- Aubrey Pasture Pickin’s April 28 – https://www.facebook.com/Annual-Pasture-Pickin-Sale-435639026593545/
- Galveston Island Food & Wine Festival http://www.galvestonislandwinefestival.com/
- Main Street (Fort Worth) Arts Festival – http://www.mainstreetartsfest.org/
Somehow, I am hoping the folks at the other Texas fly fishing related festivuses have learned their lessons this year. Your events are TOO EARLY in the year – in this part of the United States of America. That goes for the Athens Fly Fishing Festivus as well. Mid-April should be a minimum, with May-June being the right time for this Country. Question is; will they ever learn?
Fly Fishing Report Friday Festivus
Fishing Report Texas Fly Fishers Festivus Now
Today’s Texas Fly Fishing Report will be in writing instead of appearing on YouTube. I don’t see any reason to beat the same drum with only slightly different conditions than we had in the past two to three weeks.
CONDITIONS
Weather. Weather. Weather. About the time I shout “Spring Has Sprung!” … old man winter tries to exhale one last time, and blow away our optimism over the weather we have been experiencing (on-and-off) these last few weeks. Locally, there’s apparently a battle royale brewing – between advancing cold air and the warm southern breezes (yeah I know, 40-mph isn’t exactly a breeze) – and tonight or tomorrow it will all come to a smackdown in this region. Latest word is the warm air is mounting a firm resistance.
LOCAL
I hit Ray Roberts yesterday, and the details of that are available to subscribers on my “Private” list of Texas Fly Caster YouTube watchers. Hint to you subscribers – I am sending these videos to you to view, so please do. Otherwise, we need to make room (in the 200 person limit) for others. Not only will you paid subscribers get details on carp on Ray Roberts right now, but there’s a HIGHLY detailed map for kayak fishing a local park pond in the City of Denton, Texas. CONTACT ME to subscribe. You’ll be glad you did!
FESTIVUS
We have another of those dreadfully named fly fishing “Festivals” this weekend. Have you noticed; that word has gotten under my skin? I am renaming all fly fishing festivals (which they are not) to “Festivus” in honor of George’s Dad.
THIS WEEKEND’s FESTIVUS is in Athens, Texas, and is either going to be a boom or a bust – based on which weather pattern wins the day. In my humble opinion, most if not all of these North Texas tournaments occur way too early in the year. School is still in session, and prime weather, prime fly fishing is still weeks and sometimes months away.
Fly Fishing Texas Report 032318 – Weather Says Spring Fish Say Wait a Minute
Texas Fly Fishing Report
This is your fresh Texas Fly Fishing Report for the weekend. Remember that you can find more words here than on these videos — I know, that’s a scary thought!
Things are aligning nicely for next week, if we don’t get too much of a good thing (rain forecast). Alas, it is Texas, so bigger, more and too much is probably what we’re in store for. Watch the video, and I will break down the effect massive spring rains have on our fly fishing opportunities – specifically for lakes and ponds. Of course we all know our rivers eventually lead to the Gulf of Mexico, and I will tell you what I have been seeing down on the coast at Port Aransas lately (seeing online).
TEXAS SKIFF LIFE
I finished up wiring in the head unit for the skiff today, and for no good reason, I recorded the video of that final install, and firing up of the tunes. It sounds very good, and does not rattle the boat (if you are worried about crushing bass or too much power to the speakers). When the people who know me best, and who have been on my skiff, say, “YOU NEED! a STEREO!” I was happy to oblige. If it ever gets too loud, let me know!
Monday Morning Sidewalk – Watching the Spring Signs for Fly Fishing Green Lights
Fly Fishing’s Spring Signs Everywhere
Good Monday morning! What strange days we are living through, as a Nation, these days. Bombs going off in Austin, bridges falling in Miami, a President protesting too much … it seems the only thing we can count on is the seasons changing and the fish coming back to hand and reassuring us that no matter what else happens – we can take a very few things – things that matter – for granted.
So as we battle the relentless wind that takes us off the water for weeks at a time, we have to be observant, and measured and patient.
Redbuds in the Redbud Capital of Texas – Denton, Texas 2018.
In North Texas, we observe the crane fly coming around now – around our outdoor porches and lights. And we observe the tame and wild redbud trees flowering their pink hues that earned Denton, Texas, the title, “Redbud Capital of Texas.” I guess Texas towns have always had this thing about being the capital of something, or being attached to the biggest of something.
As we measure, we look at air temperatures, wind speeds and water temperatures. On the occasion of floods and full lakes, we also look at flow rates out of the lake dams – those flows that give us reason to chase sand bass and hybrids (and the occasional five-pound bass) that respond to those flows.
- An app that like for a snapshot of weather is called, Wunderground, and is available in your app store.
- The weather radar I use all the time, and have had for years, is called Hi-Def Radar, and is very accurate.
- Here is a link to your USGS Hydrological Data for Texas – USGS Texas Water on the Go.
I hope you got a feel for the esteem I hold Lefty Kreh in from this article last week – Lefty Kreh Leaves Us With a Vast Inheritence – We Stand on His Shoulders. I am still thinking about what made him special as a personality, and one more thing that comes to mind is that when he talked to us individually, I felt like he would always remember each conversation because I always will. In truth, his connections to fly fishers were singular, but in the multiple thousands and thousands. There’s no real way to say he connected to us individually, but IT FELT LIKE HE DID. And that is what someone who has “it” can do – connect in a way that makes each of us feel connected to him. It is a priceless skill. I imagine I will have more to say about him in coming days and weeks.
Well, this is a week that would be absolutely perfect – if not for the wind. I will have to seek shelter in order to fish at all, but we gotta’ do what we gotta’ do to get our shots in. There’s more information in coming days, as I wrap up some things, and open a few new cans of worms … so stay tuned, and feel free to help out the fly fishing community by SAYING SOMETHING about your spring fly fishing adventures in 2018. After ten years of doing this, it should be obvious to you that your SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN – it’s LEADEN.
Good Monday LATE MORNING
Fly Fishing Not Impacted by Time Change
You guessed it! I am running behind, on the face of the clock at least, because of that wonderful time change – and it is truly WONDERFUL!
Not only does it smell, feel and taste like spring … it’s beginning to look like spring. I walked through a flock of crane flies Saturday morning, on my way to where no one would want to go, but there they were the cranes are here! Then Saturday night brought the time change, Sunday brought some dastardly winds – clocked at up to 45-miles-per-hour around here, and a sharp cool down last night and this morning. Thankfully, the cool is getting burned away by the giant star we revolve around, and our excitement builds.
SUBSCRIBER YOUTUBE INSIDER
For those of you who have either used my fly fishing guide service, or to the paid content on this site (now defunct), you are automatically privy to the MICRO DETAILS on HOTSPOTS I find while doing my story research. Be sure to contact me if you want to subscribe to the Texas Fly Caster YouTube Insider Report, and we can make that happen. I estimate there to be about thirty of these supplemental subscriber videos a year, and they will certainly save you a dollar’s-worth of time and effort. These reports contain the information NOBODY wants anyone to share.
Needless to say, it is time to book your trip with me, and contact me for lessons if you are new to the fly fishing world. I have already had a number of contacts, and I appreciate that! You are the motivation for all these reports and show-and-tell videos.
We have to leave this Monday Morning Sidewalk at that, as I have an epic anniversary today, and attention must be undivided.
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