Finding a Spot on the Monday Morning Sidewalk
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Good morning and welcome to the old routine of walking down the morning sidewalk on another Monday morning! I woke up this morning thinking about “spots” – our favorite “spots,” and the “spots” we find ourselves in. Your spot this morning could be in any number of places; a spot between two rows of books in a library, a spot in the break-room on a factory floor, a spot in a corner office, a spot where you get good reception out on a pipeline, a spot underground in the State Capital catacombs, or a particular stall in a particular restroom on a particular floor of a Houston high rise. Whatever spot you find yourself in; welcome to this spot today!
I returned from Houston yesterday, and encountered rain virtually all the way from Spring, Texas, to the outskirts of Dallas. Just before hitting Big D, the rain stopped. I can hardly say I was surprised, in fact I expected that very thing to happen (2-4 inches more rain predicted for East Texas in the next 24 hours). If you recall the last drought map I published, or go look at that updated map right now; you’ll see a spot of color the darkest in the range of shades they attach to the unscientific term, “exceptional” drought. I associate the term “epic” instead. It makes more sense, as it puts the bullseye on our backs in a slightly more historical perspective.
LET IT RAIN
Listening to the talkingweatherheads last night, I finally heard a statistic, I was wondering about, spelled out for me in plain english. The weatherhead pointed out how little rain had actually fallen in this round, but then went on to tell us that with a total rainfall of (was it?) 131 inches over the last five years compared to the five year historical average 171, that deficit adds up to, “North Texas currently being one year short of rain.” Say it any way you want, there’s a year of rain missing, lost and gone. Sure all the old guys say, “it always rains,” but all I can say to that is – that was then, and this is now. I like the spot I’m in right now, but is it my favorite spot?
One spot I do like is East Texas. You know the spot; where it rained, a real rain, all day yesterday (and again today), where the fish never quit biting this winter, where the salt water touches its edges?
Last weekend as I walked the creeks around Lake Houston, catching huge sand bass on fly, and talked at length with a friend Danny Scarborough, he told me just how lucky he was, “The fish never quit this year. I was catching ‘em here Thanksgiving, December.” Now I know the salt can go on forever, and the party never end, but the simple pleasure of creek fishing in that part of Texas? I basically shouted a few choice words at him, ending with, “Do you know how lucky you are?!”
SAME TIME NEXT YEAR?
Many of the fly fishing events that I have been through in past years are listed on my electronic calendar, and set to repeat every year. So far we’ve passed through the spot on the calendar where the “worm hatch” happened at Lake Kiowa, Texas – not going to time out right this year. We’ve passed through the epic hybrids on fly just below Lake Ray Roberts dam – hasn’t happened in five years. What’s it been, two years since a sand bass run on the Trinity River Denton Greenbelt?
The list goes on, but I’ve been told the better part of the fly fishing pursuit is the fly fisher’s adaptability. We’ve been adapting for five years now, but there’s more than one way to “adapt”** to these conditions. For now, we’re going to continue to make sure the lid’s still on these historic events (by checking regularly on places like the Greenbelt), and at the same time we’ll research and execute plans to fly fish entirely new locations (like last week’s two fly fishing trips into the areas around Lake Houston).
There are numerous distinct opportunities for fly fishing in Texas, and in the freshwater realm, it breaks down generally into: creeks, lakes and rivers. As I said, we won’t be discarding creeks around here just because they are drought stricken at the moment. Runoff could possibly trigger that action any time now.
METHOD TO EXPLORATIONS
First on the list of new locations is a hop, skip and jump from here. Lake Lewisville / Dallas is close by, and has all three characteristic waters – creeks, the lake and continuing down below the dam – a fork of the Trinity River. Enough of the rain is running off from Denton’s exploding growth (new streets and parking lots) into those tributaries – to make a difference in those creeks feeding that lake. We’ll have a look, and show subscribers the spots. Then we will move into the lake for a look (the most number of sick/deformed fish I’ve ever caught in one place), and of course report to subscribers on that action as well. And we will close that look with a visit to the LLELA (Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area) at the dam and below. There are some urban ponds attached to this waterbody (below the lake toward I35E) that are worthy of a look as spring unfolds as well.
Of course we will also be back on the salt within the next 30 days, a trip that is still in the thinking stage, but not optional! Interlaced with the local information about the DFW’s Lake Lewisville, will be a trip to Honey Creek to do a lecture for the Texas Women Fly Fishers – my lecture on GoPro Cameras. Also somewhere in the mix are new adaptations for fly fishing by kayak – new boats to consider, and electronics that could be an **adaptation to present Texas fly fishing conditions.
Thanks for reading, and have a great week! The routines should take their places here, as we start to unfold from winter and get out a whole lot more to explore all that makes fly fishing in Texas such an ever changing adventure. Stay tuned, and tune into the YouTube channel for more videos coming this week, this month and this year.
Category: Adventure, Complimentary Reading, East Texas, Fishing Reports, Hot Spot, Life Observed, North Texas, On The Road
