First Thing’s First at First Statewide ZOOM Fly Fishing Meeting
Texas Snook and Texas Tarpon on Fly Among Topics
We’re still drying out here in North Texas, after a 3-plus inch deluge that lasted all day Saturday, and raised local lake Ray Roberts more than a foot in a day. With all the indoor time afforded me from those rainy and windy days last week, I suddenly had a light bulb come on … more like a bulb on a dimmer switch actually.
We have all heard about, or done, the ZOOM meeting thing by now. It can go by many different platform names, but essentially these platforms are what I was pushing toward when trying to get local fly fishing clubs to modernize for the younger generations several (6 years? really?) years ago. Of course, these software-applications were not on many people’s radar at that time, and the blowback was huge from the old folks (are they still alive) who were stodgily resisting any modernizations.
Now, with change forced on the entire population, those changes may be leading to a bold new day in the fly fishing club life — a day when a group of people concerned about their carbon emissions, traffic safety, broadening outreach (you know all that “futuristic stuff”) – a day when everyone sits down at their computer or phone and goes to a fly fishing meeting.
With the bulb brightening, I was inspired to create a Texas Fly Fishing ZOOM gathering last night. While I have never conducted a ZOOM meeting, I had help from my very experienced spouse, who at the very beginning of the meeting – SAVED MY BACON by switching me off my soundless laptop and onto her computer to conduct the meeting. APPLE Computer – we have a known ZOOM glitch — no speaker sound incoming.
But once we got the meeting off the ground, we had what turned out to be a ringer in the crowd, a guide who I contacted off the LMFFA Laguna Madre Fly Fishing Association, a Captain Mark Machado who calls the Lower Laguna Madre home! We also had Central Texas represented by Austin Orr who works for TPWD, and has worked all over Texas.
To recap: Be still my pounding heart, Captain Machado filled us in on flies and catching snook at will down in the Lower Laguna Madre. He went on to put me in full cardiac arrest, after letting us know that tarpon are there NOW, and he is targeting them as well. If you wonder where? Well, you should have been at the ZOOM Texas Fly Fishing Meeting! You can also contact the captain through his website – www.snookonahook.com .
Having someone on the ground, on the water, in real time, delivering information LIVE, was just about as good as I can imagine fly fishing information gets. Captain Machado was very patient and willing to talk about his experience with two of the more exotic saltwater fly fishing species, and take questions at length. What a moment in time. Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead?
Of course, I am not the king of fly fishing ZOOM meetings. Apparently, some of the Texas Fly Fishing Federation’s (business I guess) has been conducted by zoom since the virus outbreak. But, now I am faced with the question: Is it viable? It certainly has no profit motive for myself, but as an informational tool? Texas Fly Fishing ZOOM meetings are a great opportunity for the Texas fly fishing community to meet and talk and listen to an expert talk about his/her fly fishing guiding, business or local niche. It is also a chance to reground with the cult.
So the invitations will be going out all this week. I will be looking for a “Special Guest” to fill the main speaker slot next Sunday night at 8pm Central Standard Time. By the time this hits the digital realm, I can imagine the rug will be just about pulled out, and other fly fishing businesses (who read and are in touch here) will have the dimmer turned up full on their bulbs as well. What can I say? It’s just a good idea with a limited shelf-life -WE ALL HOPE. But once this is all over, I am one of those people who sticks to things that have worked in the past – kind of like a favorite fly – until the last dog dies.
All things being equal, ZOOM meetings are turning out to be WORK, just like work is work, but we will try this thing again next Sunday night and see who we can entice before all the speakers and guests buddy-up with more fashionable ZOOM-ers than yours truly. This thing will hit warp speed very quickly in these needy retailer times, but welcome once again to my bleeding edge. Go to ZOOM.US to register and download whatever you need for the next meeting now!
We will be on the water this week. It looks like I need to check Ray Roberts as it again begins to drop AGAIN, and we’ll also hitch up and hit the road to somewhere … stay tuned, and follow on Instagram. You can also be in on my current hot spots by texting me and asking to be in that group. Believe me, there are HOT SPOTS to fly fish all over Texas right now!
Category: Body-Mind-Soul, Culture on the Skids
