Monday Afternoon Sidewalk
Good afternoon, and welcome to the Texas Fly Fishing Monday Morning Afternoon Sidewalk. Texas heat dictates when I do my outdoor work these days, and mornings and evenings mean a delay to the “Morning” sidewalk. If you have been following along, then you know “outdoor work” is working on our escape vehicle – the Airstream Trailer. The rewards for this marathon of effort should begin to show up this winter, and I am putting the pressure ON to make that happen.
IMAGINE THIS
I have a new source that has captured my imagination – a source for fly rod blanks from New Zealand. I threw two of them yesterday off the skiff and was extremely impressed with their feel and speed. One of the rods was a 7’6″ 10-weight one-piece rod (crazy right?!), and the other was a 7’6″ 4-weight one-piece and again the same high-tec advanced graphite blank.
Here’s the deal: This source will build blanks any way you can imagine. There are fees attached to the designing, and if you order more you can spread that and shipping – out over a handful of blanks. My imagination went to regional rods that work for a specific set of demands – shorter/smaller rods for tight spots like the Blue River, etc … We all know no one is making the perfect rod for some of our favorite fish pursuits right now, don’t we? So many times we compromise our needs at some point along that 9-foot crack pipe … 9-foot, always 9-foot, anything you want … it just has to be 9-foot.
Yesterday’s carp action was lacking compared to earlier in the week, and I can’t help but think the heat has something to do with it. The shots were there, but they were more sparse and the wind was bad enough to raise the challenge level a couple of notches.
Thanks for reading along today, and be sure to give me a holler like the two kayak fly fishers from Fort Worth did at the ramp yesterday. I appreciate the chit chat and observations you have on whatever fishery we find ourselves on.
Category: Adventure, Body-Mind-Soul, Culture on the Skids, Equipment, Fishing Reports, Fly Rods, North Texas
