Monday Morning Hammer Drop
With a spring and early summer like we’ve had, what could possibly go wrong?
The best laid plans of mine, for this calendar year, were to write a small instructional and informational book specific to fly fishing for carp on Lake Ray Roberts, Texas. Well … the lake is still in “flood pool,” at 636.43, and the flow at that makes it four feet above conservation. At the Dam, they have bumped up the release finally. It’s at 992 cfs, which would be perfect for a float – IF IT WERE CLEARED.
With this level of water, guide trips are put on the side burner, while we wait so patiently for the water to recede … only by another act of God, I guess. Evaporation and consumption, as a means of reservoir management? It’s not exactly what I call taming a wild beast.
GUNTERSVILLE GATORADE
Other plans included going to the BassMaster extravaganza two weeks ago, and I did. I even touched base with the only superstar bass-man I know, Gerald Swindle. You’ll recall I was at his house a number of years ago, helping a young photographer with a photo shoot for, yeah you guessed it, Gatorade. At the house, we weren’t offered Gatorade though. Moonshine from a Mason jar was the refreshment of that afternoon in Guntersville, Alabama. G-Man, and his wife, were very hospitable and were just as kind at the extravaganza in Fort Worth. What I didn’t plan on was a head cold, that took the entire week after that, to recover from – give me another shot. Meanwhile, I have passed that head cold around. Of course, it was not allergies from all the rain mold as I thought, and as of today my much more resilient (but not exactly forgiving) wife has about recovered.
Feeling Twitchy
With all this time on hand, I have been able to build some more information, call it knowledge if you like, about the Trinity River Denton Greenbelt Debacle. This project would be quicksand for me. I am sticking my toe in already, my head’s above the foxhole and when you don’t know what you don’t know? It leads to mistakes.
One thing I don’t know is: Why an organization, like Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation would not jump on an opportunity to do great things, to make a difference in the urban and suburban lives of the people of Denton County and nearby counties and cities. Do you know? I would like to think, based on their website, with stated goals, like “ … support Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) to ensure that all Texans, today and in the future, can enjoy the wild things and wild places of Texas,” would put the Denton Greenbelt right in their wheelhouse – it’s a home-run ball straight down the middle.
So I sent an e mail. I attached the two videos and all the news stories I could find, and the response was … so quick that I knew it was virtually unread and unwatched. If you know me, you know how I’m going to react. If you don’t know me? You might want to cover your ears. Right now, the clock is still ticking; my thorough response, to the blatant brush-off, may still be resonating there – so I wait patiently for their more considered response. It is interesting that the brush-off came within fifteen minutes of the original e mail, and I’ve been waiting a week for a response from the second e mail. I would sure like to renew my membership …
If anyone else can enlighten, and redirect me, in relation to TPWF, it would be greatly appreciated. If anyone reading can write grants, the strangest convergence happened last week, about the same time, when TPWD announced grants, grants that specifically match this project. Imagine that?
AUDIO IN PLACE
You may recall, I was waiting for hardware to start adding audio to some of these popular YouTube Videos I do on fly fishing conditions around Texas. Well, most of what (I think) I need is now here in the recording studio. And I am waiting to try a few interviews, waiting for the calls, and for my voice to come back from that head cold. While I have been waiting, I have been bingeing on Andy Mill’s YouTube Channel, Mill House. To say his historical capture of the Florida Keys is, “great,” is a complete undersell – I think it is actually very important to the history of fly fishing. He is capturing legends while they’re still alive. The technical mixed with the psychology of the interviews is spectacular. So listen to the podcast, or watch the videos. The videos are just recordings of the podcast and I prefer YouTube over Apple Podcasts for ease of access. Get ready to sell everything and move to the Keys though …
COMING THIS WEEK
- Another story on the Denton Trinity River Greenbelt Debacle. This time, I cross paths with a photography legend who calls North Texas home now.
- A look at water in another place. I don’t know where yet, but gas up your El Camino.
Category: Adventure, Body-Mind-Soul, Causes, Fly Fishing For Carp, North Texas, Science and Environmental
