Monday Morning Quarterbacking – What a Difference A Day Makes

| November 4, 2013

texas fly fishing

I pulled in from Houston last night, was it 12 or was it 1 am? The time change is a good thing. Nevertheless, it does mess with your head for awhile. Welcome to wherever you are, whenever you are this morning! A new survey says the least productive day in US business is Monday. I am here to prove them correct! The numbers already say readers read – en masse – on Monday Morning Sidewalk rundowns. You must love those fast internet connections at work …

I had one day to fly fish in Galveston, Texas, during my stay, and that day was Saturday. A steady 30-mile-per-hour wind blew my chances off for that one day window. I couldn’t even cast a spinning rod off the jetties, and only managed one hapless male flounder in the Houston Ship Channel. He was surprised as I was.
THE NEXT DAY was pristine, and I began receiving photos from DS who had “his best redfish day ever” further south yesterday – Sunday. What a difference a day makes.

FLOODING DOWN IN TEXAS

Last week was a big news week, the biggest of the year so far, due to the torrential rains that hit the Austin, Texas, area, and I have yet to gather more information on the damages to that area. There’s a lot I don’t know, and while five inches of rain hit Houston while I was there, the last number I heard for Austin was 11 inches. And that is a number that fits inside a 24-hour window of time.

PROPOSITION 6

conservation awareness for fly fishersI think it’s safe to say there will be no clarity, and only some unity when it comes to taking a knowledgeable stance on Texas water Proposition 6. As I first reported, I think it is safe to say the proposition will pass. Clarity is not something that mixes well with politics, so we will have to go forward in Texas using Proposition 6 as a “vehicle” for real change to the way Texans think about water – our second most valuable resource. Unity? In Texas? In fly fishing? That will probably be one of the topics of my second book. Read on …

A NEW CHALLENGE TO TEXAS FLY FISHING WATERS

I also received an e mail from someone in the Port Aransas, Texas, area, about some possible new activity in the oil and gas industry in, or near the waters of Aransas Pass, Texas. This is beautiful and productive fly fishing water, and any threat to its long term natural interest needs immediate and direct attention and action. Brown & Root flats are not nearly as difficult to wrap our arms around, compared to $2-billion dollars.

Here’s what I have received so far:

Message:
I wanted to make you aware of the possibility of refinery development
on Harbor Island, and efforts to rezone those land tracts near the
Port Aransas ferry landing to prevent this from happening.The need for
this action became acute recently when one tract of land was under
contract and slated for a fractionator facility. That specific deal
seems to be in limbo or dead, but other buyers are already in the
wings.It is also my understanding that the old Brown & Root
fabrication yard may be under contract and slated for an LNG
facility.
I can provide more background if you like.

Here is the link to a petition effort to persuade the PA city council
to consider rezoning for the entire area of Harbor Island – currently
zoned “Heavy Industrial”.
http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-port-aransas-city-council-amend-the-zoning-on-the-harbor-island-and-brown-and-root-properties-in-port-aransas-texas?share_id=wkuzkKnDQq&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

I RESPONDED: Wow. This seems like a big deal.

Yes – it is a big deal for the future planning of Port A and the prevention of harmful impacts upon surrounding natural resources .
There is a PA city council meeting on Nov. 21 and a discussion of Harbor Island zoning is on the agenda. They will take public comments and we are trying to prepare to have speakers there.
Of course input to city council members, prior to that meeting, advocating rezoning of Harbor Island is urgently needed.

The petition is clicking along pretty well – but numbers count and we could use help getting more signatures.
Any suggestions from you on rallying support would be greatly appreciated.

I can keep you in the email loop on developments if you like. You can also look for posted info via the Texas Wade Paddle & Pole facebook page (link below).

Also on another issue – You may be aware of this meeting – if not – here’s more info for your “reading list” —
http://www.baycitychamber.org/custom2.asp?pagename=calendar&a=view&eid=114650

Texas Wade Paddle and Pole
http://wadepaddlepole.net/index.html
http://www.facebook.com/groups/wadepaddlepole/

END NOTES – As if there weren’t enough on the plate already! If anyone else knows something, even the smallest tidbit, about the situation in Port Aransas, Texas, I would love to hear it. I have worked in the post frack business in North Texas, and I am not sure what a “fractionator facility” actually is. Anyone?

I like this weather we are having this week for trout fly fishing in Oklahoma. Can somebody help me on that one? The Texas trout stocking schedule should be out pretty soon. I always feel sorry for those little lost trout being dumped in ponds across Texas! You’d think that TPWD could come up with a better use for that money. I would assert those same ponds could use an injection of panfish each spring, and that would do more good than trout with an certain expiration date.

I will check lake levels, and see what I can gather as far as Central Texas floods. Here in North Texas, we are looking at a week of rain according to the talking weatherheads. That’s something we can all support!

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Category: Causes

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https://www.shannondrawe.com is where to find my other day job. I write and photograph fish stories professionally, and for free here! Journalist by training. This site is for telling true fishing news stories, unless otherwise noted.

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