Monday Morning Sidewalk

Good Monday Morning to all my friends who read this regular column and to those of you who are shut-in and found this regular Monday column for the first time. 

I don’t know about you, but my eyes hurt from all the TV I am involuntarily watching … I just keep staring mostly in disbelief. Last week was the worst of this for me – so far. I was good with things getting shut down until Texas shut down all the Texas State Parks. My plans were to take advantage of all the “good” things this virus was bringing to those of us with a fishing addiction. I was imagining and planning to hit all the lakes I never get to hit in East Texas, and even heading south to the Texas Gulf Coast for a few days of therapy. All that ended on what seems like a whim last week with the shutdown of the park system. So if you’re not battling the virus, keeping safe, keeping your family safe, unemployment, financial destruction or your business and passion vaporizing? More power to you, and maybe you can help me out by bringing me your good news.

Speaking of TV, have you noticed the trends in new car advertising? When this thing first hit, it was like the crash in 2008; auto ads completely disappeared overnight. Now, they disappeared for about a week, then the major auto companies regrouped and offered the same thing they’ve been offering but deferred for 90 to 180 days. Big whoop. When 2008 happened, I was working some in the oil fields, and the driller I worked for went down to the local Dodge dealership and bought three new trucks off the lot for $20K apiece. Now that’s a fire sale. Obviously the manufacturers see this as a different crisis, or they learned something from ’08, and are trying to apply it to this crisis. I am passing along these observations for several reasons: Some of you readers were only twelve-years-old when this (the ’08 economic crash) happened the first time, 2) Some of us really want to upgrade our fly rides to vans – so we can stay DOWN BY THE RIVER! whenever the desire hits us. Auto dealers should know: There is a magic number, but you’re not there yet.

ANYWHERE BUT HERE

Before the shutdown last week I did do a little Soggy-Bottom-Boys fly fishing down south of Denton along I35W at Denton Creek. There were a handful of other guys there, mostly blue collar workers – without work – fishing for food. The creek was lower than the swollen water it was the week before, but the sand bass have apparently done their deeds and I only managed to catch two dinks in about an hour of fly fishing. So much for that. It paled in comparison to the sand bass action the week before on Lake Ray Roberts. Ray Roberts is, after all, synonymous with the abundant sand bass.

Let’s not forget to add a thirty-degree temperature drop here – since Sunday – as well. We are sitting at 40-degrees right now, and these wild swings just add to the list of grievances. But enough whining! Maybe we can check in with a few folks too young to be grumpy old men yet?

CHINK IN THE ARMOR

While the State of Texas has apparently shut down all recreational opportunities within their park system, there could be some places where we can still get a fix. If the little pond just less than a mile from here ever clears up (yeah lots of rain intake), that lake is wide open for fly fishing by kayak. And there’s the possibility of dropping in down south, at places like the Brazos and Paluxy. Your guess is as good as mine …

Thanks for reading. I will make some efforts to see exactly where the CHINKS in the ARMOR are – this week – especially since the price of gas just adds insult-to-injury of not being able to GO and FISH during these times.

NOTE: Lake Fork Bass Fly Fishing World Championship has been cancelled for 2020.

Tags: #flyfishing, #flyfishingtexas, #TPWD, corona virus, fishing report, fly fishing, Texas Parks & Wildlife

Category: Body-Mind-Soul, Culture on the Skids, Fishing Reports, Life Observed, Science and Environmental, Soggy Bottom Boys