Monday Morning Sidewalk – Hail Hail Walk and Roll
Texas spring weather does damage to North Texas in concentrated areas.
Good morning once again, on this Monday morning. It’s a sidewalk to somewhere, and the pace is pretty slow today because of the weather that passed through last night. Here, in my neighborhood we dodged the bullets by about a single mile. Across town, folks are not so lucky as the golf balls fell as randomly as a Tiger Woods round of golf.
This weather not only does damage, it also supercharges the local creeks with water, and the thunder lightning and hail seem to spook the fish off lakes – for at least a day. Regardless of the fish, it did prevent my recording the Members Only Report (MOR), and delayed a look at a river down south of Fort Worth scheduled for today.
For those of you who missed it, the story prior to this one is an interesting read. It’s a look at a small portion of the challenges that big box chainstores, like Bass Pro, face in the future. It also takes a look at what smaller fly shops, known as “mom-and-pop” fly shops, can do to help themselves and help others who help them. Read – Shots Fired – Big Box Retail on Life Support. I took advantage of the discussion boards at Texas Fishing Forum, to expand and progress that conversation. I think it is interesting that some folks have never felt comfortable in a fly shop! Read that exchange here – Sears Makes Me Think Fly Fishing Retail . (Years ago, we had forums here, but they are better left to professionals, as the scammers and spammers just LOVE forums.)
This is going to be a wild week of weather. I don’t hear the danger of last night predicted, but apparently today is the only decent day until the end of the week. AND the end of the week finds me in San Angelo, Texas, for the Chicken Farm Art Center’s First Saturday show again this year. (It is nice to be able to say that; “again this year.”)
PoPs Fly Shop – A 21st. Century Online Store
I rushed off some flies to a Pops fly buyer who was headed from North Texas to Galveston to fly fish Friday, but I heard back from him that the weather had stepped in there as well. It was a big order (due to the complex fly style), and I only tied enough to get it shipped off. Ordering from PoP is an interesting proposition nowadays …
If you haven’t been to PoPs Fly Shop lately, you should go. It should become famous for what isn’t there. There is no longer a “Shop” type “online store” at PoPs. All the orders PoP does (how’s that for split personality?) are through one-on-one conversations with customers – phone, SKYPE and most preferred by iChat. Why not use the expertise of a fly fisher, who may have even been to your Texas destination, to ASK what flies he recommends, what quantity makes sense, and even spots that PoP knows have produced in the past. It’s rare that I have the flies “in stock” anymore. I tie your fly order for you when you order them. They are fresh and sharp. Visit PoPs Fly Shop soon!
Category: Backcasting, Complimentary Reading, Fly Tying
