BE SURE TO CHECK OUT LAST WEEKEND’S story on new Texas fly fishing talent surfacing – Texas Fly Fishing’s Next Gen

GRAY MATTERS

Three out of our last four Monday Mornings have been filled with the same gray matter – fog and rain – that we have today! These last few days here in North Texas were the “REAL DEAL” though – flash flooding, lakes filling and a general recalculation of our fly fishing conditions that will last several months for North Texas.

I know the rest of the State has been hit with rain as well, but it means very little for the Texas Gulf Coast. They’ll get an influx of freshwater, and that will only help matters there – after a super hot summer that is typical of Texas.  On the Gulf there are tarpon aplenty, and fly fishers are working the tides from the Tip of Texas all the way to the Sabine. Not only are they working the tides, the fish are biting hard. I have seen photos of 29” trout and slot reds from Galveston, flounder and even snook down at South Padre Island’s south jetty. And the photos all came in since last Friday (subscribe to the Instagram account!)!

You really don’t need much more evidence from here that the full-moon-tides are the time to pack up fido and your fly rod, some of my proven flies – the Neapolitan flounder Clouser and tie your own Redfish Meth Fly watch the video – Redfish Meth Fly – to tie an articulated Redfish Crack Fly. You’ll never regret taking the Rey Ram fly and load up on saltwater Clousers as well. Can’t find salt Clousers? Check out the Pops Fly Shop page, and contact me for assortments – all on stainless steel or DT hooks – at insane prices! Guaranteed to last.

LOCAL CALL

People! Listen! The windows are very small now, but they do crack open on occasion. They were closed and fogged yesterday, when I walked onto the flats dubbed “Lantana Flats” near what is named the Lone Star Lodge. The water is as high as any spring flood rain would cause (though not biblical) … into the prairie grass, and so are the carp. Unfortunately, the sun is not exposing them, so they lay there like land mines until they go off at the last second. Wading conditions are also near impossible. And the icing on the fluid cake? How about giant grass carp – 50-pound-class monsters – cruising the flats with tail fins slicing the water like a shark’s fin, protruding six inches out of the water and waving like flags.

I am waiting for the sun – until tomorrow. Then we will roll out the skiff and do a deal with the sun to see what we can find on those same flats. I am always pessimistic about those grass carp, since my last encounter with (hooking and fighting) a 30-pounder was FUBAR. I am trying to decide between a ten-weight and a twelve-weight for the next confrontation.

We are not out of the woods yet though. There is apparently more rain predicted for later this week. https://waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/ray-roberts