Monday Morning Windows of Opportunity
It’s a protracted day now. The brutal beatings from the sun and humidity kick in around 11am. and they are ruthless. I live in extremes, a land of extremes, and they are not limited to US political extremes. They reach into the air we breathe and the weather we have created. The seasons are extremely wet, or extremely dry, extremely hot and extremely cold. To do what I do here? it’s becoming more extreme every year.
To say, living where fly fishing was pretty challenging to begin with locally, is not easy? Some would consider that an extreme understatement, especially in weather like we have right now. And once these extremes chain themselves together? at the end of the chain is a swing, and that swing goes so high … sometimes I think I’ll finally go all the way over the bar, do the 360 I always tried to do by swinging so high on those wooden-seated-teeth-and-nose-breaking swings in my Weslaco elementary school. It never happens though. Yeah, at the apex I would jump off the swing sometimes, letting go of the chains, and flying … ten feet high and fifteen feet long, violating Darwin’s law every single time.
With a couple of average weather days sandwiched in between the extremes, we remember those couple of days – instead of the hell that dominates the weeks and months. The windows are so small now, here in North Central Texas, we have to squeeze to get ourselves free and land outside our air conditioned houses on both feet. All the while hoping this isn’t the year thousands aren’t shelled out on replacing a 40-year-old central air conditioner, something houses didn’t have, this house didn’t have in the 1950’s and ’60’s. No, a/c’s came along as normal left us here in North Central Texas.
What Can a Fly Fisher Do to Beat the Heat?
The first thing a fly fisher can do to beat the heat is get wet! Yes, just go to water, line it up, and start fishing. My SBB Sand Bass Blitz running around last week was pretty fantastic. I squeezed out a window, hit the ground, hit the water and went searching. It was at least five-degrees cooler on the big water, the sun was a bright orange orb as it rose in the east, like those California sunsets I lived with for a few years … and it was actually cool in every sense of the word that morning last week, if only for a few ticks on the clock.
The second thing a fly fisher can do if they want to catch fish in this heat? Well, besides watching others catch fish on their phones and computer screens, you can slow down. I mean slow down your retrieve, maybe even lengthen the strips and shorten your pause. Give that a go if you make it past the first thing.
The third thing a fly fisher can do to beat the heat is to go deep! Cooler water temps below mean fish are just like us – they want to cool off too. Sink tips and fluorocarbon leaders. If you have such luck as to be on Texoma, there are times for the full sinker pulled through those deep screen blackouts, been there done that.
What more do you do to beat the heat when you are fly fishing? Obviously, we have to take care of ourselves! Full skin coverage and lots of water are mandatory. Early outings are better than sun-setters nowadays – only because of the lingering heat. I have been taking these powder packs of this stuff called, LMNT Electrolyte Drink Mix and adding ONE to my water bottle – on boat and bike – and they are a 1000mg. / 200mg. / 60mg. – sodium/potassium/magnesium respectively. And in my studies, many of us could use a little sodium in our daily regimen. LMNT does a good job of leveling me off, and definitely forestalls cramps.If I were running a Texas or Florida fly shop? I would sell LMNT! You can find it at Target, and other outlets NOW.
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Thanks for reading this morning and have a COOL DAY!
