Picking At Bones This Monday Morning

It’s 29-degrees this morning in Denton, Texas. The shift was not gradual. This is when things start to die again. The leaves and plants that cover this old town’s bones fall away, and expose things. Things we remember from the last time they showed themselves to us, but we happily forgot in the greening of spring. There they are, old rusty cars, outhouses, outdoor brick burn boxes and barrels, junk, that shovel I lost and could not find …

IT ISN’T PRETTY

These are what I call the “ugly times” for this old town. Underneath any town, the subterrane may be just as ugly as this town’s bones, but I have come to doubt that over time. Underneath this town lies a “Lynch-ian” world, one that comes to life every night. I hear it through my window, and it is especially loud with the clear cold air. Sirens, gunfire, unfiltered high performance street races … racing every night of the week, sirens all night every night and the gunfire occasionally sprinkled on top of this urban pot pie of an audio landscape. Sound travels.

WINTER REMAINS

I have failed, as a fly fisherman, to mine the waters as well as I could have in winters past. Trust me, plenty of readers have pointed this out year after year. I get nudges, “… you know redfish are there all winter long,” and what eats me the most, “… those smallmouth, 57-degrees and they go live.” Yes, I have left a lot of winters on the table, holing-up, pining for spring bliss and tying hundreds of flies.

The truth is, cold is colder when you get older. And not only have my layers worn a little thin, my fat layer has also fallen off when I could use it most. I will put fattening up on my to-do list for Thanksgiving.

YouTube on YouTube – The REAL SHOW

I released a video last night – to the Members at YouTube, and it’s about? … YouTube. But wait! Don’t click away! It’s really about fly fishing video creators and Channels on YouTube, and based on my experiences in 2025 with the Texas Fly Caster YouTube Channel. There is a whole world more – to the YouTube content creation than anyone would ever imagine, and when I am not creating, editing and publishing these videos and the content you are now reading? I am learning about the ever-changing YouTube algorithm, the Company’s business plans, how to be more creative with video and what triggers interest in a video. And that is just for starters … that video goes public tonight at 8-pm central time. That video will give you some idea of where the video channel is headed in 2026, detail the new AI extinction event that will hit the “How To” fly fishing and fishing content creators, and reveals what YouTube is actually thinking as it continues to move the goal posts in 2026 and beyond. BONUS: Meet the MMI Crew! on tonight’s video.