Southbound And Down
Surprise Trip to Arroyo Colorado Begins Now!
NOTE: We had a major storm hit here this morning (5/28) around 5am. Waiting for the sun to come out and the rain to stop to assess the damages. Power outages. Tree damage. Looks like we are in for more of the same …
It is time. The south winds are pushing hot air against me, but just like those Lower Laguna Madre transplants, I am ready to blow be blown back down to the place that was my childhood home. Getting away from these tornadoes cannot be misunderestimated. I’ll take a hurricane please, and you can have the Texas tornadoes.
Full of anticipation and loaded with nerves about my aging horse (a year shy of twenty-year-old Toyota) this is the week I pull the reins around and head south once again. Just how much time I will be devoting to the roll, and car living? is just not worth considering, but it’s considerable.
The timing couldn’t be better, with the North Texas fly fishing scene about as predictable as a ball of snakes in heat. Thankfully, all this fresh water running over never reaches the Lower Laguna Madre like it does most of the Texas Gulf Coast. Word spreads that wherever the rivers run in, they have muddled up the salt with off color water that causes a bit of a push to the fish population seeking clarity. I fully understand.
Clarity is what the Lower Laguna Madre brings me, in recent history and distant memories, they collide for melancholy … a more sentimental perspective than one of unbridled anticipation – as rightly the latter should be.
My recent history on the Island left a mark that cannot be erased. And I left a mark that I hope will be drawn deeper into the landscape of the Island – Los Pescadores CO. What I planned has mostly come to pass, and while the future is in other’s hands; on its face the business looks to be doing right. It is at least worth a potential visit when I am so close this week.
Arroyo Colorado Fishing This Weekend
This plan is to leave the boat behind, and just ride the laid back vibe that comes with being down South. No boat is in itself … a challenge for me. I never hear directly from anyone I left behind. Is it time for some Jetty fun, or walking the sand or maybe just fishing all night under the lights along the Arroyo or Adolph Thomae Park?
Information is one of the obvious shortfalls of the Lower Laguna Madre, and so far, the local “destination” fly shop hasn’t followed (that part of) my plan well; sure it’s necessary and great to push product, but information is the real treasure fly fishers hunt, at least fly fishers like me. For me, I want a good cup of joe, to know the tides, the moon and where people are catching fish – in the Lower Laguna Madre. I guess that is asking a lot? I know where to get the coffee. Distance be damned. This is the 21st. Century, and we are all about the balance – between crowds and desolation, between use and overuse. Trust is key. And fly fishers, by their very nature, already should have an ante of trust on the table. Once again, I will do what I can in the extremely limited time I have, AND I will show and tell you how it goes next weekend. (Part of the YouTube Texas Fly Fishing News Report Revival)
What’s That Old Saying?
No battle plan survives the first shot? Tyson probably put it more directly to me personally, “Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face.” How many times have we premeditated plans for our fly fishing adventures, only to find one or more factors that caused the whole thing to run completely amuck. More often that not, that has been my experience. I’m not certain what the percentages are, but significantly more of my plans get shredded than get bronzed.
A simple plan would be to just stay put at the Ben Paschal Arroyo House and watch the water flow by, write and meditate until the night comes, but you know me better than that by now. The Jetties still hold a magnetism, FOR ME, as does the sand. Having no word at this point? Maybe I should have a go at that, and if the sand is hard? Maybe a run up the Padre with the drone focused on the surf? That would take a lot of real luck.
What flies to bring? Well, with absolutely no tips coming from the main “Destination” fly shop down there, I can bring about 500 that I already have, and maybe there will be ONE that works. With luck, maybe that one will be three or six of the exact same fly – THAT WORKS! The last fly I need is one that catches fishermen, and not fish!
If I add in my conventional “Fly Fishing Conceal Carry” load of spinning rods? There must be something that works with all that, right? Again, more guess work. MirroLure is a good start, and I still have a ton of soft plastics which I have no idea even how to stick them on a hook. Again, information would be king. How do I stick one of these on straight and true?
Dropkick Time
There is always the “Drop-Kick” option, wherein, all a fly fisher does is show up. No plan, except to survive the drive and get to the end of it, and back again. In between? Whatever presents itself … it is what it is. This is my path less chosen. It’s so hard to imagine anymore. I guess the need for planning comes along as we age? By the way, where’s the nearest emergency room? When there is an abundance of time, there is always some dropkick built in. When time is short, not so much.
What Will It Be?
ONE mistake I have learned not to make over the years? is make predictions. Predictions are like plans; they never survive the trips or the first punch. Wen it comes to telling and showing stories on the YouTube Channel? Hundreds and hundreds of hours never ever see the light of your screens. You’ll never know, and never see. The great wasteland.
I think I’ll split the baby this time, a little less conversation, a lot more action*. And I get to define the action – whatever that may be related to. I am looking for one thing, a zero.zero on the pressure scale this time. It’s kind of like a throwback trip.
All I can say for sure? These days nothing is for sure. If I sound distant? maybe I am. Wish you were here.
*”A little less conversation, a little more action, please
All this aggravation ain’t satisfactioning me
A little more bite, a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark…” E
Category: Adventure, Backcasting, Body-Mind-Soul
