Texas Fly Fishing on the Monday Morning Sidewalk
texas fly fishing #flyfishing in texas saltwater lakes brazos river colorado river fly fishing
Good Monday morning to the Texas fly fishing community from right here in the middle of another ozone alert day for North Central Texas — thank you so much Dallas the DFW Metroplex
COAL IS GODZILLA
We live at a crucial moment in the battle for clean Texas air, and cleaner Texas lake waters, with President Obama about to formally roll out clean air standards that will change our lives, and our waters for the better. If you are against the downsizing, the emasculation of the monster coal industry, then you are against cleaner water and cleaner air in the State of Texas. The demise of coal is inevitable, just as autos replaced buggies, just as coal replaced wood, just as electricity will replace the combustion engine – INEVITABLE. If you are pro-coal, you are on the wrong side of world history. Do not mistake this as a blanket endorsement of the President’s specific plan, but change has to happen sooner rather than later.
TIME FOR A LAKE BREAK
If you are local to Lake Ray Roberts, Texas, then you will be a surprised boater if you head for the Ray Roberts Marina to launch this week. The only ramp serving the entire lake is closed through Thursday for “repairs.” I take that to mean they are stopping to count their cash (funny things happen cash counting), and reinvest in much needed infrastructure at that overrun ramp. The long-and-short of it is that that marina is becoming highly polluted by all the boats launching and landing there. The boat motor oil slick has soaked into the debris on the shoreline which will leave (almost impossible to remove) footprints on your boat decks.
What will they actually be doing at the RR Marina Ramp? Judging by the (outdoor) management I have encountered there, they’ll put a few more new “DO NOT” signs up, and maybe something that divides the huge concrete ramp into slots, but I certainly wouldn’t expect much more than that – even if they are pulling in multi-thousands of dollars a week.
FLY FISHING ELSEWHERE AROUND TEXAS
I was surprised to hear yesterday that the LBJ Grasslands are still closed because of the late spring early summer flooding. One would have assumed the closures will end soon, but since we dove right back into drought, the fire danger must be going up on the Grasslands, and keeping the park closed could actually preempt grass fires north and west of Decatur, Texas. Imagine all the fuel from those rains …
A good bet now, is to go a little further and hit three different spots out west:
- Amon G. Carter Lake is a smaller lake that I have had predictable patterned success at in years past. It’s custom tailored for a kayaker.
- Bridgeport is a lake that I have seen during the worst of times (never fishable those days), and since the drought will take this lake back down, you need to give this lake a shot while it’s viable. Pay attention to your maps and electronics! It’s a big lake again.
- Why not go all the way to Arrowhead (.1’ low), and its strange lake-bound oil derricks? Pleasantly unpredictable.
- BONUS – Have you ever fly fished Nocona? No, not in your Nocona boots, Lake Nocona? Give that lake some thought. The public areas were trashed last time I was there (hypodermics and all), but it’s another lake that can be dissected with a kayak.
STORIES CAN BE FOUND HERE ABOUT ALL OF THE WATER LISTED ABOVE. JUST SEARCH!
The best bet this week? With great care for safety, have a look at the Brazos River below Lake Whitney, and have a look at Alvin Dedeaux and the fly fishing he’s doing down on the Colorado River. If you’ve ever given consideration to Texas river running, maybe now’s the time! Maybe it’s just that I have become completely enthralled by a book handed to me recently, “The Tecate Journals,” by Keith Bowden.
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For those of you interested in the Texas Salt, or even on the Texas Salt; I am a little out of the know these days, but I would say I am not seeing a lot of action along the coast (based on my loose monitoring of social media – forget guide’s websites when it comes to current news). Of course Texas Salt in fall is absolutely fantastic, and now that the drought is back on, salinity levels could have less impact than they have earlier this season. Make no mistake, billions of gallons of water are still coming down the Trinity from here in North Texas – into the Trinity Bay (upper Galveston system). Here’s your hint – GO SOUTH, GO SOUTH yes GO SOUTH.
For those of you who are highly tuned to the Texas Fly Caster YouTube Channel, you have found little new there in the last month. It’s funny, I was gathering a lot of momentum and getting very comfortable with informing folks through the YouTube Channel, but with an increasingly clear picture of my health problems, I figure I may as well publish one of the last videos (for a few months) just to let those – who ONLY watch YouTube – know what’s (not) happening with me and the Channel this fall. I hope those watchers don’t mind becoming readers!
It is pretty much impossible to know (right now) just how bad this is going to get, but I have to believe it’s good not to start any new websites – like the two I was about to launch www.texasskiff.com and www.texasfishing.guide. A lot of things are, apparently, just going to have to wait awhile.
Category: Adventure, Fishing Reports
