Foggy Monday Morning

Go slow and keep those headlights low. I can barely see to the end of the driveway, so the only way to know if that is the end of the world? is to go outside and walk into it. That’s what we do isn’t it? We walk into a place hoping to walk out at the end with new stories, new fish and new bonds with nature. This week, the weather will have to give a little for us to get a little – here in North…

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Best Texas Carp Flies

How To Find and Choose The Right Carp Fly for Texas Carp Be sure to jump forward and watch the video people! Today is a day to poke a little Texan fun at one of our fly fishing celebrities (Texas loves Tom), while at the same time delivering the gospel of Texas fly fishing flies that convert carp to caught carp – the Go To Gospel of Fly. One of the questions I am asked most often is: What fly…

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Fly Fishing Industry News and Trends

I had a surprise post on Instagram a couple of days ago, from the folks at Bayou City Angler (BCA). If you are unfamiliar with the Houston fly fishing store, it has been on my “must visit” list for many years when in the Bayou City. The likes of fly household legends, like Danny Scarborough, worked at the fly shop and over the years, many others have come and gone through the doors. CHAT GPT…

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Monday Morning Sidewalk Slidewalk

Good Monday Morning fly fishers! Here we are again, on a Monday that defies the past weather patterns, a Monday that shows us a new weather pattern that will dominate many fly fishers lives remaining. The pattern is: There is no pattern. The big news in fishing could well be the big news in fly fishing in North Central Texas: Bois D’Arc lake is now open for fishing! If things go as planned, I…

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Bois D'Arc Lake Fly Fishing

Let The Fun Begin Why not experience a Texas lake from year one? What a truly rare opportunity to take on a brand new challenge, and fly fish the newest lake in Texas, Bois D’Arc Lake at the fringes of North Central Texas. First Social Media Made Lake in Texas Think about it! This is the first Texas lake formed since social media has been invented, self-generated fishing websites, YouTube,…

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New Fly Tying Video

Are You As Excited as I am? Was that too sarcastic? If you have tuned in over the years, you know I am not a fan of fly tying videos, but this time I AM NOT THE ONE doing the fly tying and that makes it just a bit better from MY perspective. There is just not a lot any story that goes through or with a fly tying video. Point A to point Z, done and repeat. I will find a way to make these fly…

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Monday Morning Sidewalk

Good Monday Morning to one and all – on a morning unique in the fact it looks to be the most uneventful Monday in quite a while! If you missed it, I ran a ChatGPT story on the benefits of mono and fluoro fly fishing leaders yesterday, and it went a long way toward showing us just how much information the chat-borg has gobbled up from the internet. My challenges to ChatGPT are beginning to be…

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Monofilament or Fluorocarbon Leaders?

Fly Fishing Leaders – Choose Your Weapon Monofilament and fluorocarbon leaders are both popular choices for fly fishing, and each has its own set of benefits: Monofilament Leaders: Cost-Effective: Monofilament leaders are generally more affordable than fluorocarbon leaders, making them a cost-effective option for anglers. Flexibility: Monofilament leaders are more flexible than fluorocarbon,…

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Friday Food For Thought

Denton Greenbelt Disaster in Slow Motion – Making Good Trouble Can’t you tell I’m frustrated by the lack of progress on the Denton Greenbelt Debacle? E mails to the local authority at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), based in Lewisville, Texas, are responded to in (seemingly) premeditated one-week intervals. I must ass-u-me that response time is normal for ALL Federal agencies, just to…

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Monday Eclipse on the Sidewalk

Wow, can you believe the news coverage of today’s eclipse. It wasn’t so long ago, 2017 in fact, that I was talking about a partial eclipse while fly fishing on Ray Roberts. If you don’t make it out, or you don’t get to see the fishy reaction to an eclipse? Let me tell you, there is a reaction! And that was only a partial eclipse, so I can imagine since a large swath of North Texas is in totality,…

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Go No Go - Lake Ray Roberts Under Pressure

The ramp was crowed with glitter boats yesterday, and it was only Thursday. I parked way back from the short line, and waved the glitter boats around. Crowds are not my thing, but I am sure you already know that. I was surprised when Lewisville bass competitor Billy Risley pulled up slow in his blacked out truck, pulling his glitter boat and stopped. We had only met the previous day at Sawgrass…

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Denton Greenbelt Debacle Update

While my motivation is nearing its all-time low, a place I left it not so long ago for sweet Texas Gulf Coast salt, I still have a duty to report what tidbits come my way. And believe me, they are tidbits. FROM Robbie Merritt TPWD Lake Ray Roberts “We did receive word recently that our Inland Fisheries partner’s Fish Passage Grant did not make the cut for this year’s Federal Grant program. …

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April is no Fool!

Good Monday Morning! I’m not fooling. IT IS a good Monday morning, and although this early heat here in North Texas is a signal, we will get through the tornadoes, hail and wind as we always do. If you have damage, let me know! I need to crank up the Stihl and cut some WOOD! Right now, I am uploading a new video on the Atlas Vise by Wolff Industries. I have been needing to do this review for…

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Pulling The Trigger

I remember the day we shot this video. The wind was a banshee just like it is today. But we were running up, way UP above Lake Ray Roberts on the Trinity River. Jeff had all the knowledge and experience to do this run that sometimes reminded me of the Bogart classic movie “The African Queen.” Today is the actual date this video was recorded, long before the South Padre Island adventures, an…

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Fish Deficit Disorder

DO YOU HAVE IT? At the Starting line, and the gunpowder is wet from two days of rain. I knew I wasn’t the only one suffering from Fish Deficit Disorder early this week, when I ran into two other fly fishers at LLELA – Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area – below Lake Lewisville-Dallas. They are new to the area, and were desperately searching for sand bass. Their instincts, to be at…

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Let There Be Fish!

IF you don’t follow along on YouTube Shorts, or Instagram, then you missed my call-out for LLELA Monday and yesterday – March 19th. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shannon (@texasflycaster) We have a significant opening of the gate valve on Lewisville Lake, and the fly fishers were circling there when I was there Monday. I met a couple of North Texas newbies, relos from the banks…

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Monday Morning Heat is On

Yes, it’s a balmy 40-degrees outside this morning, and a setback in my mind if not in actual fish reality. Just about the time (how many time have I said that) I think it’s time? The North Texas weather steps in and steps on my thinking. It’s a lot more like early November this morning than the middle of March. But it does give all of us more time to prepare, as if we need it! for what comes…

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