Hell's Bay Boatworks Owner Chris Peterson; Captain Scott Owens of Fly Fish Georgia, and Hell's Bay Boat Designer Tom Gordon; drop the hammer and give us a preview of their new speed racer that moonlights as a technical poling skiff drafting a mere 8-10 inches.

Song of the day: "What's My Age Again?," Blink 182

The itch was getting unbearable--the prior weekend forced me to remain indoors, partially for health, but primarily due to blustery weather.

Ironically, chum weren't the focus while I bided my time tying flies, the wind howling through the alleyway, whistling as it raked across the windowpane.

Instead, I had cutthroat on the mind and as the weekend gave way to Monday, thoughts of catching a few more of them haunted me as the work week plugged by.

Mercifully, Friday came quickly and my plans would soon come to fruition.

There's been a beach of been meaning to get to for some time, a place I'd long since abandoned as my list of favorite spots grew and my focus shifted to other quarry. But cutthroat were the soup du jour and I knew of no better place to find them and to ease the suffering of having to go two weeks without wetting a line. :)

The following morning I crept along the shoreline, amazed at how the place had somehow escaped time's passing. Everything was exactly as I remembered it from years ago--the clear water, the impossible-to-fish high tide and, as if on cue, the jumping cutthroat.

When last I visited, I was in my 20's. Though that may not seem so long ago, the change from then to now is all too obvious. Somewhere along the way, I picked up more rods than I need, more lines than I can spool and more jackets and waders than I can wear. To justify all this, of course, I developed some skill and acquired experience, or so I thought.

Back then, things were much simpler--a floating line, some poorly tied flies and a 5 weight was all I needed to play the game.

I wondered when the fun in that had given way to everything else.

The real question was if I'd get it back today; if the beach would be as generous as it had been when the focus was on the important things.

A response was quickly issued. A few minutes after the jumper, I was into a fish. The little trout came in, kicking and screaming as it were.

Soon after, Don hooked a nicer cutthroat and periodically, as we covered teh beach, the fish would remind us of their presence, jumping here and boiling there.

For all intents and purposes, life was good.

Though the action wasn't necessarily on fire, it was consistent, and whether it was the fact that being back here had put me in an especially good mood or that I was catching up on lost fishing time, I was having a ball.

It was almost like going back in time. :)

The end of the year is already upon us. Traditionally, the Alamo Fly Fishers gather for a Christmas Party to share food and fellowship, and celebrate the events of the past year. We get together to share memories and stories from the year, and prepare for activities of the coming year. It is a time for celebration, and it is a time for planning. The Christmas Party will also mean officer elections, and a change in club leadership that will start in January. We will sell raffle tickets and have some silent auction items for bidding to raise money for next year’s operating budgets. The party is a fun evening, and the whole family is invited. We will be continuing last year's exciting addition of door prizes and possibly a wonderful “grand” door prize! Make sure you are there to see what it is!

This year the AFF Christmas Party will be in the same spot as last year, in a large banquet room at Alamo Cafe Restaurant on Sunday evening December 13th. Alamo Cafe is located at 14250 U.S Highway 281 North. A social gathering for appetizers will begin at 6:00pm, and dinner is planned for 7:00pm. Dinner costs will be $15 per person, and everyone will have their choice of dinner plates from a special select menu. Soft drinks, tea, and coffee are also included. Other adult beverages will be available from the restaurant cash bar. Our party will occupy the combined Travis and Bowie banquet rooms at Alamo Café, and should provide plenty of space for all of the activities. We will have the projector and screen set up to show pictures of events and outings from the year. That should bring back some great memories, and get us thinking about outings for the upcoming year. If you have pictures from this year that you would like to share with us, please e-mail or call me (robburlingame@yahoo.com, cell 210.885.3730) or Todd Fleming (tfleming@bartlett-cocke.com, home 210.479.3062). We will also have some tables set up for raffle prizes and silent auction items. Raffle tickets are $5 per each or five tickets for $20. Dinner and raffle tickets can be purchased at the party. Please join us for an evening of food, fun, and fundraising. If you need a ride to the party, please call me on my cell at 210-885-3730 and I will be glad to coordinate drivers and riders.

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Mid 70’s and sunny…today was another beautiful day in south central Texas that left me wishing I was cruising the flats or wading the Hill Country instead of being stuck in “cube-ville” at the office. But as is typical with our weather, the next two days are forecast to be 15 degrees cooler and Noah-sized rainstorms! We have reached the transition in our seasons where each day’s weather is anyone’s guess…but if you get it right, you can have some of the most pleasant fishing conditions of the year! That was the trip I had a couple weekends ago. Two full days of full sun, great tidal movement and perfect temperatures. The winds were a bit heavy to start, but calmed to 5-10 mph in the late afternoons. It was a weekend made for fishing and as always, a learning experience to fine tune my fishing skills. That story, however, I will save for another time and page.

The experience I wanted to share happened on the ride down to the coast. I will pause to warn you that even on short drives, I often fall victim to random stimuli that invoke deep philosophical thought. OK, enough of the big words and back to the story. As I ventured southbound, my iPod was busy spitting out the remnants of a drawer full of CDs from the last 20 years. One long forgotten song came on and I had to turn it up. It was Aaron Tippen’s rendition of “You’ve Got to Stand for Something” from the early 90s. The song is a short remake of a classic Charley Pride song, but still holds a deep message about defining your values and staying true to them. The original version holds an even deeper message. I can’t help to remember that Charley Pride was one of the first black country artist, who debuted in the racially strained environment of the 1960s. In a recent interview about his experiences, he simply stated, “You’ve got to stand for something…and I stand for country music.” He lived the words of that song every day of his life.

You’re probably wondering how on earth this relates to fly fishing. I’m glad you asked! As a club and an angler, we have to stand for something, too. By Charley Pride’s example, that means we have to put our whole heart into whatever it is we are passionate about. A quick glance at the club home page reveals a condensed version of our club’s mission statement: “We are a service organization dedicated to the betterment of the sport of fly fishing through conservation and education.” Easy enough…sort of. Read that statement again and really think about what that means to you. What does service mean to you? How can we better the sport through conservation and education? We have a diverse club and just as much diversity in the organizations or causes pull at our heart strings. The key here is to solicit the help of the club and its members to help promote and support your cause. Think about some of the organizations or causes that you have learned about through other club members, maybe one you would not have otherwise known about.

We have done a great job as a club this year in supporting the fly fishing community and some of the larger groups that are out there. We have given donations, helped to sponsor a benefit tournament and provided volunteers to a number of events. Most of the club is aware of the great relationships that have been formed over the years with groups like Casting for Recovery, Project Healing Waters and Texas Parks & Wildlife that often produce visible and local evidence of our support. Some are tangible items like fish structures, stockings, hatcheries and events. Some of the results are even more valuable but less tangible, like smiles, tears, memories and heartfelt appreciation. These organizations have received mainstream recognition in our club, but we mustn’t forget those that sometimes seem to fade into the background. Let’s strive to make them mainstream as well.

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Congratulations are in order for the Alamo Fly Fishers. On October 10th, we won the team club competition at this year’s Redfish Rodeo. We were well represented, and a strong showing by Amancio Cantu, Doug Slick, and Steve Flanagan secured the club trophy. In the individual competition, Doug Slick came away with a trophy for the longest Slam – longest combination of redfish, speckled trout, and flounder caught on the fly. These were shining results on a tough day of fishing. Thank you to everyone who participated! We will need everyone back next year to defend our title!

The morning of the Redfish Rodeo started off in the low 60's, heavy cloud cover, winds about 15+ mph from the North, and a higher than normal water level. I found some fish early, deep into the flooded cordgrass. I spotted some redfish way back in some very small areas of water among the grass and mangroves. One redfish I saw was shadowing a stingray waiting for something to be spooked by the ray. It was very difficult to make a cast, and no doubt they new I was there. I had no real luck until the sun came out between 1:00 and 3:00 pm. Conditions during the day improved, and for a couple of hours after lunch the sun broke through, the winds subsided to about 10 mph and the water level dropped significantly on a strong outgoing tide. The falling water level brought fish streaming out of the grass, and the sun made spotting them much easier. I caught five redfish in a fairly short amount of time. No big fish, but it was fun to spot them, make the cast, and see them move on the fly and eat it. It is quite a thrill when it all goes right. My largest was a 21-1/2" redfish caught next to the grass line in about 6" of water.

I’m sure everyone has noticed the change of weather. We have finally begun to get some meaningful rain on a regular basis. It is amazing how quickly everything greened up after a few inches of rain. And oh my gosh, the air temperature now is so comfortable we don’t need mechanical cooling or heating. The last time I drove to the coast I had the natural ventilation blowing through my truck and thoroughly enjoyed smelling the many outdoor fragrances along the way. Cut grass and freshly plowed soil, or wood smoke from a distant fireplace is so distinctive and pleasing. It is great to get away from the city and out of our hermetically sealed manmade environment.

I’m very excited that our river and lake levels are starting to move in the opposite direction. I am encouraged that forecasts for a wetter than normal winter will continue to raise the extremely low lake levels from the past two years of drought. The increased flows of fresh water will have profound affects on all of our fisheries. Winter fishing for rainbow trout on the Guadalupe River, Spring fishing for white bass on the Colorado River, and even Summertime redfish at the coast will all be improved by more normal fresh water flows. I am the eternal optimist when it comes to fishing, but I am especially excited that the coming year can provide terrific fishing opportunities for us in every direction. The recent drought has been rough for fishing across the state, but I am confident fishing will rebound on this change of weather and good times are in our future.

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