President's Message - January 2009: Perseverance
by Rob Burlingame, AFF President
Before I delve into my first article as the new Alamo Fly Fishers president, I wanted to thank all of our club’s wonderful sponsors for their generous donations for the 2008 Christmas Party & Annual Fundraiser. Without their support, we would not be able to share the joy of fly fishing with others through the programs, education and conservation efforts we accomplish throughout the year. Please remember all of them when it comes time for your next fly fishing purchase so that we can repay the favor by supporting those who support us!
As we wrap up 2008, one cannot help to reflect on the events of this past year. It was a year filled with history with a first of its kind election, a Texas coast that struggled with natural disasters, gasoline at record levels and a nation faced with turmoil in the financial markets. For many of us, it feels that we need to take a year off just to recoup and gather our thoughts after an attempt to play defense against the rapid fire changes taking place. For me, it meant that I needed my first vacation of the year while it was still 2008…and that means fishing. Throughout the latter half of 2008, my word of the year has been “Perseverance” as I spend each day just thankful to still be “in the fight” in the real estate industry. I carry that tenet into every aspect of my life, vowing to keep pushing forward regardless of the circumstances. This past weekend’s events truly lived up to that motto.
I am writing this in the groggy aftermath of a weekend on the coast, spent with our new vice president, Javier Trevino, and my brother Dan who is visiting from California. Timing was perfect to take the weekend off and head to the coast with three goals in mind: 1) getting Dan his first Texas fish on a fly, 2) catching dinner for out January meeting and 3) field testing a new pattern I had tied. What we got was a weekend of great camaraderie that none of us will soon forget as we continually reminded one another to never give up.
We arrived in Rockport late Friday, just in time for an hour or so of wade fishing at the park to check conditions, wet a line and pass a little time before dinner. The wind was a little stiff, but we managed to catch a small trout and flounder. Not bad for just playing. When we returned to the truck, I realized that Toyota actually makes a key for my truck that opens the tailgate, starts the ignition, but does not unlock the doors…ouch. After a long walk and spending our dinner money on pop-a-lock, we managed to burn a little more time than expected. OK, Murphy showed up Friday, but he takes weekends off, right?!?
After checking the weather reports and setting our plans for the morning, we headed to bed with visions of redfish in our heads. It was supposed to be a warm day with winds in the 10 to 20 mph range. Not too bad overall, so we fired up the boat and took off, this time with my full set of keys! We quickly realized that the forecast was wrong. It was fairly warm, but the wind blew nearly 25 mph solid the entire day. After fighting the wind and murky waters of multiple spots, we managed to pick up one small trout and one small red by lunchtime, both on blind casts as we quickly drifted through the flats. The good part was that the redfish was on my new fly pattern, though a rat red was hardly proof that it worked. At mid day, we pulled the boat out of the water and the wind and headed to a few other spots to wade the remainder of the afternoon. Given the love of fishing that the three of us share, we continued to fish hard for the rest of the day, wading two other areas for a couple of hours each, despite the apparent absence of hungry fish or even signs of fish. Dumbfounded at the lack of success we were having, we continued to persevere cast after cast as we watched a magnificent storm build on the horizon. The skies were darkening, the temperature was dropping, but at last, the winds died down for a few minutes. As the water flattened ever so slightly after our nearly 10 hours of fishing, I noticed a tell tale wake headed toward Javier with a purpose. We were in knee deep water, so we could not see the fish, just the subtle wake that popped up and disappeared. We began to bombard the area with potent casts until finally…WHAM!!!...I had a solid hook up on a very unhappy fish. When the fish broke the surface, all we saw was a large silver and white mass roll in the murky water. I heard Javier yell “HUGE TROUT!!!” as I caught a glimpse of the fish too. My heart raced with the anticipation of my first trophy class trout! But, as it got closer and clearer, we saw that it was a decent redfish that had “silvered out” from its recent ventures on the sandy flat. But, we were still thankful that we finally had one for the stringer, the new fly had proven its worth and best of all, we were still persevering! As soon as the fish was strung, the wind gusted heavily in our faces and the black clouds covered the sun. It was time to head to the house and get cleaned up for dinner.
With the front blowing in, the winds were expected to shift from the north for Sunday, so we carefully selected a spot that was protected from north winds. Also, the forecast was partly sunny, meaning we were supposed to see the sun at some point. We were again excited about the bounties that tomorrow will hold with the flat we selected and the lighter winds. As we ventured out in the morning to head to Sunday’s hot spot, we quickly felt the need for a few more layers, as the temperature had dropped overnight. So we bundled up and headed out. After a good drive and unloading kayaks, we joyfully glanced at the trout green water and lighter winds, almost giddy as we paddled across the channel toward the flats. With the sky full of clouds and the temperatures low, our crew decided to hit the drop offs a while before venturing into the flats. About ten casts later I felt a subtle tap and set the hook on the first fish of the day, a nice flounder. Our excitement grew rapidly with this early catch, especially after another flounder fell to the fly a few minutes later. Needless to say, nothing more was caught out of that deep pocket. Most of the afternoon was spent carrying kayaks across fields of oysters only to find out that the water on the other side was too shallow to float them anyway. So we rehearsed “Carry the kayak: Act II” in reverse. After leaving the deep water to burn nearly two hours getting into flats to shallow to float a kayak (and breaking a rod in the process), all you can do is laugh it off and go back to the deep water to fish. We spent the rest of the afternoon casting aimlessly in to a channel and reminiscing about the weekend’s events. Finally, a few minutes before our scheduled departure, Dan’s rod bends. His enthusiasm is contagious as Javier and I intently watch to see what his first Texas fish on a fly would be. After a short fight, his line went slack and the battle was over. The score was Fish: 1, Fisherman: 0. I guess one goal out of three ain’t bad. At least you can’t say we didn’t try!
Though the fishing was not the greatest, this was surely one of my most memorable trips to the coast. I was among good friends and was able to share one of my greatest loves with a brother. Best of all, I was with two others who share a passion for the sport and a “never give up” attitude, regardless of the conditions. We will continue to persevere. This is a word we can all live by as we leap into 2009 and look forward to another wonderful year on the water. Tight lines!