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| "Riverfront" |
Dallas is a strange place. One minute you're there on the corner of Crack and Grand and the next you're at this "water feature" within sight of the glass cathedrals to Mammon that make up the city's skyline.
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| Downtown from the Trinity |
What happened was that the City decided to create a white-water fun zone called the Standing Wave on the Trinity river and several million dollars later there's a series of quasi dams underneath and immediately downstream from the Santa Fe trestle and the modern DART light rail bridge. Its part of a larger plan to turn the Trinity into an enjoyable, attractive, accessible asset rather than a dumping ground for noxious chemicals, trash and body parts.
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| Standing Wave Santa Fe Trestle |
The water boils and churns and is, apparently, far too dangerous for the kind of fun-for-all-the-family kayaking that the City Fathers envisaged. So perhaps the scheme needs honing, but whatever, it's a fish magnet.
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| Nice Natural landscaping, Dallas... |
I like to go there after early Mass on Fridays and try my luck against the monster Gar, Channel Cats, and Buffalo fish that seem to love the Standing Wave. Mostly it's deserted and I have the place to myself, which is good. But sometimes I get company, like the Bow Fish Killer (BFK).
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| Churn |
There I am, lost in the world of trying to get Buffalo fish to swallow the worm that hides the #8 hook, when all of a sudden I hear a hiss and turn around. There's a dude with a compound bow and dark Terminator shades looking at me and tweaking. Our conversation went something like this:
BFK: SSSS!! Twk, Twk!!
LSP: S'up?
BFK: Any Gar? Alligator Gar?!?
LSP: For sure...
BFK: There's Buffs (Buffalo fish) man.
LSP: I know (I was trying to catch them).
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| And there is that Leviathan |
Next thing I know, my new pal BFK is leaping downstream waving his bow and the next minute he's back carrying this huge "Buff" which he's shot through the gut. He throws it down to me as a ind of offering.
BFK: Here you go man, cut bait!!
LSP: Er, thanks. Right on!
Full of bloodlust, BFK runs off to get another Buff to hack up and use as Gar bait.
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| Little Fella |
I'm no prude and have nothing against cut bait or bow fishing in the right circs but... things were getting weird, so I packed up, climbed in the truck and headed for home.
Fish on,
LSP
4 comments:
Why on earth would you fish in the Dallas ditch? Isn't there clear-ish ponds, and less humanity in your NOTW?
Though, I'm starting to understand the appeal of fishing itself; I do a 2 mile dusk run that brings me around a secluded pond, along with the ducks, frogs, rabbits, moles(I think, and often someone enjoying the last light with fishing -it just looks meditative.
Good question. I go there because I have to be in Dallas on Friday mornings and thought it'd be interesting to explore the Trinity (some of it is remarkably unspoiled) and get some urban fishing in. Maybe I should carry a gun... or two...
You should take up fishing! It can be very peaceful and, when the action gets going, exciting with it.
No, for me It's the eat/kill rule, and I'd panic unhooking a slimy creature.
I'm curious, have you christened your boat? I thought my entry quintain, considering your politics and profession.
Not christened the boat yet, TN; but must get it titled by the state, annoyingly. (came without a title... and you have to have one in TX if you put a motor on it)
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