Fish Won This Round

 

Dallas is home to North America's largest urban forest, run through by the Trinity river. You can meet the stream close to downtown, from Oak Cliff. Go East on Davies, drive over I 35, go a little further and take a left at a machine shop next to Donato's Convenience.

The road soon degenerates into a potholed track, so count yourself lucky you've got a 4x4 truck, seriously, don't do this in a regular car in May or maybe any other rime. Ride over, disembark near the river and walk in under the DART and old Santa Fe trestle bridge.

This used to be a grand multimillion dollar experiment in turning the Trinity into a recreational fun park, complete with faux rapids, concrete walkways, signs telling you what to do and so on, Moore Park. Great plan, didn't go down so well. The faux rapids, which destroyed the banks of the river but provided great fishing, are gone. The signs scrawled over with gang graffiti and the paths overgrown, DART roars overhead.

But don't be dismayed, recce down to the muddy river and look East, into the primeval entrance to the forest. Scout the banks for likely looking spots and set up in shade to try your best against the piscine adversary. Worms, "crappie bites," topwater lures, no avail. And go figure, you don't know the water, still, fun trying.

Then, just beyond casting reach, behold schools of Gar thrash and leap in search of prey. I tried to get to them but failed, there was a mudflat in between, which I skidded across like a monkey. Well, next time. And there you have it, fishing the Trinity. This time the fish won, they won't be so lucky on the return match.

That aside, so good to get out in the country, even if it was in the middle of town.

Fish on,

LSP