Ever hear that song "I'm Going to Hire a Wino (to decorate o

[Robert McMahan]

It's a country song by David Frizzle. It's about this guy, probably an alchoholic, that comes in night after night drunk and one night his wife meets him at the door and in an attempt to get him to stay at home more she says:
"You're not going to do this anymore.
I'm going to hire a wino to decorate our home
so you'll feel more at home here and you won't need to roam
we'll take out the dining room table and put a bar along that wall
and a neon sign will point the way to our bathroom down the hall"........and on and on.

My wife heard this song and being the fishaholic I am, she thinks this song is a good idea to apply to my life and she wants to buy, oh, say, 640 acres and build a house and develop the grounds so "you'll feel more at home here and you won't need to roam". So, she's asking you, all my FAOL Buds, to help her develop the house and grounds so her wayward fishing hubby will stay at home on the grounds and "he won't need to roam". Got any good ideas for her?

[poke flyfisher]

Robert,

That scenaro reminds me exactly of what a good friend of mine did upon his retirement. He built the lake first on a quarter section of land and then built the house on a peninsula and designed it in an L-shaped layout where every room had a window facing the lake. On the lake he built a dock house that served as a combination conference center and boat storage because he continued to be a management consultant for industry and would hold strategic planning sessions right there on the lake, about a 25 yards from his house. The lake could best be described at the same "perfect bass lake" that some of our FAOL readers described in some earlier posts on that topic, and you could usually count on doing well every time you fished it because of his strict lake management policies. Inside, the home itself looked more like a State lodge than a residence. The only thing I would have added would have been a fly-tying room and a wall size fresh-water acquarium like you find in the Bass Pro Shops. Following his early retirement as a CEO for a local industy, my friend spent many years there with his wife fishing, doing his private consultant work and most of all, staying home close to his wife until he became ill and had to sell the place. I don't know who owns it now, but if you're ever up around this end of the State we could drive by and you could at least see it from a distance.

[ohiotuber]

Robert,
I was/am a big David Frizzel/Shelley West fan...my 2 favorites are the "Wino" song & "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma". That being said, here's my feedback:
1)There MUST be a mini zoo/aviary for the natural supply of tying materials.
2)A casting range.
3)With 640 acres, there should be sufficient room for a campsite & a few cottages...for fish-ins.
4)A pond/lake of 40-60 acres is a "must-have" & of course will require a canal runnuing from one end of the lake to your home & continueing back to the other end of the lake. This canal should border your patio and deck so that you could tube, paddle, row, or motor to go fishing directly from your home. No long drive or walk.
Mike

[rrhyne56]

hey Robert

What's it gonna take for you to stay put? I mean by that, what would you be looking for in a fishing environment?

The main thing I would think would be for her to hire a kick a$$ pond consultant to plan and build the biggest pond possible on that piece of property. The rest would seem to be lesser details that would almost fill themselves in once one had the ideal waters to fish. At least to me that would be the case.

And if you felt like you needed to drive at least 250 miles for a good fishing spot, then find somewhere 125 miles away, get up crazy early to drive there and back in time to start fishing at the house on your new pond each day

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RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:51505]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:51505]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com

[idabelangler]

How about a house right on the Texas coast. That way you would have millions fishable acres and a lifetime of fish to catch.

[billknepp]

Wish her good luck.

say she builds this paradise,as a pond/lake...what then, when you find yourself wanting to fish your very favorite stream 2 to however many miles away?...you truely going to give up all fishing elsewhere????..lol..Me thinks not....lol


not to mention having the right property to sustain such,what will feed/be the source of the waters to sustain,I've wondered many times of these things with the rerouting of the stream that "used to" flow through my mothers backyard....
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"I've often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before" A.K.Best

"Wish ya great fishing"

Bill

[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 02 July 2005).]

[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 02 July 2005).]

[white43]

Ah, Robert, you just described my dream. I just happen to have some land in MO but lack the money and expertise on a dozer to make it a reality. Then I remembered an old hunting story from Outdoor Life, or somewhere, where two hunting parties met by chance at a gas station. As they were filling up the two hunters started talking. Turns out they were half way between two destinations, and each going to the home county of the other for a day of incredible hunting. Here in Minnesota it seems like no matter where you live you go north. Iowans flock to the southern MN lakes. We head to the glacial shield lakes 30 to 60 minutes away, and those folks living there head up another 30 to 60 minutes north of where they live, and of course, all of us like the fantasy of a Canadian outback trip. Yet, in many cases, the best fishing would still be right close to home. JGW

[Robert McMahan]

JGW,
You done said a mouthful, my friend. The grass is always greener somewhere else no matter what your pasture looks like. My Mom always told me to "bloom where you're planted" and in many ways I think she was right. I'd love to get "up North" to your country to do some fishing sometime but it amazes me at the people, bird hunters especially, that think I live in paradise right here in South West Oklahoma. And, you know, I do. For the most part I do all of my fishing, probably 95% of it, within 90 miles of my house. And no, my wife doesn't have the wherewithall to do any of the things I mention in this thread. I fish way to much to be wealthy enough for her to do any of those things mentioned. I just thought it would be a fun way to get you all to help me build my fantasy house and grounds.
Robert

[billknepp]

well who's gonna build mine....?/?....lol..we all have that dream...But I keep playing the lottery!