Hi everybody,


Like Rick Z., I am also going into slowdown mode in the Fishing Dept. and would appreciate any and all articles submitted in the Warm Water section by other writers.

A lot of you folks who read FAOL perhaps don't think of yourselves as writers. But if you've considered -- even considered -- writing a fishing story, then you're already an outdoor writer in spirit whether or not you feel comfortable with that realization. You need to get some of those experiences out of your head and into print so that your over-burdened brain can have room to stash new things you'll start thinking about.

Last winter, I really enjoyed the stories submitted by other folks who chipped in with Warm Water articles. When I'm not fishing, or just can't get loose to go fishing, the next best thing is to read about someone else's trip. Granted, the reading becomes extremely painful when someone like Jim Hatch attaches photos of redears he's caught that are so huge they look like regulation NFL footballs when the biggest one I ever caught was a measley 10-inches.

Next spring, I will begin exploring -- and writing about -- the fly fishing action found at many more Kansas lakes than what I've reported on to date. That's because I now have a more mobile and flexible lifestyle after a recent breakup with girlfriend.

Two weekends ago, and immediately after moving out of girlfriend's house, I drove 60 miles to fish an old CCC/WPA lake built back in the 1930s. What makes this particular lake special to me is that a now-deceased uncle was the young Army officer in charge of the lake's construction. As Murphy's Law would have it, a bad storm system moved into the area the same night I arrived, which the next day sent the fish into a horrible funk. (Well, better the fish than me.)

I'm also somewhat off-line at the moment as a writer because I'm in the process of outfitting my pickup truck with a topper shell. This task will involve totally changing out my rear canoe rack crossbar setup. So even if the weather stays warm for another three weeks, it might take me that long to get my truck "canoe ready".

Sure, I could fish from the bank for another three weeks, but to me fly fishing from the bank is about as much fun as undergoing a clumsily-performed proctology exam.

So anybody located north, south, east or west of where I'm at is hereby invited to start sending your stories to FAOL. You'll never regret doing it.

(Rick: As soon as I'm back in action again canoe-wise I'll check with you to see if the fish are still biting up there. If they are, I'll come up and we'll do it to 'em.)


Joe

"Better small than not at all."