One of my dear friends, Jay had a father who was a dream dad! Bob Stewart was a man who took care of his family in so many ways. Bob was an unfortunate to be stricken with polio as a child which rendered his left arm unusable but that never stopped him from enjoying the things he loved to do. What a great example to his family and to others, just because you have limited upper body use you can fish and you can hunt with a few alterations on your equipment. As an example, Bob made himself a neck lanyard with a clip that attached to the fishing rod to help it swing just right left and right then at the base of the rod handle it fit nicely into a belt apparatus he fashioned using some angle iron, see the photo-genius. At an early age Bob instilled a great love for the outdoors in Jay. Bob had a favorite saying for a certain time of day, you know that time just before the sun sets when the light dims from the day and begins to shift to the evening? Whether you are fishing, duck hunting or deer hunting he would always refer to that time, a special moment when you know things are about to happen. Bob would call that moment Magic Time.
Magic time happens many times throughout the day when you’re talking about saltwater fishing. You go out with a knowledge based on the research you’ve done and you know that there are times of the day that are going to be better than others to catch that fish. It could be a weather pattern you’re working around such as the one we’ve been experiencing lately with the high-wind. Or it could be periods of rain like we had in June where the water in Central Texas makes its way down to our bay system via the Guadalupe River and changes the pattern for a month or so. Whatever angling situation you find yourself in, you have to work and find that best time in the day and be patient enough and dedicated to wait until the bite happens-magic time.
The best time to go fishing is whenever you get to go. As we all lead such busy lives most of that time will occur on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. When you are lucky enough to be out on the water and everything go right and catch fish I say that’s just about as magic as it gets. However if you somehow sneak away from your daily life and have three, four, five days that you can dedicate then I believe you have a lot of luck already and I believe you are an avid angler.
Whether you are fishing, duck hunting or deer hunting there will be periods of time that are slow where nothing seems to be moving, nothing seems to be flying and the fish sure aren’t biting – hang in there. Give it some time, move around and make a change, but keep going keep at it and keep teaching others your passion.
Passion is contagious so keep spreading the good news The Great Outdoors is the place you want to be. The next time you are out with your son or daughter or friend and you get the feeling that things are just about to happen and you begin to focus a little more intensely, lean over and whisper in their ear…”get ready it’s magic time.”
Capt. STEPHEN BORISKIE, Bay Flats Lodge
