Fish Catching Travel
Sorry I have not posted in a few days, but had some family business to attend to. So off Nancy and I went to Dallas for the weekend. We met my daughter, her husband, and my grand baby Mia. My daughter was running in the Rock and Roll half marathon throughout downtown Dallas, so we went to spend some time with them. We will get to that later, but as usual somehow fishing found a way to rear it’s ugly head in the middle of downtown Dallas. I have a real fishing problem as you well know. And luckily I did get to add a little “fishing” to my trip, and while it wasn’t fishing, I want to show you a place in Dallas where if you love fish, you need to stop in and have a drink and a little something to eat.
St. Pete’s Laughing Marlin is one of those places where my dreams reside. It is on the edge of Deep Ellum on the 2700 block of Commerce, and we came across it when the place we were headed was closed. And what a lucky stop it was for a couple of reasons. Apparently Pete and his friends have chased big fish, and the whole bar is covered with mounts, and I mean lots of them. Huge Marlin, yellowfin tuna, sailfish, wahoo and a host of others, It is real impressive and speaks to a lifetime of fishing. The food is great, the service down home, and if you go to Dallas stop in, you will love it. http://dancingmarlin.com/
Sorry for the dark pics, best you can do with a phone.
This does not even show a little of what is there, it was awesome.
Visiting Pete’s reminded me that my fascination with big fish began when I was lucky enough to catch a marlin in Puerto Rico. I have never caught another, but they, and others like them, live in my dreams. And to further exacerbate my love of big fish stories were the books of Zane Grey. While remembered for his western work, he loved big fish and was one of the most influential saltwater fisherman ever.
His love of catching big fish in cool places, combined with the money he made, allowed him to explore the world. Few people know he built a big ship, then outfitted it with smaller launches. He caught monster sharks, marlin, tuna, and a variety of others on hickory rods and basic reels. Tahiti, Panama, New Zealand, and a host of others, were explored on his unbelievable adventures. Giant swordfish, tarpon, and many others came over the side. He often built whole camps, and would fish months at a time. There were periods when he would go without a fish for weeks in his search for giant swordfish.
Imagine fishing offshore without a GPS, weather report, sat phone, and the host of other stuff available to us. He was a pioneer after my own heart. And if my memory serves me he actually died basically broke. But any man who goes where no one had ever gone before, to do battle with giant fish with the simple tackle, and ends up broke, can not be all bad. So if you love of fishing is deep I would recommend reading his books. They are the best high adventure fishing books ever written, and they will never be copied again. He is one of my heros.
And while we were there we met Kyle Collins and his lovely wife and had a great time chatting with them. Not only were they nice, but he is a beer importer, what more could you ask? So we chatted about beer and other stuff, and the short time we spent with them was great.
He also bought me a beer, one of his imports, a Zeppelin, and it was delicious. I have always had a taste for different beers, and this one got added to the list. His company imports Leibinger beers and they are expanding throughout Texas. So stop in the site and check them out, hopefully Zeppelin will be on a shelf near you soon. And if it isn’t ask, they can probably get it. www.rattlerbeers.com Beer and big fish, what more could a guy want. And Kyle, the fishing offer is on the table if you ever get this way.
The Race
Now that I am done waxing poetic about 2 of my top three loves, lets get to the real reason for the trip, my number one love. I am so proud of my daughter. Not only is she a smart educated woman, she also gets things done when she puts a mind to it. I mean this is the girl who started a foundation, Vilakaze, http://www.vilakazi.org/ to help South African children. Sheand her husband have made several trips there to do mission work and our trip with them last year was one of the great trips of my life. If you have not already seen the pics there on some on my site, so search Africa and you can see them. And her running is like that, she decided to start and has stuck with it. This was her fourth half marathon and it so impresses me when folks do that.
In this case it was 37 degrees and the wind was blowing 30 – 40 out of the north, a great way to start a run. She said she did not warm up until mile 8, and I figure that is about the point I would be throwing up if I even had the guts to run that far. But she kept on chugging and had a big smile on her face at the end of the race. I am proud and lucky to call her my daughter.
And off she goes!
The Big Finish and still smiling! And cut 5 minutes off her last time.
The welcoming committee. I just put that in for you fishermen.
The kiss from hubby. He is a great guy.
My lovely wife and Carrie celebrate. And last but not least, my favorite girl in the world…..
Miss Mia running to Nancy. What a joy!
So it was an awesome weekend. Times like these help me keep things in perspective. My fishing obsession consumes me at times, and I need a little back to reality check on occasion. Fish come and go, but your family is all it really comes down to. And watching Mia grow up has been a great reminder of how time does fly. One day I was sitting by a creek in Iowa with a Zebco, and now here I sit 40 years later with all the stuff living out a fishing dream. And that is all good, but life is short and there are some things so much more important than a big one.
Thanks for reading my stuff. And thanks for letting me get a little off topic today. As soon as I click save on this post it is off to the lake for a quick afternoon bass trip. But the real plan is to start hitting the Gulf as it warms up the next couple of days. So thanks again and keep stopping in.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
