Texas Fish in a Periodic Table
This little piece of work I’ve put together was inspired by another periodic table making its way around the twitter. I quickly forgot what it was when I got the idea for a Periodic Table of Texas Freshwater Fish. After a quick web search I found a fly and fish periodic table on a t-shirt; but that didn’t quite fit the bill for what I wanted. Wanting something more Texas-fish centric I set to task on an excel spreadsheet. What I have made is simple and merely applies grunt logic. Basically, that means if you think about it really hard- you can probably find a better way to do it. But it does work for me and it helped sooth my Terminal Angling Syndrome for an hour.
Sadly, yes this took me an hour to plug-in and figure out what fish goes where. You’d also be surprised how hard it can be to avoid duplicating two-letter codes. However, if it works for you- give it a like or a retweet on the interwebs. See the full size chart here.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Overgrown Goldfish – Carp
My last qualified fish before I became unqualified for the Mixed-Bag tourney was a Carp. Some people apparently get ‘fever’ from this.
While I am not one in on the ‘Carp-Craze’- I was intrigued at the gold color and symmetry of its scales. For the record, and not to be a total hater- the fish did fight well and put a big bend in the rod. But in the end I still think Carp are ugly fish. For those of you who don’t. I’ve made the featured photo above. I made it with my iPad on Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, and you can use it as a wallpaper/background for the electronic device of your choosing; for free!
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Gasper
Here is a sketch of a fresh water drum I fished out of the Colorado River a few weeks back. It turned out to be too small for the Texas Hill Country Mixed Bag tourney- but this little drum inspired enough motivation to pick up pencil and paper for a little FishArt.
And without the filter.
As soon as I can hit the Colorado River again I’ll be fly fishing for more drum. Hopefully to pick up some points if not just more FishArt inspiration. Stand fast and be ready!
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Fish Philosophy
As a grunt is typically unrefined, so is his philosophy. Do not doubt for one second however that he has one. He does.
My fish philosophy is simple. It’s rather a collection of thoughts and a few principles I try to go by. They are by no means the letter of the law or a platform for me to preach on. As such, the collection below constitutes my developing fish philosophy in no particular order. (Dry fly purist trout fishermen beware.)
-If you are not having fun you are not fishing.
-If fly fishing was easy everyone would do it.
-Respect the water. Leave no trace.
-Respect the fish. Catch and release. Or, waste not want not.
-Tie your own flies. It’s more rewarding. If you don’t- at least you’re not bait fishing.
-More than trout take flies.
-Life is full of problems, fish trough it.
-Fly fishing is one part art, one part science.
-Photograph your quarry quickly. Ensure the fish survival. Let them recoup and then release.
-Get on the water as much as you can. Travel and find new places. Pieces of heaven are found here on earth.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Today’s topic of Fish Philosophy is a prompt of the Everyday in May challenge. For more info click here. For all AirborneAngler Everyday in May posts click here.
Simple Green
I worked up this bass from a photo I took a few months back. With Greenery being the topic for today’s Everyday in May challenge I thought a green photo filter would suit it nicely. 
The fly used was a white bead-headed crystal bugger.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Today’s topic of Simple Green is a modified prompt of the Everyday in May challenge. For more info click here. For all AirborneAngler Everyday in May posts click here.
FishArt
Today I am stepping outside the Everyday in May topic prompt list to talk about FishArt. If fly fishing isn’t part art form and science combined, then I don’t know what is. I hate the term warrior poet so I won’t point to it here- but I did find some interesting information. I was researching the Outdoor Blogger Network (OBN) and going thru some FAQs. I ended up looking at the directory of outdoor blogs. Click fishing blogs and there is an interesting number- almost 50% more fly fishing blogs to just fishing blogs.
Why?
Because we think we are all warri, no I’m not saying it- we have a creative streak in us in addition to the outdoor drive. So we write about it, we draw the fish we catch and take pictures of them. I like this. I may not be any good at it- but it draws out something inside of me I almost once lost. As a kid there was nothing more I liked than to draw. In high school I was into photography. Somewhere along the road of life I let that go or thought I grew out of it. Maybe I thought it wasn’t any good or it wasn’t good enough. Now, I just don’t care. Now I pick up pen and paper, I shoot iPhone photos with iPad filters, and have this thing called a blog.
So with this Everyday in May challenge, I challenge you do do something creative and something expressive. Reach way back into your tool kit bag and find that piece of you that you may have hidden away. Then share it because I bet it’s something special.
Click the FlyArt/FishArt categories on the “In the Scope” in the side bar to see my work. Good or not I’m proud of it and had fun. Thanks.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Today’s topic of FishArt is a deviation of the Everyday in May challenge. For more info click here. For all AirborneAngler Everyday in May posts click here.
Line Side Big Mouth
I almost named this Fish Art post “Southern Largemouth Trout”. However, it was a misread of largemouth bass nicknames that were separated by a comma which I missed. The list that I found is located online here. Additionally, I figure it’s not fair to the sturdy holdover trout here in the Texas Hill Country that get stocked annually in the Guadalupe River. Line side and big mouth just happened to be the next two in line I liked the most. So, I decided to combine them. Who knows, maybe Southern Bigmouth Trout will stick though?
In lack of being able to fly fish the past several days- I submit this Autodesk Sketchbook Pro generated art I made as the background for the device of your choosing. Bass- Largemouth, Smallmouth, coveted Guadie, or any bass for that matter are my preferred game fish here in Tejas. Recent competition in a Hill Country tourney have me chunking flies at any and everything. But since I haven’t been doing any of that lately, my routine iPad Terminal Angler Syndrome (TAS) therapy is helping the symptoms abate. Enjoy!
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Mr. Whiskers
Look, I know my artistic abilities are limited- but I appreciate that some people can’t draw a straight line. Stick figures can be challenging. I’m not one to judge. While I am no Picasso, I like how my iPad or iPhone can add that little extra touch to my fly fishing passions. Because my fly fishing passions can definitely use some kind of mystical/magical help. And don’t let any paratrooper out there lie to you. The Airborne is superstitious, and yes, they believe in magic. Lucky boots, lucky parachute…. whatever.
This was my first catfish caught on a fly. Because a flip-flappy bluegill at a young age gave me a bad fish handling PTSD experience, (thank you Mom for unhooking all my fish the rest of that day) I was glad my lucky friend Dave was there for the step-by-step pointers to avoid the cat’s pointers. I’ve since recovered and learned fish handling judo. Mr. Whiskers portrayed here is in a three fingered fin bar.
The Blanco River where this picture was taken has been on my mind as of late and has been good to me. It’s riffles, runs, and deep pools hold deep magic.
(Insert Bullwinkle voiceover) Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbitcatfish outta my hat!
(Insert Rocky voiceover) Not again!
Oh yes, again. Magic. Tah-duh!
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Field Fish
In lieu of being able to fish for lunch- opted for the next closest thing at hand. My pen and my field book- both literally at hand. I call it field fish for two reasons. Field expedient methods are often rough as is this sketch. I also drew this in a field book- reason number two. No real science to it but it just helped bridge the gap between fishing and not fishing. What’s your bridge?
This was the first fish I caught on my first self tied fly.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
It’s the Little Things
I’ve been wanting to draw a Parachute Adams for the whole Airborne theme I’ve got going on. Surprise right? But trying to get the photo for inspiration using an iPhone to shoot the picture was almost challenging. Shifting auto focus nearly got the best of me. Almost.
After a few shots and the steadiness of hand required to lay down and arm a trip wired claymore land mine, I got the shot I wanted. Or at least a shot could deal with anyways. As tough-guy as that may sound with explosives and all, the irony is the song that was playing in my head. As I was drawing this small fly instead of U2’s, “The Sweetest Things”, the cadence remix in my head ringing over and over was ‘its the little things’. All in the same tone. I know you can hear the chorus. Real macho right?
Anyways, sometimes it is the little things in life we take for granted. The smallest things can bring us such great joy. Just like a size 18 (I’m totally guessing because it’s not the size 6-10 streamers I throw a lot of) Parachute Adams can bring in a good sized trout. Who’d’ve thunk right? And that my friends is the sweetest thing.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
PS
Don’t judge. Ooh oh oh the sweetest things.
The AirborneAngler 
