THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BILLY RAY AND DANGEROUS DAN

This weekend finds Billy Ray headed to Matagorda Island for some fishing with another of our longtime friends, Dangerous Dan. Dan is a psychologist and thus, by nature, about half crazy himself from listening to crazy people for thirty years. Ok, I jest about the crazy part, he's really laid back and surprisingly not crazy, despite his profession. He's a fricken' hoot to listen to and has some great stories.

Dan and Billy take somewhat regular saltwater fishing trips to various locales. Despite the best plans of mice and men, the times when they have gone have always been times when it was absolutely impossible for me to go, usuallly due to an important children's function.

This time, I had an inescapable commitment this morning that rendered it impossible, once again for me to go.

I know what they're doing right now. They're drinking Shiners, of course, and they've got a campfire going on the beach as far as they could drive in Dangerous Dan's truck. They've got some sort of tents set up along with a tarp and a barbque pit and oven. Coffee is also going probably because there's a bit of a chill in the air.

They've got folding chairs set up under the tarp, and probably have a few rods in the water with either cut mullet or shrimp of some variety. I haven't checked the tides, but regardless of the tides, some of my best fishing in Matagorda has been the two hours before and the two hours after sunrise. Billy Ray knows this well, and he and Dangerous Dan will probably nap for a few hours before rising to fish about 4 or 5 a.m. in that beautiful pre-morning light that fills the sky.

Billy Ray didn't get to stop by this time to bolster his tackle regimen, but lately he's gotten some of his own beach/pier/jetty fishing rigs and isn't so dependent on mine.

Of course, they could have also opted for a motel room or cabin. I've told him about the good fishing on the Mighty Colorado, right where it hits the gulf in Matagorda, and there's some good fishing to be had there. I have two friends who are brothers who own a family cabin, if you will, along the Colorado near the gulf and have had just amazing fishing experiences just fishing off their back pier.

I'll find out about the story of the Dangerous Dan Matagorda trip. I'm sitting here wishing I had taken off a few hours ago to try to hook up with them, but tomorrow also has longstanding family plans so it just isn't gonna happen. Again.

It's not like I'm deprived. I just got back from a relaxing jaunt this past week whilst the sweet wife stayed and handled the kids and stuff.

But part of me is smelling that salt air, feeling that coarst Matagorda sand in my flip flops and feeling that feeling that I get when I'm down that way, thinking about the history of the indians who long inhabited that land and how they lived there.


They stopped in one of the meat markets or small stores in one of the towns on the way from where Dangerous Dan lives and Matagorda. They bought sausages for sure, and probably some other kinds of meat to cook. They filled up the truck with wood, probably at Dan's house, so they'd have plenty of fodder for a beach fire. Although I've often found tons of driftwood ready for burning on my Matagorda expeditions.