Andy Dear | Thursday, 18 February 2021
Rare if ever does the state of Texas make international news....but this week we did. We had an unusual arctic cold front push through that has blanketed the state in a thick layer of snow and ice, leaving many without power, water and heat.
Thankfully my family has been very fortunate in this crisis, as we live in a small house with a BIG fireplace, so weve stayed quite warm and comfortable this week. Our local power company has managed the resources extraordicarily well, compared to others around the state. Although weve been having "rolling blackouts", the 3 hours on 30 minutes off schedule has been totally manageable.
There are alot of younger folks and non native Texans that are surprised by this, but honestly this happens in my state about once every 10-15 years. We had a similiar storm in 2006, another one further back in 1989, and one that dropped a whopping eleven inches of snow in 1985.
Part of the reason I love living in the state of Texas is that the seasonal weather swings are very angler freindly in that the cold months are much milder than say Minnesota or Wyoming. Although anglers in those states have figured out a way to work within the confines of what they have, given the option I'd much rather wadefish for Redfish in shorts in January.
The downside is that when we do have a dramatic shift in our seasonal weather like this, the fisheries suffer greatly. Ask any Speckled Trout addict about the freeze of 1989 and how many fish it killed. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who caught a sizable Trout for at least 4-5 years after that freeze.
The jury is still out on the extent of the damage to the fresh and saltwater fisheries, but we'll know soon enough. Whatever the case the same mother nature that caused this will be the same mother nature that eventually rectifies it as well.
Hope all of you are safe and healthy...and if you are in Texas, warm and dry!
Andy