Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays at Living Waters Fly Fishing. However, Thanksgiving is often not given the place it deserves in most of our busy lives. For whatever reason, before November even graced our calendars this year, Christmas lights and décor began showing up in most retail stores and even on a few houses locally. It’s like the country was ready for the economic boom of Christmas and did not have the time to be thankful for what it had already been blessed with. True thanksgiving makes a better lifestyle than it does a holiday, and to be honest, it has very little to do with football, over-eating, or shopping. That being said, this Thanksgiving season we chose to focus on what blessings we have already been given instead of dwelling on the things we seemingly lack. At Living Waters Fly Fishing we are blessed to have such loyal customers and we consider it an honor to call you all friends as well. In the midst of a very trying year full of drought, heat, and economic recession, we at Living Waters Fly Fishing can truly say that we have been blessed beyond measure.
For the Thanksgiving holiday, Emily and I managed to sneak away to Broken Bow, Oklahoma for a few days with Emily’s side of the family. Oklahoma is not on the “must visit” list of many Texans, and that is understandable seeing as there is not only a border crossing into a foreign state, but it also involves a temporarily removing of oneself from “The Promised Land.” However, Broken Bow is just about a half hour over the state line, so if you for any reason need to retreat back to the Lone Star State, it’s nice to know that it is only a few short minutes away. Broken Bow is a quiet little town and just north of town is the Ouachita National Forest and Beavers Bend State Park — home to the Lower Mountain Fork River. The Lower Mountain Fork River is one of the South’s greatest tailwaters, and it is home to both brown and rainbow trout. Thanks to outstanding stocking and conservation efforts by multiple organizations, including Trout Unlimited and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, this particular tailwater fishery is worthy of much praise! Having visited the river multiple times over the years, I was very confident that the fishing was going to be stellar despite the holiday crowd — catching wasn’t going to be bad either!
We chose to keep the shop open for Black Friday, or Black Fly-Day as we dubbed it. Normally, the Friday after Thanksgiving is a bit quiet around the fly shop but this year was completely different! We had a great time chatting with friends that dropped by the shop to say hello and gear up for weekend fishing. Our journey to Broken Bow, Oklahoma began as soon as the shop closed down at 6:00 P.M. We had the car loaded with a full tank of gas, plenty of warm clothes (in preparation for the upcoming cold front), and more fly fishing tackle than we would ever use. The road trip was going splendidly, and we were making great time due to the increased night-time speed limits, but I guess some (not ALL as popularly believed) good things must come to an end. Shortly after reaching our half-way point destination, a lovely little warning light on the dash flashed: “Battery Not Charging.” Hoping it was merely a gauge problem, and seeing as both the battery and alternator had been recently checked, we pressed on. A few minutes later, we found ourselves stationary, stranded in the parking lot of an Exxon somewhere east of Dallas. It was nearing 10:00 P.M. and the mechanical issue was obviously with the alternator, but it just so happens that most auto part stores close up at that exact same time. Uncanny. In a sudden fit of phone calling fury I was able to, with the help of several wonderful individuals, locate a 24/7 Auto Zone and the correct part for the crippled Fish Mobile. Thankfully, my side of the family was spending the Thanksgiving holiday a mere hour from where we sat stranded. Thanks to my Dad who always finds a way to help his kids out of any major jam, we were back on the road with a new alternator at 2:00 A.M. There was most definitely a large amount Thanksgiving expressed once we had the Fish Mobile running again and it just goes to show that we truly can remain thankful in all things if we focus on our blessings. In this case the huge blessings of family, 24/7 Auto Zones, new alternators, well-lit Exxon parking lots, and energy drinks! The next part of the road trip is still a bit foggy in my memory, except for the Hogzilla sighting just over the state line — We were looking for a Yeti, but Hogzilla will do in a pinch. This much I do remember: We wound up safe and sound in Broken Bow just prior to 5:00 A.M. with nothing but three glorious days of trout fishing awaiting us at daylight!
