Posted by Ed Stoddard in Grapevine, Texas

When the floods of north Texas came to my patch of the woods, I went fishing.

This June was the second wettest on record in the Dallas area since 1899, with over 10 inches drenching the place.

This has led to widespread flooding in much of Texas and almost a dozen deaths since mid-June. But a prolonged drought has been washed away and with it worrying water shortages in an area prone to scorching dryness.

And an unusual opportunity has presented itself at my local park, which is a heavily wooded fragment of habitat that runs along one edge of Lake Grapevine. The water levels have risen dramatically, submerging a paved road that bisects the park. This has cut off a popular walking and running route but it has brought bass into the park itself.

I have spent the past few evenings standing on the dry patch of the road and fly fishing over the submerged part — and I have had some of my best fishing in the lake since I moved here last October.

The section of road that is under water has forest on both sides of it and it is full of bugs, worms and countless other little living thigs — a feast for hungry bass.

I have also been trying without luck to nail a gar — a sinister-looking fish with a long snout and sharp teeth that is reputed to fight like a demon.

The flood waters will hopefully recede soon. But in the meantime I have had the good fortune to find a silver lining beneath the dark clouds of this extreme weather event.