After starting the day with a cup of cafe au lait and a plate of beignets at Cafe Du Monde, my wife and I then enjoyed a stroll through the St. Louis Cathedral. Katy then retreated to her first meeting of the day, leaving me unsupervised.
A quick Google search revealed that the Uptown Angler www.uptownangler.com was only .6 of a mile from our hotel (12 minutes estimated walking time, according to Google maps). I left immediately.
As the name implies, Uptown Angler – located at the corner of Julia and Magazine streets – is something of a high-end speciality fly shop (there were a couple of Hardy rods on the back wall). I was the only customer in sight – possibly a byproduct of the howling winds that have been blasting the city and surrounding waters for the past couple of days. Store manager Dave Best confirmed that the wind had slowed the fishing and even prompted a couple of guides to reschedule trips. The warm weather (70s) had also messed with the fishing a bit.
Best (pictured left) said winter usually doesn’t deter many of his customers, as some of the largest redfish of the season are caught during the cooler months.
“We catch them year round, though,” he added cheerfully. “I really like to fish in June and July. It’s hot, but you can catch a lot of fish.”
Best said he has been managing the store for “about five months.” If it was his idea to put the rack of saltwater spoon flies (made by local guide, Rich Waldner www.fishwithrich.com and absolutely deadly for redfish, Best said) on the counter by the cash register he might have a bright future in retail. Such goodies are fishing candy and difficult to resist. I bought two (one chartreuse and one purple). 
Granted, we don’t have a great need for saltwater tackle or catch many redfish in my home state of Kentucky. But I’ll be on Arkansas’ White River in a couple of weeks. Maybe the trout will like them, freshwater not withstanding.
The Outdoor Notebook 