Guadalupe River Fly Fishing !!

Guadalupe River Fishing Report

April 30, 2009
Rain! For the first time in a very long time the radar is showing real and significant rains throughout the Hill Country. This season has been puncutated by the lowest flows on the Guadalupe River since the completion of Canyon Dam in 1964 but with the moderate rains over the past few weeks and more rain to come we are looking at the best chance for Canyon to fill in over a year. Fishing has been nice throughout the Hill Country. A common day can include a walk-wade trip for trout in the morning on the Guadalupe tailrace, followed by an afternoon on the upper Guadalupe fishing for small mouth and Guadalupe bass. Rivers like the Llano, Colorado and San Marcos have been producing very nice fishing of late, with a number of bass over 2 pounds being taken. The other day we had a 12" Rio Grande Cichlid taken on the San Marcos that weighed in at just over 1.25 pounds and will be the new Texas catch-and-release record for that species. We have also seen some nice channel catfish coming to flies such as wooley buggers and crawfish patterns, with the best fish weighing in at over three pounds and putting a great bend in a 4wt rod. While our trout fishing has slowed somewhat with the warmer conditions, the overall fishing in the Hill Country is very good right now and with the additional water should continue to improve.

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March 29, 2009
Spring has arrived to the Guadalupe River valley, and with it our first substantial rains in many months. Flows below Canyon Dam are up from the season lows and are now at 85cfs. In addition to more water, we are also seeing slightly stained water which has been good for the fish as well as the fishing. Trout have moved somewhat with the increased flows but we are still finding most of the trout in the deeper water. The stained waters has helped keep the fish more hidden from birds such as ospery, and we are seeing more fish on the edges of the deep waters and often in the riffles. These conditions also have helped with fly selection (patterns such as San Juan Worms and Prince Nymphs are working again) and we are able to use somewhat heavier tippet--4x & 5x, rather than 5x & 6x. The sucker spawn is coming to an end, but we are seeing some fish still eating on egg patterns when fished deep. Other successful patterns include baetis emergers in 16s to 20s and caddis emergers. Our tricos have continued to appear in the mornings and quite often we are seeing good cross hatches of midges and caddis in the afternoons.
All-in-all the river has been fishing very well for trout and we are seeing some nice hits from other species. We landed a nice 12.5# carp on 4x tippet and a damsel nymph last week along with some nice smallies and a few sunfish mixed in for good measure. Float trips are still the best way to see the river, as we are able to cover quite a bit more water in a day and get to spots that are more difficult to access via foot.

March 9, 2009
With more consistent weather, the fishing on the Guadalupe River has improved considerably over the past couple of weeks. With spring conditions come late season hatches including caddis, slate drakes, hexagenia and lots of midges. We have also been seeing quite a number of our suckers spawning, putting thousands of eggs into the water; a favorite food source for our trout. Effective patterns include zebra midges, gold ribbed hares ears, various beatis emergers, graphics caddis and sucker spawns. We have seen quite a few anglers on the river this season and many of the trout have become educated. Because of this, we are going lighter on the tippet (down to 6x fluorocarbon in some cases) and changing flies more often. Even with the low flows we are seeing nice water temps (upper 50s to mid 60s most days) and the better hatches are coming off in the late mornings and continue into the afternoons. With the warmer days we are starting to see the bass come to life on the Guadalupe (and throughout the Hill Country) as well. All in all, it is a nice time for fishing in Texas.

February 21, 2009
Flows on the Guadalupe continue to drop and are currently holding at 45 cfs. With these exceptionally low flows and early Spring weather conditions over the past week (lows in the morning range from the upper 20s to mid 50s, highs range from the low 60s to upper 80s) hatches have been sporadic and fishing has been slower. We are still seeing a number of nice fish to hand but are having to work harder for those fish. On mornings with warmer temperatures early we are still seeing nice trico hatches and with the warming trend the caddis are starting to show. With the warmer days we are also starting to see the red horse suckers begin their spawn, putting eggs into the water and giving the trout a favorite spring food. Conditions on the river are in flux at this time but will begin to stabilize as winter ends and spring begins.

February 1, 2009
Things are in full swing on the Guadalupe River, fish in excess of 22 inches are being caught and released seem commonplace and many anglers boating fish in the 15-18 inch range that are shaped like footballs. Flows are still low but float trips have provided the best opportunities as we are able to cover more water and often get into places that have less fishing pressure. Nymphing deep with an attractor nymph above a natural is bread-and-butter for the Guadalupe with favorite patterns including flashback pheasant tails, poison tungs, black zebra midges, various colors of RS2s and egg patterns in pink or orange. On overcast days we are seeing very nice hatches of tricos in the mornings, followed by blue winged olives in the afternoon. We are seeing good hatches of hexagenia on warmer days and the caddis are starting to show themselves a little more often.

January 15, 2009
the Guadalupe River tailwater is flowing low and mostly clear. Even with the low flows we are able to float a raft through the trophy zone with a minimum of wading/dragging. Nice summer flows have helped retain a number of hold-over fish in the river this year and those fish have been supplemented with very nice fish courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife and Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited. Average fish size through the special regulation zone has been 17 inches and just over 2 pounds, with some fish going in excess of 24 inches and pushing five pounds. We have seen nice hatches of tricos, midges and caddis, with various beatis and hexagenia mixed in for good measure. The better hatches start in the mid-morning and run throughout the day. Favorite patterns on the river at this time include hares ear nypmhs, black RS2s, zebra midges and bead head pheasant tails in black with a little flash in sizes ranging from 16s to 22s. Weekends have been pretty busy on the river, with those looking for a little more solitude opting for weekday trips.

Here are some reports and photos from a past season....

Mar 20 - 26
The fishing slowed down a bit this week. We had a couple good days, a couple slow days, and one great day. Cloudy without wind was good, sunny and 30mph winds was not good. The murky water earlier in the week also made it tough. Size 20 midge emergers were the top flies.

Mar 6 - 19
The fishing has been great! We had a few days of strong winds which made it tough, but whenever the wind let up we caught fish. We also had a couple slow mornings. Big mayfly nymphs to imitate the slate drakes, and small trico and midge emergers were our top flies. We've seen some decent slate drake hatches, and lots of midges. Click on pics for a bigger view!

Feb 27 - Mar 5
The superb fishing of last week continued this week! We had a few fish on egg patterns, which we tied on as a result of the spawning suckers. Most fish were caught on size 12/14 hare's ears and pheasant tails and #20 rs2's and wd40's. Slate drakes, tricos, bwo's and midges were abundant.

Feb 20 - 26
Fishing this week was just about as good as it gets!! I love clouds and fog on the Guadalupe! Although the sun returned Sunday, we still caught lots of fish! Big (14) pheasant tails and small (20)mayfly emergers were our all we needed to keep the rods bent. Lots of tricos and bwo's.

Feb 13 - 19
Fishing was great all week! Even a complete lack of circulation in our limbs over the cold weekend didn't stop my clients from hooking fish, and I am proud of them for toughing it out! Big hares ears and tiny bwo emergers did the trick. Water has become very clear.

Feb.6 - 12
Fishing was not as red hot this week as last, but it was still very good. Hare's ears, small mayfly emergers, and midge pupa did the trick. The catfish below ate a hare's ear. I held two sold-out fly fishing classes, and during the nymphing class every participant landed a trout!

Jan. 30 - Feb 5
Fishing was excellent this week! Big hare's ears and small midge pupa were the top flies. I got a day to go camping and fly fishing with my daughter too, who landed a nice rainbow.

Jan. 23 - 29
Fishing continued to be wonderful! Big flies, small flies, it all worked. We grilled chicken, bison, and one day enjoyed (really!) veggie burgers. Also caught a striped bass, and saw a bald eagle!

Jan 16 - 22
We had another great week on the Guadalupe! Small mayfly emergers were key, and big mayfly nymphs/emergers were automatic when the slate drake hatch was on. Liddy (13yrs) caught her first trout this week! Way to go Liddy! Bruce caught this 21" hen at dusk. Click on pics....

Jan 9 - Jan 15
Fishing was great this week! Size 14 pheasant tails and hares ears worked well, but size 22 mayfly emergers and size 18-20 midge pupa using small (5x & 6x) tippet were the top flies. Grilled chicken was our top lunch.

Jan 2 - Jan 8
Fishing was a little slower this week, though we still caught a fair number of fish. The fish are becoming wiser, and smaller tippet and flies will get the job done. Size 22 mayfly emergers and size 18-22 midge larva were our top flies. Wooly buggers also picked up some fish. Check out this big gray redhorse sucker (caught previous week)!

Dec. 26 - Jan.1
Well we rang in the new year with a lot of fish! Wooly buggers, small pheasant tails, midge pupa, hares ears and prince nymphs have all worked well. Fish are rising in the evenings, and a properly drifted & lifted nymph can pick up fish. Jackson, 7, caught this 18" bow on his second cast of the day. His brother Justin, 12, was unstoppable! Click on pics...

Dec. 19 - 25
Fishing was excellent in the early part of the week, then slowed down a bit with the bright sunshine later in the week, but we still caught plenty of trout. Hares ears were more important as the slate drake hatch intensified. Grilled bison burgers were our top lunch. The fisherman in the first picture below caught that beauty on a dry fly, thus the large smile!

Dec. 12 - 18
Fishing is still great! Any midge pupa in a size 18 continues to be our top fly. We've seen more slate drakes on the water, and a hares ear with a midge pupa dropper has been our top combination.

Dec. 5 - 11
Fishing has been great! Top flies have been size 18 midge pupa in a variety of colors and bwo emergers. Also the fish are starting to key in a little more on big slate drake imitations, like hares ears. We're starting to see more bug activity, including small bwo's (22's), caddis (16-18), and slate drakes(14).

Nov 28 - Dec 4
Fishing has been very good. The trout are acting a little weird because they're spawning, so if you know or suspect fish of being in a certain lie, keep hitting it until they decide to strike. Stripping wooly buggers was very effective, as was dead-drifting small midge pupae.