Late season Guadalupe

[Ron Mc]

I know most of you trout fishers are ramping up, but our s. Texas tailwater is a winter fishery, and it's already summer here.
Today I had 3 schools from Katy driving 200 miles to release Trout in the Classroom fry.
We have also made some progress in our tailwater - we've gained 4 miles of trophy regulation water with a slot limit, and it's upstream in cooler water from where it began before.
Jimbo has already secured us a new lease site upriver.
With the teachers and trout fry arriving at lunch, Jimbo met me for breakfast tacos, and we headed from mile 6 downriver to Barking Dog Pool. Of course the day was made tough from the get-go by a 2" rain last night, which we badly need.
Like that's going to keep me and Jimbo dry...

Fishing was tough, and that's OK. Best things starting downriver, other than umpteen bluegill apiece we'd total up, was a very nice smallie for Jimbo and a 20" redhorse sucker for me.
The farther we went, the warmer the morning became, and the closer we got to my favorite BWO hatch.
So I left Jimbo at the Rocky Top tailout, and turned the bend for the cool cypress tunnel at Redhorse Run.

I hate to talk about the one that got away, but after a few minutes in the chute at the top of the run, I hooked up a sow.
She didn't actually get away, she did beat me up, sounding into the chute over and over, but I landed her - easily 22 inches.
So I'm reaching for the camera and she jumps out of the net. Sorry I didn't get a photo, but that's the way it goes.
I headed back up and waved Jimbo downriver.
Right after he got there, I hooked up again and managed to land this 20" hen - she's a nice slab, too, and almost as much work as her older sister.

Good color for our painful low flows (and we did measure a 60-degree water temperature here).
Jimbo worked the island down to the next gravel bar and hooked up.

A brightly colored male.

Since Jimbo is our VP fisheries, I guess it's kinda cool to be able to put him on fish.
Damn if I didn't leave my cigar and water bottle at the truck, and our friends were due within the hour anyway, so I relinquished my bank to Jimbo for 20 minutes, and trudged back toward the truck - he was back soon enough.

You usually avoid chopped beef sandwiches, but the BBQ stand at Sattler and River Road uses the finest brisket ends for their chop - it has to be the best chop sandwich in Texas.
And blackberry cobbler. It was worth coming out just for lunch.

After their fill, we took our friends far upriver to the new lease site - the home of a sweet couple, retired from Dell

Here's Matt with two coolers of fry - he's not a teacher, but the Conservation Chair for the Houston FFF chapter.

The teachers and kids that came brought two other coolers - all together representing 3 schools.

I wish you could see how pretty this place is, but the off-color water just isn't photogenic

After acclimating them with a double-up of river water, the kids netted the fry from the coolers and released them in the current

a netfull

they had a blast

fish live here


I was done with the sun for the day, but this afternoon Jimbo took a teenager who had made the drive alone to my second-favorite BWO hatch, the drop at Lefty-Rays hole
I also think Jimbo has some photos of me, maybe I'll post later

[Drew03cmc]

Ron, I assume that was a spring stocking of trout, no? Any idea how many will summer over until fall?

[Ron Mc]

Not really a spring stocking, it's education for the children.
With fry you expect to get one out of 100 to reach adult.
But if we get one out of 100 kids to become a conservationist, it's a win.

http://www.troutintheclassroom.org/

Here's a longer version of the OP, where I included some of Jimbo's photos, too. The thread on Annals of Flyfishing generated a lot of discussion about the Guadalupe tailwater.
http://annalsofflyfishing.proboards.com ... -guadalupe

[Drew03cmc]

You're correct. I have turned my attention to my children and fostering conservation in them. If we had something similar to that here, that would be a fantastic opportunity. I commend you on your efforts to educate.

[Paul M]

Ron:
Great pics and description as usual. Thanks for sharing

Paul M

[Bill Sonnett]

Ron I simply wanted to tell you how very much I have enjoyed your posts in the past and at present. That stream in absolutely beautiful and so are your photos of the fish you have posted over the years!

[Ron Mc]

thanks guys
here are some of Jimbo's photos from that day

The two of us starting the morning.

I'm showing the rod because it's my Fisher Emerald 4-wt, which I haven't fished in 3 or 4 years, and Jimbo has never seen me fish a graphite rod - though this rod doesn't act very graphite.
I actually prefer it with a DT3, which it will roll-cast 60' without effort - I'm not kidding.

One of our typical yellow-bellies

Jimbo's nice smallie

There were a few of those in the Rocky Top tailout, because I saw minnows jumping out of the water to give berth, but the smallies weren't going to take my size 22 midge, and I was after rainbows.
So I get a redhorse sucker - SoK, I'm matching the hatch

In spite of my entreating and keeping a low profile, the hook tore out of the big fish's fleshy mouth before I could strain him into the net, and that's OK, too - we were both tired.

From Jimbo on the first gravel bar in Redhorse Run (with too short focal length) that's me at the top of the run, in the chute that drops off the riffle.

The Fisher was a perfect rod in here. I've always called them Magic Wands because they seem to do exactly what I think. Except for the 3 times I caught the lowest cypress branch (twice it forgave me), every roll cast laid across the steeply falling gravel and let me comb the current seams in the chute.
Jimbo got me releasing the hen that's in the very first photo of this thread.


after lunch and fingerling release, Jimbo took Trent downriver (don't know if Trent knows, but he got a guide trip worth $300).

In his follow-up post in the GRTU lease forum, Jimbo gave the teenager his first lessons on indicator nymphing. He said the toughest part was teaching him the strike, but they both were successful on a few bluegill.
Farther up in the Halfway Riffle, Jimbo was catching rainbows, and Trent was missing them, so Jimbo hooked one and handed Trent the rod so he could get the feel and experience of fighting a good rainbow.
All grins.


If I had gone with them, I would have left them at Halfway Riffle, and continued on to the BWO hatch at Lefty Ray's hole. Of course Jimbo made it up there, and caught this beautiful steelie slab.

and this bright male


We have some nice fish in the river.

[Ron Mc]

Bill, we've had an awful drought for the last 4 years that has made the rivers fairly depressing. I've been fishing some, but not a lot. Mostly, been riding my bike for 2000 to 3000+ calories every weekend.
We're getting monsoons this summer and looks like our drought is breaking and rivers are looking better.
I got out last weekend, and posted it below. I still managed to get a 2500 calorie 40 mile bike ride in.