Texas Light Tackle Adventures

Here are a few pics from my yearly trip with my brother in law Rick Munoz. 

So far March 2009 has been colder than February…that is nuts!

My wife told me to take a fishing trip this past Sunday (March 1st), so damn it, I had to oblige. 

I drove to to a beautiful river within 45 miles of my home.  The weather was beautiful, though windy, and there was a chill in the air.   I love fishing in the winter.  The waters I fish turn gin clear, you can see far into the forest, and the fish caught are usually nice and chunky. 

Don’t get me wrong, the fish don’t jump in the boat, but the fishing is challenging and often rewarding and that is what I really love.  I like hard days of fishing.  I actually prefer a day of a few big fish than a day of small fish smashing flies. 

Fishing in Texas in the winter is awesome.  For the most part, the weather is nice and rarely terribly cold.  I pack up my kickboat and I take floats anywhere from 4-9 miles.  I do not wear waders, unless the temperature is less than 40 degrees.  Yes,  I do freeze my ass off, but it is my sacrifice to the river gods, and the cold helps me focus on other things like fishing. 

 I am not a big trout fisherman.   There are several places in my area that are stocked with trouth, but I am a bass man for 365 days out of the year. In the winter I get a lot of inquiries for guided trout trips on the Guadalupe.  There are a ton of trout guides out there, so I am more than happy to refer those folks on.  I do suggest bass fishing trips over the winter, but I get turned down often.  If those folks only knew how rewarding the fishing can be. 

Anyway, back to my most recent trip. 

The river was beautiful.

I love fishing this section of river.

I was in my kickboat.  I pushed off into the river.  The river was freaking cold.  Normally, if I layer my upper body, I do not get cold while I am paddling the river.  I will wear a Patagonia Capelline undershirt, a Patagonia Flats shirt, a Patagonia Fleece vest and a Patagonia Rain Shadow Jacket.  There are many other brands out there, that are very good, but the Patagonia stuff is very good and the brand has proven awesome  for me over thousands of river miles.   I floated down through the first hole and I became acclimated to the water.  I fished a few cutbanks and a few pools and did not get as much as a nibble.  I was using the same fly I had used in my previous post titled “Today” .  At the first really good cutbank I made a cast into an eddy.  I stripped the fly and a fish struck.  I strip set the hook and fought the fish for a few moments.  The fish was stout, but I felt that I did not hook it well.  I set the hook once more for good measure.  I then lifted my rod tip too high and somehow the fish was able to attain some leverage and throw the hook.  Crap! 

I cussed at myself for losing the fish.  Loosing a fish is a part of the game, but I pride myself on hooking fish and bringing them to hand.  As good as I think I am…I know that I will loose many more fish before my fishing career is finished.  At least, I am pretty sure the fish that I lost was less than 15 inches. 

The cut bank ended and the banks lowered.   I fished the bank on the current side.  I came to a spot where a tree had fallen over.  There was a hole where the root ball had held the tree in place.   There was a slight current in the hole and dadgum it looked fishy.  I made a cast deep into the hole.  I let the fly sink.   I looked straight up and saw a fingernail of moon in the bright blue sky.  I thought to myself that the sliver of moon, the earth, me, my rod were all aligned.  I made a strip with the fly line.  I felt heaviness on the line, made a strip set and I felt a heavy weight move to the middle of the river.  I guess, the fish wanted to align with me and the planets .  I fought the fish.  Due to the weight of the fish, I believed that I had hooked a catfish.  The fish came up to within two feet of the surface and I saw that it was a very nice bass.  The fish then jumped and I knew if was a very large bass.  The bass swam under my kickboat and right between my two flippered feet.  I felt my leader catch on my left fin.  I lifted my fin and I felt the leader plunk off the rubber.  Luckily, the fish was hooked well.  After a minute or so, I brought the fish to hand.  It was big.  I did not weigh the fish, but it was every bit of six pounds, possibly seven pounds. 

Big ol Bass

Anyway, here is to fly fishing in the winter.  To anybody who wants a trip with me, give me a yell.  Fly fishing in winter is so rewarding.  Take advantage……take advantage.  So far 2009 has been offering up some really big fish.  I hope this trend continues for my clients, friends, and I. 

Peace

Marcus

Fins up.

Today

I woke up early.

I dressed my girls. My oldest dressed for school. My youngest dressed for a trip to grandma’s house. My wife, she dressed for work, and she was pissed to say the least.

I drove to the San Marcos River.

I grabbed a fly rod.

Strung it up.

Tied on a fly.

A Johnny Fly.

I kicked and fished nine miles of the San Marcos River.

I used my muscles, worked my heart, and took deep natural breaths.

Like falling leaves

I blended in with the rest of the forest.

I saw birds, deer, and a scavenging racoon.

I shot a deep rapid and lost my fly rod to a sweeper.

I found my rod, thanks to a strainer.

I stopped and fished here and there.

At four o’clock hell broke loose.

Hell Broke Loose

Nothing big

but I was catching fish and that is nice, especially in February.

The fish were fat and purely wild.

I learned many things.

I learned…

that turtles are great climbers.

to wear waders in February

and that I am a savage gentleman.

Today, I am tired and content.

Today, I realized that I am in love with rivers, bass, my family and God.

What will I do tomorrow?

Largest fish of the day.

I ended the year guiding on the San Marcos River.  After my trip, I was chomping at the bit to get on a nearby river and try to catch my first fish of the year.  On January 2, 2009 my good friend Gerardo Huerta gave me a call.  He said that he and his father were going to fish a local river and I was welcome to tag along.  I could not decide if I wanted to chunk the old fly rod or a spinning rod.  I packed both.  I also threw a kick boat in my truck.  I could not wait until the morning. 

As I was leaving my neighborhood, I received a call from Gerardo.  He said that his dad was not able to go fishing.  My heart froze, I thought he was going to cancel the trip.  He stated that he was going fishing and he would be happy for me to have the empty seat in his canoe.  I told him to save my seat and I would be at his home within the hour. 

We made plans to be on the river by 10 AM.  It has been cool here in Central Texas, so we decided that we would let the river warm up.  We also had a limited amount of time to fish, due to the fact that my wife wanted me home at a decent hour and Gerardo had plans with his wife as well.  We decided that we would spin fish as we did not have the time to ply the depths with our fly rods.  We both loaded a fly rod just in case an opportnity for a good fish presented itself. 

We found ourselves on the river slightly after 10 AM. 

Looking upstream

The weather was beautiful.  I did fish with my Sage Smallmouth Fly Rod and a fly that I tied.  The fly was a black rabbit zonker/black schlappen, lite brite, and dumbell eyes.   I did get a small bass to strike the fly, but I soon switched to the spinning rod to cover more water.  I was using a small bass colored Bass Assassin.  Gerardo had a small brown and white jig.  We decided that we would have most of the water column covered with our choices of lure. 

As soon as I started fishing with the spinning rod, I got a hit from a nice Guadalupe Bass.  I missed the fish, but was happy as it was a great sign for the rest of the day.  I told Gerardo that I wanted to get a picture of our first fish of the year, no matter how small they might happen to be.  Gerardo agreed.  Gerardo continued to paddle me downstream.  We came to a nice run that flowed alongside a beautiful cliff.  I made a cast to the deepest part of the run.  My lure was immediately attacked by another very nice Guadalupe Bass.  I missed the fish again.  I made a few more casts and was hit by a different fish on every cast.  I missed every fish.  Gerardo said that if I missed another fish, he was going to make a cast over me with his fly rod.  I told him to make a cast, since I was sucking.  Gerardo made a cast with his 4 weight rod (TFO?)  He was using a small fly that consisted of a tan zonker and lead eyes.  The fly was smashed immediately, by the smallest fish in the hole.  I asked to get a photo.  Gerardo was happy to oblige. 

 I could not catch a fish, so I decided to paddle Geardo downstream.  Gerardo fished, but he told me to keep my spinning rod handy just in case we saw a fish.  We came to a very nice run that was about 3-4 feet deep and strewn with boulders, river willow, and some wood laydowns.  Gerardo stated that he wanted to use a Bass Assassin.  I picked up my rod and started to hand it to him.  He told me that he wanted me to take a few casts.  I made a  cast to a laydown of wood.  A nice Smallmouth Bass shot out of the wood and grabbed the lure.  The fish did not take the lure fully into its mouth.  I saw the lure hanging out of the fishes mouth, but I set the hook just in case.  I pulled the lure right out of the fishes mouth.  As I reeled in the line, I noticed that I had a loop and a knot in my fishing line.  I was using Spiderwire.  I normally use monofilament.  I could not get the knot out.  I pulled the line and the loop cinched down on the main line.  I wondered if a knot in Spiderwire would cause a break in the line like monofilament.  I decided that I would fish with the knot in order to test my theory.  Immediately after I decided to test my theory, I saw a large Smallmouth Bass cruising the bank towards a large boulder that was half in and half out of the water.  I made a cast to the fish.  The Bass Assassin landed a couple of feet in front of the fish.  I twitched the lure and I saw a large bronze shadow rise up under the lure.  The bass sucked in the lure, like it was blowing a kiss to the air.  I set the hook.  The big bass shook its head trying to throw the lure.  The fish jumped and we both knew it was large.  I got the fish close to the canoe.  I told Gerardo that the fish did not know she was hooked.  As soon as I got the fish close to the boat the fish took off like a bat out of hell.  I kept telling myself that I hoped my line held.  A little less than two minutes, I boated the fish.  I think Gerardo was more excited than me.  I lifted the fish.  “First fish of the year,” I exclaimed.  Gerardo stated that he loved this particular river and that my fishing was going to go down hill for the rest of the day.  I told Gerardo that I did not care, as I would not fish for the rest of the day. 

20 inch smallmouth bass.

I paddled Gerardo for the rest of the day.  We looked for a nice fish, but could not find one immediately. Gerardo only had one small hit from what looked like a White Bass.  We continued fishing.  I then saw a bream and a nice bass sitting under it.  I whispered, “Jerry nice fish at the rock!”  Gerardo made a perfect cast.  Gerardo was using my rod and Bass Assasin.  He twitched the lure and the bass exploded on the surface.  Gerardo fought the fish perfectly.  “Damn dude,”  I said “not bad for the second fish of the year.”  

“Yeah” Gerardo replied, “I am ready to go home.”  I took a picture of the fish.  Gerardo released the fish and we ended our day early.   I am looking forward to the rest of 2009. 

I guided today.  My client, Mark White is a beginner fly fisher and he is getting better and better everytime we fish together.  I have fished with Mark four times in the last few months and it will only be a matter of time before he realizes the few things he is doing wrong and become a complete and very good fly fisher. 

The weather was beautiful today.  The temperatures was about 65 degrees and it was windy.  For most of the day I could not decide if I was cold or not.  About 1 PM, I decided that I was freezing my butt off!  I was wearing a long sleeved flats shirt, a fleece vest and a soft shell rain jacket.  I was warm in my upper body, but stupid me decided to wear shorts and that little amount of exposed skin kept me cold most of the day.  I guess I am getting old.  Back in the day, 65 degree temps and cold water never bothered me.   The fishing was fair.  The water being cold and the solar lunar calandar saying that the fishing would be a 12 out of a possible 100, I was suprised to actually boat a few fish and suprised that Mark actually got about 12 good hits.  Mark is working on strip setting the hook.  We need a day of constant action to get strip setting practice.  It seems like whenever Mark least expected a strike…a fish struck.  A good lesson for all fly fishers and all anglers is to expect a fish to strike on every cast. 

Well, what else can I say, the fish were not jumping in the boat.  However, we did catch a few fish on the last day of 2008.  That, my friends is not too shabby. 

M.

Happy New Year.

Paddling a canoe

along the great red and layered bluffs

at Homer Martin Ranch

Where the beautiful Llano River

takes a hard left

I saw a roadrunner

on the tip top of the cliff

standing in a mixture

 of sage, cactus, agarita, and cedar

looking down on us

specks on the sparkling river

envious

wishing it could change its name

and be a river runner too. 

Bluffs at Homer Martin Ranch

Sipping delicately

the tiny fly

a Guadalupe Bass

makes ripples

through glass

Guadalupe Bass on the Nueces

Six years ago a largemouth bass hatched in the San Gabriel River.  I like to think that it hatched over a clean bed of gravel.  I like to think that it made its home in a small batch of river willow, snapping up small bugs until it was big enough to chase minnows, and crush crayfish.  Over the years, the bass survived droughts, floods, snapping turtles, bigger fish, herons, ospreys, and passing anglers.  In six years, the bass grew from a small fry to a very nice river bass. 

Johnny and I started fishing the San Gabriel River around 1998.  Our first trip down this beautiful river was with spinning rods and we caught several fish in the two to five pound range.  Subsequent trips were made with fly rods. This was the one river we visited when we wanted to catch large bass and carp on a fly.  There are plenty of small fish in this river that are willing to take a fly, but Johnny and I  decided long ago that our trips were for quality fish not a quantity of fish.  To this day, the San Gabriel River is the river that gave up some of our largest fish on a fly.  We have caught some huge carp on this river and some very nice bass, including an eight pound beast caught on a cool late February day. 

Bass pre-release

For the past six years, I wonder how many times I was in casting distance of the six year old bass.  I wonder if the bass ever followed a fly that Johnny, myself, or a client of ours had cast.  About six years ago, we gained a client named Ken Prehoditch.  He is a teacher and an artist in Fort Worth, Texas.  Ken smokes cigarettes, drinks a lot of coffee, and he loves Texas Rivers.  I have guided Ken many times, but he is more Johnny’s client.  Johnny and Ken have fished and explored many different rivers and they seen rivers on the best and worst of days.  Ken has caught more big fish than any other client we have ever guided, but Ken is also consistently on the river casting flies to the fishiest of places.  Ken lives to hook and fight big river fish on the fly. 

Over the years, the six year old bass settled in a pool a few miles downstream of where she was hatched.  I do not know how the fish ended up in the pool.  The pool is very nice for a big fish.  There is some shallow areas to trap bait fish, deep areas to hide, and nice overhanging trees to provide shade and extra protection.  Over the years, we have caught some big fish in the river.  I am a beliver in fate.  Like lovers, I believe that there is a big fish out there for everybody.

On a particulary fine day on the San Gabriel River, Johnny Quiroz was guiding Ken Prehoditch.  Ken made a cast with a popper to a very nice looking bank.  After many years of casting and floating past a fish that we never knew existed, Ken made a cast that was interesting to the fish.  The popper landed in the shadows with a splat.  Ken stripped line and the popper lurched and gurgled.  I am a believer in fate.  The stars had lined up and the six pound bass turned on the fly.

Ken and jumping bass!

I was looking through some photos from this past summer.   I found this photo from a couple I guided in September 2008.  It was their 25th wedding anniversary and they chose to spend it together on a river on the edge of the Llano Uplift. 

Very nice Guadalpe Bass

I was guiding Mrs. Goff in my canoe, while her husband followed in a small single man canoe.  The fishing was excellent.  We came up this section and it looked absolutely fishy.  I had tied on a yellow Gurgler with a long rabbit strip tail.  I paddled Mrs. Goff quietly into a small cove cut into the bank.  The cove was filled with nice boulders.  There was a boulder with a tuft of grass growing from it.  I told Mrs. Goff to make a cast at the base of the boulder.  The water at the base of the boulder was about 3 feet deep.  With all the surrounding vegetation and structure, it was a great spot for a good fish. 

I held the canoe in place.  I had the canoe pointed to the left of the boulder.  Mrs. Goff made her cast.  It was a twenty foot cast.  She made the cast, but instead of the fly hitting the base of the boulder, the fly actually hinged to the left of the boulder and ended up being about ten feet away from where I wanted her to cast.  Lucklily, due to the way the line and leader had hinged, if Mrs. Goff started to strip the fly in, it would swim just a few feet from the boulder anyway.  With rod tip down, Mrs. Goff started to strip the fly back.  The fly darted to life.  As the fly neared the boulder, the pictured Guadalupe Bass came up and inhaled the fly.  The fight was on.  Mrs. Goff won the short battle with the bass.  Guadalupe Bass do not get too big, but size is relative.  This bass was very nice.  Guadalupe Bass hit great, fight great, and they live in beautiful rivers.  The Guadalupe Bass is by far my favorite fish and they are an awesome anniversary present.

Dear Santa,

My Christmas wish is simple. My order is not tall.  If you grant me this one wish, you wont stress out at all. Just send me magic through the air and give my fly casting a little flair. Make my loops perfection, my presentations look real, and I will be a happy dude as I put some fish to reel.

If you can’t give me this OK- perfection is not what its all about. Just work your magic and let me fish a river full of trout. I’ll cast dry flies all day, no worries about hatches. What ever I cast, I will assume that it automatically matches.

Oh wait..Santa I tell you what…just send me a little luck. That way I will know that I’ll catch fish wherever I may go. No, wait…thats not what I want. The thrill of fly fishing is not the catch its the beauty of the hunt. I like the chance that I’ll mess up, it makes the fishing fun. I know that there is a chance that the fish will take or run.

So Santa, I guess it all boils down to this…

Just let me be happy and have a few opportunities to fish.

Let me have some fly fishing adventures in the future.

Allow me to visit my adventures past

Allow me health and happiness

and just a few more casts.

Merry Christmas!

Marcus Rodriguez

The Guides of Texas