And the adventure begins

Made it out today after lunch time for some fly fishing on the upper Guadalupe river. I have fished this section for many years out of the kayak but due to the recent drought a kayak was out of the question. Parked on the side of the bridge and made my way down the embankment to find almost no flow at all and water that was pooled up in places where a river used to be.
This being my first foray into slinging a fly with my own gear which by the way took me quite some time to figure out how to tie all of the different knots. I was throwing a TFO BVK 7wt rod on a reel that I had to pick up yesterday afternoon after it was revealed that I had ordered a BVK 3/4 reel by mistake instead of the 7/8 that should have been ordered. Walking down the gravel trail that is river bottom when we have rain, I came across a place that some casts could be made to see if I still knew how to throw a fly. Prettu rusty but it would do since the casts would not have to be perfect today as there was very little water to work with in most places. Ended up walking and exploring over two miles of the river from a different vantage point without the kayak. The fish were cooperative whenever deeper water was found. Don't let the pictures fool you. Yes, I caught fish but most of those shown came from a waist deep section that was found and had water flowing through a little bend.
The water was nice to wade in on such a warm day and I really surprised myself with my ability to catch fish on a fly rod without having any type of training. It's amazing what is available on the internet and the help from other fly fisherman on answering questions that I may have.
The things that I learned the most today were. I need a 3/4 wt rod to use in these small streams where the fish are generally not large but plentiful. Need to get either a chest pack or a waist pack/ I used a small backpack but it was hard to utilize while in the water. Did carry all of the gear that was brought but the other two would serve me better. Need to get something to retrieve the fly when the fish tries to swallow it. I'll check into that. Always take a plastic grocery bag to pick up the trash left behind by others. The water bottle in the picture still had ice in it from where they dumped the cooler before leaving.
It turned out to be a great time on the water.
Thanks for reading,
Robert

Ready for the Weekend

I arrived home yesterday with much anticipation of what should be waiting for me upon arrival. It wasn't the wife or the dog that had me rushing home from three days on the road but the arrival of my new BVK 7wt rod and BVK reel from Temple Fork Outfitters that had me excited. The fit and finish on both items is a sight to see. Now I have played around with a fly fishing outfit in my earlier days but have never had a true fly rod and reel combination before today. My old fly rod consisted of a very inexpensive reel from who knows where and a spinning rod that I had it attached to. Don't get me wrong, I still caught fish on that thing but was never able to get the proper presentation and you just could not get it to cast very far so now you can see why there was so much excitement upon my arrival home. I will put the backing and the line on it tonight and go give it a try in the morning, wish me luck.
PS: I did pet the dog and I also took the wife out for dinner last night, so all is good.

Let er' fly,

Robert

Around the Corner

The weekend is right around the corner and I will have three days available to try and do some fishing. If things went right, there will be a new TFO BVK fly rod and reel at my house when I get home. Recently aquired line, leaders, tippets, and some freshwater poppers that were purchased the other day wait with as much anticipation as myself. The big question is am I going to be able to spool the reel with the backing and fly line or am I going to be able to tie the proper knots to connect everything together successfully. The ultimate test will be, can I remember how to properly cast since I haven't been fly fishing since Colorado last fall.These questions will be answered soon and I will fill you in on how i'm progressing. There is still a lot to learn and a lot of gear to aquire. Thanks again to all who have helped with this adventure.

Robert

Starting Out

I am about to get started as a fly fisherman. It's not that fly fishing is new to me, it's just that i've never done it on my own. I couldn't tell you what knot to tie where or what line to use with different types of flies. So hopefully a few people will join me as I learn the in's and out's of fly fishing for a beginner.
The first thing that I did was order a 9ft 7wt BVK rod and reel from Temple Fork Outfitters. Since they are a local company in the same state as me it seemed like a good fit. Now as I wait for it to arrive, it's time to start assembling other gear that will be needed.
Hope to see you on the water someday.