After the Tube Hatch

Now that school is back in session and the heat subsiding (even if just a little) it was time to do some kayak fishing on the Guadalupe river. With only three weeks left in the Texas Double Haul Tournament, I was itching to get on the leaderboard.

Concentrating on Bass and Perch had me with two rods on the yak today. One with a hopper fly and the other with a Cajun Cheerleader which imitates a Crayfish as it is moving through the water. Casting the hopper along the bank of the river produced some great action and caught both species that were being sought.

Making a move around noon to a deeper section of the river that offered shade along the Cypress studded banks I decided to take a break from the 100 degree temp to get hydrated and have a little snack.

Back on the water and tossing the cheerleader into a deep bluff and beginning to slowly strip it back, the line grew tight and lifting the rod I knew that a good one had taken the fly. After a short battle the fish was landed, photographed, then released for the next time.

The bass really inhaled the fly.

Had a great time on the river and i'm looking forward to a trip down the Colorado River next weekend.

Trout on Glass

Yesterday I had a few hours and was able to get away for a quick trip so after gathering a few things and driving to the Guad it was time to catch some trout on the new Matthews Fiberglass rod.

This was my first time to fish fiberglass but it didn't take long to put a smile on my face. The casts were crisp and sensitive. Wading downstream I stopped and talked to a few fisherman and all had the same response, the flow is down, water is murky, and the fishing is tough. Proceeding to an area and tying on a streamer I began to cover some water without any luck so I switched over to a nymph rig and covered more ground.

With this not producing and occasionally seeing rising fish my strategy changed and a dry fly was tied on with an emerger dangling six inches from the hook. After a few casts a bow slapped the dry and missed but the next one to hit was not so lucky. After a good fight the fish was brought to hand and quickly released after a picture.

Here is the video from the take to the end shot on the Go-Pro.


Rainbow on the Guadalupe River from Robert Matthews on Vimeo.

The fight on a fiberglass rod was fun as you got to see in the video. Can't wait to fish it again.

First 2013 Fish

It's here, a new year, and the fish are still biting. The Guadalupe river is still producing nice trout and the fish have started to hit the surface. I've seen many fish rising and have been catching a few on dry's.
Wading downstream to get to a hole, I placed a cast upstream with a dry as I shuffled my feet along the slick rocks trying to keep from falling. Instintively the rod was raised high into the air to take up any slack and hopefully get a good hookset as the water exploded behing me.
Fish On, and the battle began as the bow realized the mistake it had made by inhaling what it thought was an easy meal. After a good battle the fish came to the net and was kind enough to pose for a picture.

The rain continued to fall and it got colder as the day grew longer to the point where my fingers were getting pretty numb from being wet. But I trudged on since the fish didn't seem to mind the weather.

I'm not very good at naming flies but these are the drys that have been producing. Basically my friends at ReelFly pick out what is needed and it works.

Guess i'll have to go get cold again tomorrow....
Good luck on the river...and enjoy it's beauty.

Robert

The Fish Of 2012

Put together a collage of some of the fish caught this past year.
Hope you enjoy,
Robert

2012 year in review

As 2012 comes to an end and I look back on what was a fantastic fishing year. I'd like to highlight some of the trips with family and friends taken during the year.
The year started off with a freeze trip down the Colorado river with a group of friends for three days. Being caught unprepared happens occasionally in Texas, as the weather can go from one extreme to the next in the blink of an eye. I've never been so cold in my life. There was ice on my sleeping bag when I woke up, my waders which were hanging over a limb to dry were frozen. I had to take my boots into the river to thaw them out in order to put them on, but we caught fish and had a great time.

I spent most of the winter months fishing the Guadalupe river and learning about trout fishing. There is a lot to learn, but worth it when you hook into a good rainbow.

Sometimes it's hard to find someone to fish with due to conflicting scheldules. When you do, it makes for a great day on the water. Especially if it's your daughter that takes time out of her day to join you.

As summer approached, the heat drove me to the rivers where the water is cooler and the movement makes the oxygen content greater and the bite a little better. Spent the weekend on the Colorado with a friend from Houston and fought the 100+ temps and mosquitos to catch a lot of quality bass and have another great time.

As we got deeper into the summer I made a trip with fifteen other people close to the Mexico border in search of Snook. It was an incredible weekend and many new friends were made.

My first speckled trout on a fly rod came from this area as well.

Vacation was spent with some family in Mississippi and a number of fish were caught on the fly rod but the redfish that I was after still eluded me.

Three trips were made to the coast with two different sets of friends and each trip resulted in limits of fish being caught and a lot of stories being told.

A trip with a couple of my friends who guide on the Guadalupe river resulted in the best day i've had catching rainbow trout outside of Colorado.

And the best day had on the river for the year was when my nephew visited from Houston and I took him to the river for his first wade trip.

As you can see, there were a lot of good times spent fishing in 2012.
Thank you for reading my blog and following me as I fish.
Maybe someday we can fish together.
For 2013 I plan on spending more time at the coast in pursuit of the redfish on a fly. Almost forgot, I leave for Cozumel in a few weeks.
Have a great 2013......
Robert

Merry Christmas

I wanted to say Merry Christmas and to thank all of you who read and follow my blog as well as my Fly Fishing Texas page on Facebook.
Thanks to my friends at ReelFly Fishing Adventures and DragonFly Angler Flies I was able to do my first annual Christmas giveaway.
Thanks to all that participated and I hope the winner enjoys the 1/2 day guided trip on the Guadalupe river fishing for trout with the dozen trout flies that were included.

The random number generator has spoken and congratulations to Larry Byers on winning the giveaway. Larry, contact me at yakntx@yahoo.com and I will mail you the flies and certificate. I hope you enjoy the trip.
Robert

Fly Fishing Texas

ReelFly Fishing Adventures

Dragonfly Angler Flies

1.       Mark Morgan

2.       Jerry Watson

3.       Seth DeLuna

4.       Eric Pence

5.       Paul Childress

6.       Terry Scott

7.       Paul Fowler

8.       Roger Lampman

9.       Zackery Duane Orr

10.   Juan Ramirez

11.   Joel Rose

12.   Andrew Lane

13.   Paul Melmann

14.   Terry Sanchez

15.   Joe Roberts

16.   Larry Byers

17.   Cody Young

18.   Aaron Furguson

19.   Terry Scott

20.   Michael Lammers

21.   Kris Ayers

22.   Damon Fogel

23.   Joe Herndon

24.   John Slough

25.   Aaron Rickels

26.   Miles Mcrae

27.   Rechell Szetela

28.   Chris Holley

True Random Number Generator Min:Max:Result:16Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Fly Shop Friday ( Gruene Outfitters)

The first fly shop that I ever set foot in was nestled in the Historic town of Gruene. I knew nothing about fly fishing at the time and ventured into the store while following my wife through all the Boutiques scatterd along both sides of the road.
Now that i've been fly fishing, a stop into the store is always welcomed. If you want any local information about the river, it's fish, techniques, or what they are biting on.....just stop in an ask. Chris or Jacob will be more than happy to assist with your needs.

Gruene Outfitters has been in business since 1989 as both a retail clothing store as well as a fly shop. Besides offering clothing for the outdoors they have a fully stocked fly shop for your needs as well as offering guide service.

They carry some of the top brands in the industry including Sage, TFO, Ross, Simms, Lamsom, Umpqua and others. For the beginner they offer complimentary casting instruction as well as knot tying assistance.

It's all about location. Where else could you spend hours in a fly shop not being bored while your wife is looking through all of the shops around. Then you could slip out and walk down the street for a refreshment at Gruene Hall or just make a day of it.
If you make it buy, tell them I say hello.....