Fall on the Colorado

As the title reflects, not only was this trip the beginning of fall here on the Colorado river in Texas. It was also starting the beginning of the water level falling on the river due to the river authority stopping their daily release upstream.
It was nice to get away and fish with some good friends as well as a new friend that I made over the weekend. It's amazing the nice people that you meet on trips like these.
The cooler weather helped out and the drop in water put the fish in a more typical river pattern. Fishing was always better where you found current and the slack water meant you needed to fish tight to cover, whether it was wood or grass. The majority of the fish were caught on streamers by DragonFly Angler flies. With the water clear you could see the results of a good spawn as every grass bed you approached there were small bass darting to get out of the way. We fished and paddled around nine miles on Saturday reaching the island with enough time to set up camp and cook dinner over a small propane stove. Still no fires allowed with the drought but with stomachs full from Paul's red beans and rice we settled around the rivers edge with enough stars that a light wasn't needed.
Sunday began with some breakfast then a nice cool wade to get the body going. Caught a few wading then set out in the kayak to the delight of fish after fish accepting the wooly bugger that I chose to throw today. I fished with a 7wt BVK and everything you have heard is true. This rod will flat out lay a fly while casting into the wind.
It's good to be back home but I can hear the river calling........

In lieu of Football...................

Foregoing a day of football in order to spend a day on the water turned out to be a lot more fun than sitting on the couch in a dazed stupor as you flip from one game to the next. I'm not saying the game watching is a bad thing, just saying that every now and then you need to back away from the tube and hit the water.
Loaded the truck this morning and headed out to my little peaceful section of the Guadalupe that is heavy with fish and scenery that's easy on the eyes. The good thing is with the recent rain we recieved there was actually a little bit of flow to the river. With the coming of fall it seems you can catch as many fish on poppers as you can on streamers, knowing this I took two fly rods with me today a 7wt BVK and a 4wt Matthews. Put the popper on the 4wt and a black wooly booger on the 7wt and proceeded down the river. Started with the popper and had a few strikes but not many takers so I took it off and tied a hopper on and started catching fish. As the day got warmer I switched to the wooly booger and used it for the remainder of the day with great results as I caught quite a few perch and some smallmouth bass.
What a great day to be on the water and I still get to watch Sunday night football so all wasn't missed.
Be safe on the water............................

Day Dreaming

It's days like today where it is raining outside and has you locked inside. I tried to fish today but sometimes the river wins. Went out to actually enjoy the rain since showers have been few and far between this year with the severe drought we have been in. I'm no fool though, with the amount of rain that happened in the Hill Country, it was only a matter of time before the surge of water made it down to where I was fishing cutting my day short. Days like this get you dreaming of places you have never been and fish that are waiting there for you to catch. These days I always have a fly rod and gear in the truck because you never know when you will find one of those places as you travel across the many different highways and country roads throughout the state. Atleast if the chance arises I will be somewhat prepared.
With fall approaching and the days getting shorter it will only mean less chance to get a line wet so try and take advantage of any chance you get. This has always been my favorite time of year to fish with the first hint of cooler weather it tends to run all of the other people out of the river and I get to have a lot of places to myself. Nothing better than you, the water, and the fish.
Enjoy your time on the water and if possible pick up some of the trash that others have left behind.

See you on the water,
Robert

Protect your skin ( Product Reviews)

If you are like me, as you get older the need to protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun becomes a lot more important. Since I kayak fish and wade, i'm a lot closer to the water which means I am even closer to the UV rays bouncing off the water. Sun screen has always burned my face so it doesn't get used and it wasn't used on my arms because I didn't like to get it on my hands due to touching lures. I figured that it would transfer to the lure and fish would react to it in a negative way.There are two kinds of shirts that I wear today when fishing. One is made by Columbia and what I like about it is the UV coating built into the shirt, it's ventilated and has plenty of pockets as well as being able to dry fast when wet. The other shirt I wear is a performance shirt by FINZOMINE extreme sports apparel company. Their shirts are extremely light and are UV protected and dry faster than any shirt that I own. Since I wear the long sleeve versions of both shirts as well as the Columbia fishing pants I have no problem on hot days of finding a spot to take a dip and get them wet in order to cool me off.
Now for face protection. I have started wearing BUFF's to protect my face and ears from the sun. They are UV protected, light, breathable and they look good. You can find them in all kind of fishing designs to fit your taste. You really can feel a difference since the sun is not reflecting off the water and back into my face while wearing these. Another thing that is nice is they offer one that will repel insects even after many washings. Recently I have started wearing their fishing gloves to protect my hands from the sun.
Almost forgot, wear a good pair of polorized glasses to protect your eyes. It is something a lot of people don't think about but is just as important.
Now you might think these are extreme measures but if it keeps me out of the doctors office i'm all for it.

Here are some of the items as well as links to their websites.
http://www.finzomine.com/performance-shirts---long-sleeves.html

http://www.buffusa.com/

Perch Poppin on the Fly

After watching the Cowboy's play like the Cowgirl's, I had to get out of the house to get rid of some frustration. Nothing will calm you down like a good wade trip with the fly rod so I loaded up my gear and headed out for a section of the Guadalupe river that I cross often but haven't fished yet.
Not knowing what the depth was going to be I packed light with a small backpack with some gear and made sure to put on my waist inflatable PFD from Onyx because better safe than sorry.
After walking to the waters edge I decided to put a small popper on and target some perch and guadalupe bass. With the water flowing and a lot of grass being pulled downstream I made my way in knee deep water hitting any pocket of slack water I could find. It didn't take long before a small guadalupe bass took the popper and delighted me with a nice air show before landing and releasing it to fight another day. There were a lot of fish cruising around the shallow weed line but they were very spooky and not interested in my offerings. After catching a few perch I noticed some grasshoppers along the bank hanging on to the grass so it was time to change to a hopper. The change made a difference as the fish were more receptive and I released many and lost quite a few trying to play them down before bringing them in.The water was nice and cool and I was able to wade wherever I wanted with a few spots being chest deep. The rod I used today was a custom Matthews fly rod in 4wt paired with a Solitude reel. The more I use this set up the more I like it.The rod is fast and casts well and the reel is very smooth.
Enjoy the pictures and thanks for reading.
See you on the river...........