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.....

CHRISTMAS in the Hill Country

As a thanks for reading the jibberish that is sometimes written here, a few friends of mine have been kind enough to donate some items for me to do my first and hopefully annual Christmas giveaway. Afterall it's all about giving. Thanks Brent.
The first item is from Reel Fly Fishing Adventures and consists of a 1/2 day guided trip for Rainbow Trout on the Guadalupe river right here in Texas. If you would like to update it to a full day you can for a fee. If you want some info about the trip, check out the report I did after a trip with them earlier this month.
http://texasflyfishingadventures.blogspot.com/2012/11/after-rain-bows.html

To help make it a successful trip Dragonfly Angler Flies chipped in with a dozen assorted flies for you to use when chasing trout. Thanks John.

How do you win:
1) You must like my Fly Fishing Texas page on Facebook.
2) You must like Reel Fly Fishing Adventures on Facebook.
3) You must like Dragonfly Angler Flies on Facebook.

Drawing will be held Christmas Day

Thats it. Thank you again for allowing me to post my ramblings and photography.
Merry Christmas,
Robert

East Bay Birthday

There it was, my Birthday Redfish working the shallow shell and mud bank heading straight toward me, with small shrimp eagerly jumping out of the way trying not to become fish food. The fish that has been eluding me all year was going to happen. Putting the paddle down and picking up the custom Mini Mag, I gathered the line floating in the water and proceeded to make my cast which came to an abrupt halt as the fly had gotten hung up on oyster shell. Putting the fly rod down I grabbed a spinning rod and flicked a short cast with a spook to the redfish that was now on top of me. One twitch and the water exploded and the fight was on. Landing the fish started a great day with friends on the water and a day where many more would be caught.

Fished hard with the fly rod until the wind picked up with no takers, the good thing is I still have a few weeks to try it again.
The trip was to East Bay in Matagorda where eight friends met up for two days of excellent fishing. While I spent both days targeting redfish the rest of the crew targeted trout which are abundant here during the winter months.

Damon with a nice stringer of trout

Friends are what it's all about.......