The Guadalupe River is the southern most river in the United States that can sustain a trout population year round. The spring fed river runs through Texas and stays around 73 degrees Fahrenheit year round despite the Summer air temperatures exceeding 100 Degrees regularly. I scouted around the river looking for good spots to enter the river to wade, Whitewater amphitheater in Gruene, Texas offers a very good access point with hundreds of yards of good wading located upstream. One thing one should always do is visit a local fly shop for advice and fly patterns, Gruene Outfitters in Gruene Texas was very helpful in showing me how to target the bass around the river. I even got a pair of Simms Wading Boots 25% off because one of the boots was a different shade of grey than the other.
My tackle for the day was a TFO 9′ 5wt rod with a 9 foot 5X trout leader, and 5X tippett with my strike indicator 1.5X the water depth of my spots. The fly setup was a 2 fly rig with #8 split shots 30 inches above the san juan worm with 18 inches of 5X tippet going to the prince nymph
Fishing proved to be slow, even the guides upstream of us were having a hard time getting good hook-ups on the trout. Trying to discern the bottom snags from trout bites was proving to be difficult but it was a beautiful river and it was the first time I had been able to fly fish with my dad. I had made a cast upstream and set it to drift past a rock and tree in the middle of a deeper section of the bend, my indicator went under and I set the hook yet once again nothing. A few seconds later on the same drift it did the same thing, I strip set the hook and raised my rod slightly and realized I had hooked my first rainbow trout. The first fish of my bucket list this year was in the books and I had caught my first rainbow trout with my father by my side in a beautiful river.
One thing that was very apparent to me this week was it’s not always about the fish you catch, I enjoyed this trip because I was with friends and family in a beautiful place, making memories with my father. In the end I will not cherish the fish I caught or the wild game I have taken, I will cherish the memories of enjoying nature with my family and all the little things that happen during trips other than the fish being caught.
I hope you all are enjoying your spring breaks and warming weather. Be safe have a great week and thank you for stopping by.
Apto Outdoors 