Guadalupe River Report and ReelFly Update
Well, 2020 is up and running in a hurry around ReelFly so far! It’s been a busy start to the New Year but I keep telling myself busy is good, right? So lets just dig right in… today we’ll have a Guadalupe River trout fly fishing report as well as an update from some of our past and upcoming events and a few things from around the shop.
Guadalupe River
The past week or so on the river has reminded us yet again what a unique fishery we have. Our guided trips in particular the past few days have been stellar. As always, we hear mixed reports in the shop from customers and friends but everything seems to be trending in the right direction. Above average temperatures and higher fishing pressure earlier in the month slowed the action down a bit and the fish definitely got more picky, but for the time being at least, we have seen an uptick in the action. Flows are still maintaining in the mid 80 CFS range at the Sattler gauge and it’s expected to stay the same. There have been a few storms here and there but nothing to brag about or put a dent into adding water to Canyon Lake. If you plan to visit us in the next few weeks, the 10 day forecast is showing highs averaging around 70 degrees and lows in the 40’s with partly sunny days being the norm.
With the recent stocking a couple Saturday’s ago, fly selection once again favors eggs and worms as the top fly selection in your traditional two fly nymph rig. The majority of the time some midge variant should be your point or second fly. Fish have also been rising to some tiny midges in the evenings. If you can fool one, your best bet may be with a two fly dry setup and some 6X tippet. Run your typical 9’ tapered 5X or 6X leader and attach your first fly (#12 Elk Hair Caddis, #14 Stimulator / something you can see well) with 12-18 inches of 6X tippet. Then, tie your second dry fly (#18 - #22 Griffiths Gnat, Miracle Midge, Adult Midge, Adams, Comparadun) with an additional foot or so of 6X tippet. Your large, more visible first fly in this setup will help aid in tracking your second fly as well as give you a strike indicator.
ReelFly Update
Troutfest 2020 is just around the corner! The dates are 2/21- 2/23 and we are happy to be a Gold Sponsor this year. If you are in the area, or looking for a travel date, you should really look into this event. The industry is well represented and we are lucky to have it hosted in Central Texas. You can find a whole lot more information about the event at the Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited website HERE. Please come see us at the show! We’ll have special pricing on many items as well as some raffles and giveaways.
We held our Trout Clinic at the beginning of the month and it was a great success. A big thanks for all of those that participated! We had a full house with many on a waiting list. With that said, we’ll be announcing another clinic in the next week that should fall sometime in March. We will also have a date set soon for our annual Bass N’ Brews clinic held at Real Ale Brewery this upcoming summer. Our clinics typically target the novice to intermediate fly fisher but if your looking for some more advanced information or instruction please check out our fly fishing lessons on our website.
In the shop, we continue to get new product shipments just about every week. This first week of February you should expect to see another large shipment of flies arriving, including new streamers, a nice selection of dry flies, some unique “worms”, and a lot more midges. Our most recent Orvis shipment contained more Mirage LT Fly Reels, Encounter Waders, and Ultralight Wade Boots and Ultralight Convertible Waders. Finally, for our in shop customers, look for a re-stock from Real Ale Brewery soon!
We are working on some new fly fishing packages that we are really excited about and are looking forward to announcing in the coming months. Our goal is to enhance the spring and summer fly fishing experiences that we offer and share with you some of the beautiful, remote, and fishy places we are so lucky to have in Texas.
And finally a quick thank you. A few weekends ago I was invited by the Texas Women’s Fly Fishers to speak at their membership meeting held near the Guadalupe River . They had an awesome turnout and I was able to share some river knowledge with them that included an overview of the Guadalupe, it’s habitat and species, fish behavior, reading water, and some essentials in rigging. So again, thank you TWFF for the invitation as well as being such great customers.
I know this hasn’t been the most exciting update from us but you’ve made it to the boat ramp. See y’all in the shop or on the water soon.
-Donovan