Fishing reportS
Guadalupe river fly fishing guides
UPDATE: 12/14/23
It is time to dust off the waders and boots because trout season is here! So far the river has received two stockings from GRTU and TPWD, which means there are plenty of fish in the river ready to eat your flies. Speaking of flies, let’s get into what is working right now.
Currently, you can get by with just about all of the basics we like to throw. Specific flies we are seeing success with early are Pat’s Rubber Legs (#12-14), Flashback Pheasant Tail (#18), Balanced Purple Leeches (#12), RS2’s (#20), Peach Roe Egg (#14), and lastly Squirmy Worms (Orange, Pink, Red).
Generally speaking natural colors are working well, think olive, brown, black, grey. However, purple and orange with flash has been fishing good as well.
If your ready to hit the water here are some easy access points to try out. As always, pay to park spots such as White Water, Little Ponderosa, and Lazy L&L are best for easy access spots. The water is very low right now making it easy for wade fishers to access all parts of the river once your in.
Lastly, look for trout in deeper holes and cutouts along the river while also paying attention to the tails ends of the faster moving water. For any questions or to pick up any gear or flies you may need please stop by the shop or give us a ring at 830-964-4823. As always, we are booking trips and would love to get you on the water!
-Tyler Emanuel
local rivers and fisheries 5/20/23
We have transitioned into full swing bass and warmwater species mode here in the Texas Hill Country. We are working on a few new trips to offer on some different stretches of water both close to New Braunfels and also on the Llano River. We’ll have an update and new website content released soon as well as shoot out a newsletter for y’all!
We have been having really good success with streamers lately on the bigger and deeper water. Target the bank and structure early in the morning. If the streamer bite doesn’t continue I suggest switching to a hair bug, especially as it gets close to dusk.
Smaller water has been all about smaller flies. Any sort of helgramite or hatchling crawfish around size 8-12 has been excellent. Low and slow is the key here. Any subsurface fly can benefit from either a sinking leader or intermediate/sinking fly line. For more in depth recommendations please call the shop at 830-964-4823.
Flies: Dungeon’s, Peanut Envy, Hatchling Craw, Hair Bugs, Divers, Gurglers.
-Donovan
Guadalupe river fishing report 8/20/23
The weather has been hot even for Texas standards this summer. Record setting highs and a drought have made a lot of smaller water fisheries either puddle up or go completely dry in the Hill Country. The silver lining is our 2023 / 2024 Trout season is just around the corner and Canyon Lake is still sitting around 70% pool with a constant water release through the dam. We have been receiving inquiries about trout trips and have already started getting quite a few trips on the books.
You should consider any of our Highland or other lakes throughout our area if you are looking to do some fishing. We continue to run trips on Canyon Lake and also have opportunities on other local bodies of water. Our website doesn’t have our current full list of offerings so please either send us an email or call the shop at 830-964-4823 to discuss any options we are currently guiding.
We are hosting another fly fishing clinic (our second in a series of 3 summer clinics) on 9/23/23 at 10:00am. We try to offer unique clinics and think this one will be a fun format. Participants will receive a 9’ 5wt fly fishing combo from Orvis, a few hours of instruction, and some drinks and appetizers at Community Pizza in Wimberley. There is more information if you visit our Events page HERE and you can book a spot on our webstore HERE.
Thank you for stopping by and we look forward to seeing you in the shop and on the water.
-Donovan Kypke
GUADALUPE RIVER FISHING REPORT 3/5/23
The river is still fly fishing well despite not getting the last fish stocking we anticipated from Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited. There will be some maintenance performed on the dam below Canyon Lake which will end up shutting flows off to the river for extended periods of time. Though this won’t affect our Trout season, it could prove to be detrimental to our fish trying to survive through the hotter parts of the summer and was the result of not having the last fish stocking.
With that said, the time is now to come get on the water. We are still running guided fly fishing trips on the Guadalupe River and will continue to do so until conditions tell us otherwise. If you are looking at booking a half day with us or fishing on your own we suggest fishing the morning hours. Water temperatures are still fine for afternoon fishing, and we have been finding success after lunch, but lately the bite has been better in the mornings. If you are fishing the evenings the fish have been looking up a lot more so get your Hegaxenia patterns ready for some dry fly action.
The shop is fully stocked on all of the right Guadalupe River Trout flies in addition to a very large new shipment of Bass, Sunfish, Cichlid, and Carp flies. We also have a couple new brands in the shop. One is Taylor Fly Fishing which we are very exited about. Their reels and rods bring an excellent price point to quality and aesthetics niche we have been looking for. We have fished their Phenom MII ($360) and Dynamix ($199) rods and they are awesome. We are also now an authorized Smith and Suncloud Optics dealer. We have a ton of polarized Suncloud sunglasses in the shop.
As always, please give us a call or stop by the shop as we are happy to help with whatever fly fishing adventures you have planned.
Recommended Flies: Hexegenia Dry Fly, RS2, Hare’s Ear, Eggs, Worms
Recommended Leaders: 9’ 4X Monofilament
-Donovan
guadalupe river 3/5/23
The river is still fly fishing well despite not getting the last fish stocking we anticipated from Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited. There will be some maintenance performed on the dam below Canyon Lake which will end up shutting flows off to the river for extended periods of time. Though this won’t affect our Trout season, it could prove to be detrimental to our fish trying to survive through the hotter parts of the summer and was the result of not having the last fish stocking.
With that said, the time is now to come get on the water. We are still running guided fly fishing trips on the Guadalupe River and will continue to do so until conditions tell us otherwise. If you are looking at booking a half day with us or fishing on your own we suggest fishing the morning hours. Water temperatures are still fine for afternoon fishing, and we have been finding success after lunch, but lately the bite has been better in the mornings. If you are fishing the evenings the fish have been looking up a lot more so get your Hegaxenia patterns ready for some dry fly action.
The shop is full stocked on all of the right Guadalupe River Trout flies in addition to a very large new shipment of Bass, Sunfish, Cichlid, and Carp flies. We also have a couple new brands in the shop. One is Taylor Fly Fishing which we are very exited about. Their reels and rods bring an excellent price point to quality and aesthetics niche we have been looking for. We have fished their Phenom MII ($360) and Dynamix ($199) rods and they are awesome. We are also now an authorized Smith and Suncloud Optics dealer. We have a ton of polarized Suncloud sunglasses in the shop.
Recommended Flies: Hexegenia Dry Fly, RS2, Hare’s Ear, Eggs, Worms
Recommended Leaders: 9’ 4X Monofilament
-Donovan
Guadalupe river 01/18/22
IMPORTANT INFO: We have moved our shop location! The new address is 1175 FM 2673 Unit 107 Canyon Lake, TX 78133. Come see us soon, we have inventory arriving weekly and would like to discuss a fly fishing trip with you.
The theme of the Guad so far this year has been “No Shoes, No Waders, No Problem”, with temperatures, for the most part, being in the high 70’s. However, as we get into this week it will be time to unpack those waders and layer up for the cold. Although it feels like Bass fishing weather the Trout bite is surly on. Our guides have been having great trips on the upper sections of the river and we have been hearing great things about the lower sections as well. The Trout are just in about every part of the river you can think of, (fast water, slow water, skinny water, and deep water) so if you are worried about finding the trout, you should not be worried as it is almost a guarantee you will stumble upon some during the day. As long as you have the right type of setup and flies you should have a good chance of getting one into your net.
As far as flies go, the standard stocker two fly nymph rig of a San Juan Worm and an Egg has been getting the job done so far this year. If you do however feel you are above tying on the infamous bacon and egg setup, you should go in the direction of a Pats Rubber Leg (sz. 10-14), or any other variation of a stonefly pattern in those sizes as your attractor and to drop off of that you can have good luck with a Pheasant Tail ( flashback), a Lightning Bug, or a Bishop’s Dynamite (Orange) all in sizes 18-20. If you have the patience and the eyesight for tying on bugs in sizes 22 and above we have also had good luck on some smaller flies in the patterns mentioned above!
If you are asking yourself “ Oh man where do I get these flies from?” Well, you are in luck, because we have all of these flies and more in our new shop located right next to the Anytime Fitness and almost directly across the street from ACE Hardware. So make sure you swing by and we can help you get set up with everything you need to get out on the water and have a successful day.
-Tyler
fishing reportS
Texas Parks and Wildlife Trout Stocking
GUADALUPE RIVER 01/18/22
IMPORTANT INFO: We have moved our shop location! The new address is 1175 FM 2673 Unit 107 Canyon Lake, TX 78133. Come see us soon, we have inventory arriving weekly and would like to discuss a fly fishing trip with you.
The theme of the Guad so far this year has been “No Shoes, No Waders, No Problem”, with temperatures, for the most part, being in the high 70’s. However, as we get into this week it will be time to unpack those waders and layer up for the cold. Although it feels like Bass fishing weather the Trout bite is surly on. Our guides have been having great trips on the upper sections of the river and we have been hearing great things about the lower sections as well. The Trout are just in about every part of the river you can think of, (fast water, slow water, skinny water, and deep water) so if you are worried about finding the trout, you should not be worried as it is almost a guarantee you will stumble upon some during the day. As long as you have the right type of setup and flies you should have a good chance of getting one into your net.
As far as flies go, the standard stocker two fly nymph rig of a San Juan Worm and an Egg has been getting the job done so far this year. If you do however feel you are above tying on the infamous bacon and egg setup, you should go in the direction of a Pats Rubber Leg (sz. 10-14), or any other variation of a stonefly pattern in those sizes as your attractor and to drop off of that you can have good luck with a Pheasant Tail ( flashback), a Lightning Bug, or a Bishop’s Dynamite (Orange) all in sizes 18-20. If you have the patience and the eyesight for tying on bugs in sizes 22 and above we have also had good luck on some smaller flies in the patterns mentioned above!
If you are asking yourself “ Oh man where do I get these flies from?” Well, you are in luck, because we have all of these flies and more in our new shop located right next to the Anytime Fitness and almost directly across the street from ACE Hardware. So make sure you swing by and we can help you get set up with everything you need to get out on the water and have a successful day.
-Tyler
Guadalupe river 2/17/21
Brrrrr! We are on the tail end of a weather system that we haven’t seen across most of Central/South Texas in fifty years! We’ve had lows in the single digits and the last few days highs in the teens and twenties. Our immediate area saw 4-7” of snow accumulation along with ice, freezing rain, and just about everything else a winter storm of this caliber could muster. The shop has been closed due to the weather and continual rolling blackouts for the past 48 hours but we anticipate opening back up as soon as it’s safely possible! We actually had large sections of the Guadalupe River freeze over the past couple days (which is crazy) but with highs finally reaching above freezing today - that should be a thing of the past. All of this sounds pretty terrible but from a trout perspective we have a positive outlook
We get a lot of questions on when our trout season ends. It varies year to year as it depends on the water temperatures but you can anticipate it going into at least late April this year. With historically less pressure on the water, and hungry fish, mid to late trout season can be an excellent time to get on the water. Before the front, we were having some great days out on the water and we will look to continue that trend. With guides on the water today, we will give a brief update when we get some reports in. Flows will continue to be low, around 60cfs, with water temperatures in the high 40’s to low 50’s once we get a few days away from this weather system.
A few flies that have been working for us:
#18-#20 Pheasant Tail, #18-#22 Zebra Midge, #12-#14 Squirmy Worm/San Juan Worm, #16-#18 Hares Ear, #16 Iron Sally, #18-22 RS2, #18-22 Miracle Midge
Leader/Tippet:
4X or 5X 7.5’ or 9’ monofilament or fluorocarbon leader with fluorocarbon tippet and the indicator of your choice. You can definitely move to 6X if your having difficulties finding fish.
-Donovan
Guadalupe river 10/6/20
Low, low, low water conditions! Current CFS is 55 at the Sattler gage. Some holdover Rainbow and Brown Trout are present in the “deeper” water pockets. Water temperatures have been favorable lately due to the night time cooling trend we have had recently in the Texas Hill Country. Water temp at Maricopa Lodge was 62 degrees at 7:00am and a 64 degree reading was recorded at the Whitewater Bridge at 11:30am. With that said, the fish that are present have made it miraculously through a very tough summer with low water and hot surface temperatures so please try to fish early if your targeting Trout. Willing fish can be caught on streamers - Thin Mint, Wooly Bugger, Micro Changers - should all produce results. For the nymphers out there try a Hare’s Ear. As always, “keep em’ wet” and try to play the fish quickly. A high pressure system is going to elevate temperatures through the weekend so it would be a good idea to target any of our other warm water species but a cool front will arrive early next week! New fish should be coming in the middle of November so if your planning a trip with us keep that in mind!
GUADALUPE RIVER 1/29/20
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.
Guadalupe River 12/5/19
Our river reports come directly from the water and our guides who have been fishing daily since the official/unofficial “Trout Season Opener” on November 23rd when Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited had the first stocking. Our guided trips have been stellar so far so if your on the books you have a lot to look forward to, and if your not, well you know what you need to do!
We have been focusing our efforts on the upper stretches of the tail-race with great results above the 4th crossing. It’s tough to pin point one spot that's fishing substantially better then the next, so for now, it’s dealers choice. Pick your favorite, or most secluded spot (least busy) and wet a fly. The Ham (hot pink or red Squirmy Wormy/San Juan) and Eggs (pick an egg in peach or yellow) approach will surely do well for anglers right now. It may sound generic but for those wanting to key in on bugs a bit more it’s time to grab your favorite patterned Prince Nymph, Hare’s Ear, or Pheasant Tail all in the #14-#18 size range. For the dry fly enthusiast, look for risers during the last hour of light and float a #16 - #18 black Midge or PMD Dun by them. On overcast days like today tie on a dark colored streamer (black/brown wooly bugger to name a couple) and enjoy a little reprieve from staring a hole in that bobber. Leaders and tippet in the 4X - 5X should suffice for now with an inclination toward fluorocarbon.
As for the next release of fish, Texas Parks and Wildlife will have their first tomorrow 12/6/19 and will subsequently stock more fish every weekend until 1/31/20. Trout will be stocked at Guadalupe Park, Whitewater Camp, 4th Crossing, 3rd Crossing, and Camp Huaco Springs with year around access at Guadalupe Park . For more detailed information on the Guadalupe River Tailrace and the release of Rainbow Trout you can go HERE.
Guadalupe river report 11/18/19
As of 11/18/19 Guadalupe River flows are low at 82 CFS at the Sattler gage. Our guided fly fishing Guadalupe River trout trips are booking quickly so make sure to visit our Guadalupe River page to reserve your boat!
The Guadalupe River and it’s Rainbow and Brown Trout inhabitants have benefited from a steady release of water from Canyon Lake over the summer. Holdover fish are looking very healthy and we have even seen some native born fish this season as well! The first release of trout from Trout Unlimited is just around the corner so get ready for the action to heat up big time leading up to Thanksgiving.
Striper in the Guadalupe River are being spotted on a regular occurrence. These fish are smart and very tough to trick with a fly but worth the effort.
Trout Fly Recommendations: #8-#10 Pat’s Rubber Legs, #14-#18 Beadhead Hare’s Ears, #16-#18 Flashback Pheasant Tail, #18 Olive Crystal Midge, Matt Bennett’s Lunch Money Vader.
Striper Fly Recommendations: Rainbow and Black Gamechangers and Lovechild.
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Stream Data
Canyon Lake Report 11/4/19
The time of year has come where the Fall Frenzies have started!
It has been an exciting time of year to be on the lake. One, the pressure has limited to mainly anglers out on the water. I will just say it nice to run from one end of the lake to the other without jumping 25 wakes from tubers. Two, the water has begun to drop, and the fish have started a typical fall pattern to eat as we head into winter. Three, the weather has been beautiful to be fly in hand.
Much of our focus over the last few weeks has been dry flies. For any angler, this is an awesome and fun experience….lots of casts, lots of visual explosions, and many hook ups. Look for this to continue over the next few weeks.
Also, this is a time of year where we can target our Striper Fishery. I can just say that as of lately, from going about, we have been lucky a few times to catch some water boiling craziness. Again, a great deal of fun with any dry fly, but we have had significant luck with the gamechangers in Shad Pattern.
As you guys know, this is a busy time of year for ReelFly. Come into the shop and talk fishing, as well as get any of your fly fishing needs.
Capt. Kyle Hodson
ReelFly Guide
Guadalupe River 4/30/19
The Trout fishing on the river has been steady even this late into Spring. Consistent rains have helped keep our water flows in the mid 200 CFS range which is highly beneficial to our fishery. Expect good days on the water to continue deep into may and possibly June. As the air temperature rises we’ll see increased traffic on the river from tubers so if your planning a trip it is recommended to book the mornings.
-Donovan Kypke
SALTWATER 4/5/19
“Spring Has Sprung”
The temperatures are warmer, and things are certainly coming to life. “Spring Has Sprung” at the coast. This is an exciting time of year; the flats have started to liven up, and with that, the fish have started to show back up in numbers. With the arrival of the equinox and the big tide it brings, lots of baitfish will drive into our normal playgrounds. The bays will continue to be loaded with hopper shrimp and mullet, and a few menhaden can already be seen in the channels. Look for this pattern to continue into summer, and our normal winds to proceed.
Also, do not forget the Bass on Canyon Lake. We are now booking our Spring/Summer trips on Canyon Lake. The beauty of this lake and the opportunity to chase some Bass on fly really is a fun experience! Imagine working the “Booby Frog” over a covered structure of grass, and then being crushed off the surface with no one in sight but the deer on the shoreline. As you can imagine, it can be a very fun, competitive, and rewarding time. The best thing, is it is our backyard, and minutes from the shop for an afternoon beverage with laughs, casts, and good times.
As always, come into the shop, hang out, talk some fishing, and we can gear you up with everything you need.
ReelFly Guide
-Captain Kyle Hodson
https://www.khflywater.com/
