Guadalupe River Report 11/18/19

Guadalupe River Report and First Blog Post!?

This is my first of what I hope to be many blog posts to come. My initial goal is to provide you with relative and up to date information for fly fishing our local waters and beyond.

We will still continue our Newsletter, but will also use this platform to make announcements.

Hopefully this will be a reliable source for locals or anyone visiting the area, and eventually maybe, just maybe, morph into something a bit more… but for now, here is a quick glance of the current Guadalupe River Tail-Race conditions, as experienced by me.

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As of 11/18/19 Guadalupe River flows are low at 82 CFS at the Sattler gauge with no foreseeable changes coming. If we want more water, we need rain above Canyon Lake, so start dancing! Our guided fly fishing Guadalupe River trout trips are booking quickly so make sure to visit our Guadalupe River page to reserve your boat if your interested.

If you haven’t heard yet, 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 wild born fish this season as well which is awesome to witness! The first release of trout from Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited is just around the corner so get ready for the season to really kick off.

Until fish are released, I would focus most of my efforts on the stretch from Maricopa Lodge down to Lazy L&L Campground. This area of the Guadalupe River has held trout better with it’s cooler water temperatures then further down stream. If you would like exact release dates and more information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Trout stockings visit THIS WEBPAGE.

On a couple wade trips last week I was able to find fish eager to take a Tan Beadhead Hare’s Ear in size #18 as well as a size #8 Girdle Bug with a little bit of flash in the chenille. That is of course, what worked for me. As far as nymphs go, I have other reports of size #18 Lightning Bugs, #14-#16 Flashback Pheasant Tails, and #18 Olive Crystal Midges or something resembling an Olive Caddis Larva have been doing the trick. If your fishing an indicator, be vigilant on adjusting your depth as it’s vital to make sure your flies are swimming through the feeding zone. As for indicators, there are a lot of options out there (enough for a full post… hmm), but I have been using the New Zealand Wool Strike Indicator System with great results.

If your a streamer fan, I’d suggest darker colors, with black having a strong showing lately… specifically a Matt Bennett Brunch $ in his Vader rendition. Pick one up just in time for the new Star Wars movie coming out! That is why it’s named Vader, isn’t it?

Our resident Striper in the Guadalupe River are being spotted on a regular occurrence now with the lower water conditions. These fish are smart and very tough to trick but worth the effort, just don’t go at it with your 4WT! Gamechangers in Rainbow and Black may be your winning lottery ticket here, and guess what? We sell lottery tickets!

Thanks for reading, be courteous on the water, and I’d love to chat with you in the shop sometime.

-Donovan Kypke

A Guadalupe River Rainbow blushing in front of the camera