Hill country river trip

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imaoldmanyoungsalt
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Hill country river trip

Post by imaoldmanyoungsalt »

I have to start with a huge THANK YOU to Josh (Nuemie) for all the help throughout this trip with access points and general river knowledge of the areas and my sincere apologies for not being able to fish with him on Saturday (more on that later)
My brother and I arrived at Dos Rios rv park on Wednesday afternoon and got the rv set up.Image We had dinner in time to walk down and check out the Llano river before bedtime.Image
Some pretty serious storms and winds rolled thru and made for a rough night's sleep. Morning came tho and no damage so off we went.
Thursday morning trip was the Llano river from Dos Rios to Simonsville rd. It did not disappoint. The river is beautiful there.ImageImageImage Fishing was good for guads. Mostly smaller fish but I did catch a guad that was close to 13in. and a few warmouths.Image
Friday we decided to hit the South Llano from the 2nd 377 xing to CR150 (TPWD leased access). This section started rough and only got worse. The put in takes you immediately into a rapid with a hard right turn at the tail end. My brother got turned sideways and flipped and then I got slammed into the bank in the turn and broke off both my transducer mount and my fishfinder ram mount. 50 yds in and already this river is saying go home! Lol. We'll, it would get its way. We would have to portage the next 377 xing and it's here that I pulled a calf muscle trying to hurry and get across the busy intersection. At first I thought it was an Achilles because it popped really loud, pain was severe, and I couldn't put any weight on it at all. Our trip for the day ended here as we flagged down a nice couple who gave my brother a ride back to his truck to come back for me. Many thanks to these kind folks! We did, however, make the river surrender a few fish before it kicked us off.ImageImage
So back to camp we went where I iced the leg and dosed up on Tylenol and ibuprofen.
Saturday is the day we were supposed to hook up with Josh and fish together but with my now bum leg, portaging and wading was out of the question so we had to cancel those plans. Again, my apologies to Josh and I hope we can make it happen in the future. He spent the night before putting together a plan for us and I was really looking forward to fishing with him. He has a tremendous amount of knowledge for such a young mind!
But as an alternate plan, my brother and I decided to go to Lake Kerrville where I could basically stay in the kayak all day with no walking. It's a pretty lake but obviously very crowded on a Saturday. A lot of loud partying and loud music. A jet ski tormented us for the first hour or so but left us a lone after that. I caught one fish there on my 3rd cast.Image And nothing else the rest of the day.
On Sunday my leg was still sore but feeling better and I could actually walk on it so we decided to finish the South Llano trip we had started on Friday. We put in at the first 377 crossing and went to CR150. About 1/2 a mile in I snapped my paddle in half and had to finish the trip paddling "canoe" style with a stiff 15-20 mph wind in our face the whole way. This river did not like me and was still trying to hide something. I was determined to see what it was. Well, it was a gem. Prettiest stretch of river I have ever paddled. Not that I have a lot of experience paddling rivers tho, so take it for what it's worth.ImageImageImage
We made the take out with only a broken paddle and no injuries so I'll call it a win.Image
Monday we headed off to the Nueces River near Camp Wood where I would work on my fly fishing skills (and man do they ever need work).ImageImageImage Our first and 2nd destinations were McDonald's rd xing which was marked heavily with posted signs and no parking signs as was the River rd xing as well. Neither of us felt comfortable challenging the these restrictions and possibly getting towed so we drove on down to the hwy 55 xing below the Lake Nueces dam. We fished there for a about an hour with no luck, so then decided to go to Chalk Bluff resort and paid the $10 day use fee to fish there. It's another beautiful place and easily wadable.ImageImageImage I caught quite a few Guadalupe bass there but all were very small.Image Also caught several warmouths.Image I even had a small cichlid on but it came unbuttoned before I could bring it to hand. The only one I had on the entire week so its still on my bucket list of species to catch. At least I have a reason to go back again. I can't wait!

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Ron Mc
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Re: Hill country river trip

Post by Ron Mc »

Epic trip in great water and great camping weather.

Thanks for the nice photos.
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TKFStubb
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Re: Hill country river trip

Post by TKFStubb »

Great report! Even with the setbacks, you didn’t give up. Maybe you could try an East Texas trip like that. I would certainly participate in that!
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shoffer
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Re: Hill country river trip

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Great report, OldmanYoungsalt. I went to summer camp in the Hill Country as a kid and always loved the Guadalupe. The Llano looks very different but similar at the same time.
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Neumie
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Re: Hill country river trip

Post by Neumie »

LOL, I warned you about the Llano, she's been a cruel mistress to me nearly every trip I make on her. I'm glad your leg is feeling better. Thanks for all the pics, y'all really had a great window weather wise for your trip.

Next time y'all plan a trip let me know and hopefully we can hook up and fish.
imaoldmanyoungsalt
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Re: Hill country river trip

Post by imaoldmanyoungsalt »

TKFStubb wrote:Great report! Even with the setbacks, you didn’t give up. Maybe you could try an East Texas trip like that. I would certainly participate in that!
Stubbs, I like the idea of a slower moving east Texas river. I just don't know when I can make time for another trip and I really want to get back to the Hill country and try the Guadalupe, Sabinal, and San Saba. Too many rivers and too little vacation time! First world problems, heh...
Neumie wrote:LOL, I warned you about the Llano, she's been a cruel mistress to me nearly every trip I make on her. I'm glad your leg is feeling better. Thanks for all the pics, y'all really had a great window weather wise for your trip.

Next time y'all plan a trip let me know and hopefully we can hook up and fish.
I will heed your warnings from now on! And I will definitely hit you up on the next fishing trip!

Based on the last pic I posted - Can anyone verify if that is a Warmouth or a Green Sunfish? I tend to think its actually a Green Sunfish but I've called them Warmouths all my life.
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Neumie
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Re: Hill country river trip

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imaoldmanyoungsalt wrote:based on the last pic I posted - Can anyone verify if that is a Warmouth or a Green Sunfish? I tend to think its actually a Green Sunfish but I've called them Warmouths all my life.
IMO, it's a Green Sunfish due to the spot at the rear of the dorsal fin.
imaoldmanyoungsalt
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Re: Hill country river trip

Post by imaoldmanyoungsalt »

Neumie wrote:
imaoldmanyoungsalt wrote:based on the last pic I posted - Can anyone verify if that is a Warmouth or a Green Sunfish? I tend to think its actually a Green Sunfish but I've called them Warmouths all my life.
IMO, it's a Green Sunfish due to the spot at the rear of the dorsal fin.
I believe you are correct
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hill country river trip

Post by Ron Mc »

That's definitely a green.

Long-ear males are on their redds year round here, and will readily hybridize with any Lepomis sp. females, which frequently happens in isolated pools during drought.
Here's a green/long-ear hybrid

Image
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