Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

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Neumie
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Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by Neumie »

Obligatory not a kayak report, but kayak-able waters under normal conditions.

I got up super early this morning to go fishing. The Texas Hill Country is well below average for rainfall this year so our spring fed rivers are suffering. We’ve gotten some rain the past week or so, so I decided to take advantage and hit up the Medina River this morning.

My dog is wondering if he gets to go at 4:30 am. (He did not)

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I left alittle before 5:00 am to get a jump on the day. Our forecast high was going to be over 100℉, so I wanted to be on and off early. Made the 1.5 hour drive, got my gear together and was fishing by 6:45 am.

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First fish of the day was a Warmouth; my first one in a couple years.

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Continued up stream and caught a good variety of sunfish and bass, spot and Guads.

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Chunky Guad

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I ended up wading only ½ mile or so up river. But I did catch a nice 13” ish bass; put a nice bend in the fly rod.

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A really pretty stretch and well worth exploring some more in the future.

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Deer Skull

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I pulled off the water around 9:00 am to head to a second spot to target Rio Grande Cichlids, one of my favorite species to target.

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I tried for almost an hour straight to catch a cichlid, and I had a couple hooked up, but never got one to hand. They were plentiful, but I just couldn’t make it happen today. Still, the sunfish were super aggressive still.

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Nice Waterfall.

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I was off the river by 11:15 for the quick drive back home. A good, quick outing with a great variety of species. I had shots and nearly every variety of sunfish found in Texas, cichlids, three species of bass, catfish and even carp.
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Neumie
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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by Neumie »

Shoot, I was off early enough to have time to fire up the pit and start smoking half a turkey breast and legs for dinner.
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Dandydon
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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by Dandydon »

Great Medina River report, Josh! Your photos are awesome & educational.

About 20 years ago I fished the same scenic river near Bandera and caught a few small bass, perch & a 4 ft. alligator gar, all released, lol.

At least you ate in style after fishing the river. That grilled chicken looks tasty.


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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by ben_beyer »

Nice post Neumie!
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by Ron Mc »

I missed that trip because, instead, the day before, I went on a bike-fish with Lou to the upper Pedernales.
We didn't have near as much water along River Rd crossings, but we had a great bike ride.

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sorry about the water on the lens.
We recovered our calories at Mague's in Boerne on the way home.
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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

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Good biking and fishing go together!
Enjoyed your pics and descriptions, Ron.

I work out daily with great gusto and go fishing when I can. The fast biking exercises my legs & lungs. The hard casting of lures works out my arms and shoulders. A marriage made in heaven (unlike that other 4-day marriage I had last Summer ).

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Ron Mc
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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by Ron Mc »

Don, the two bikes Lou and I were on, my 700c Viner CX built upright, and his 650b Chapman rando - neither bike is fast, but both keep going, no matter what you're up against.
I rode mine 68 mi one day.
Our trip, we had an hour of cycling, and 3 hours of exploring, wading and fishing 3 crossings - we still had a 4th crossing closest to where we started, but the food was sounding too good by then.
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btw, in addition to my 6-pc fly rod, we both have telescoping rods that travel rigged in a bike bag.
Mine is a Smith UL stream trout casting rod matched with a raced-out Ambassadeur 1500C, that will fish 1/16 oz.
Lou's is an ML Daiwa BBB spinner, matched with Shimano Ultegra.

Gravel senderos in the 1st flood plain always have trees where you can cable-lock your bike.
Next time, we'll do the Guadalupe in Kendall Co, which is running 40 cfs.
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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by Dandydon »

Sounds very cool. Back in the early 90s I spent months at a time living w/ my girlfriend in Boulder, Colorado. She would drive to her office in the morning while I drove her 4-wheel-drive Expedition all over the state flyfishing the best streams, rivers & lakes I could find.

Some of my best trips included a small bike I could pack in the vehicle, allowing me to bike into remote fishing areas with a backpack. One trip I flyfished the famous Cache la Poudre river on the Colorado/Wyoming border.

I biked up into the best bends and deep pools of that winding mountain river. Tied on some black wooly boogers and proceeded to catch about 20 rainbow trout from 14-20 inches, solid fish for that species. All released.

But I also used heavier dark nymphs that I allowed to slowly sweep the bottoms of those clear deep pools. Down there I caught 4 big Brown trout (to 24 inches) that made my day. They fought harder than the Rainbows. Those glowing blue dots against the light-brown skin make for my favorite freshwater fish.

I love flyfishing and know it made me better at reading water and employing finesse. Too bad my fly rods are all too light for saltwater, lol. Keep the flies flying!

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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by TexasJim »

Great Medina report, Josh. Boy, Texas needs a lot of rain! A week back on Friday, I drove from Waxahachie to Waco and thru Brenham on the way back to Rockport. Central Texas was so green I couldn't believe it. Cows were knee-deep in grass. By the time I got to Halletsville, it stopped being so lush, and at Victoria, usually always green and lush, it had turned brown and yellow. If we don't get a couple of wet tropical waves, it's gonna be really bad this summer and fall. I'll have to quit washing my truck. Oh, wait, I did that year before last! Everybody be safe. TexasJim
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Re: Hill Country Report - May 7, 2022

Post by Ron Mc »

Jim, where Texas is growing fastest is in the Guadalupe to Nueces river drainages.
Last year was a very wet and cool summer, and it still didn't help these rivers.
More water is being taken from the ground than these watersheds can sustain.
Twenty years ago we needed desalination for public water supply - now we're 20 years behind the curve, and Sierra Club duping CCA into protesting Harbor Island.
Expect to see brown tides in ULM this summer.
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