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3. Trout season's over, Bass season's still moving right along., Page 2

Adirman, you need to do some homework on southern fly fishing. There are endless opportunities for us flyrodders in that part of the world, for trout as well as many other worthy flyrod species. I lived in Georgia for a year and Texas for 2 1/2 and I did not ever hurt for opportunities to fling flies to hard-fighting fish on the long rod. Flatstick just doesn't happen to be located near any of them! I currently live in an extremely trout-poor part of Michigan, a state that is world reknowned for it's fly fishing opportunties for trout - just read the posts of James Pryal and Spence (OldRedBarn) for even a miniscule part of this. If I were to conclude that there are not good places to fish for trout in Michigan based upon my expriences here in southeast Michigan, why, I would be laughed out of the state!

Not trying to criticize you, man, but you should read some of the fly fishing magazines such as Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod & Reel, and American Angler (my favorites). They are typically full of articles about southern fly fishing opportunities, for trout as well as largemouth, smallmouth, panfish, striped bass, redfish, weakfish, bluefish, shad, etc. etc. etc. In fact, you really SHOULD start reading these magazines in case YOU find yourself down there sometime in close proximity to some amazing fishing opportunities you may not have been previously aware of (even if just visiting relatives or on a family vacation). Trust me, you'll be happy you did so, especially if you find something large and feisty dancing at the end of your flyline!

Just trying to turn you on to the possibilities, fellow flinger of flies! Tight lines to ya!

Jonathon

Johnathon;

I do subscribe to Flyfisherman and American Angler and have read alot of articles about flyfishing in the south, that's why Flatstick's original post surprised me. As I've never lived in Texas or the deep south however, I have to defer to his experiences I think, because he is currently residing there, rather than me bringing up stuff that is contrary to that notion, that I've read in flyfishing mags. You, on the other hand, have indicated that you have personally found fly fishing to be quite good down there which is more in-line w/ what I've read. So I don't know, I'm just going by what you guys that have actually fished down there say!!
Probably, you're both right to a certain extent, and you said that he lives in a section of Texas that is generally poor for fishing, which may also be the case. Where is that by the way, more in West-central Texas probably?
Thanks,

Adirman

Nice bass, but my trout season never ends.
Bruce

Adirman, I lived in the town of San Marcos, home of the fabulous spring-fed San Marcos River and located on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau, also known as the Texas Hill Country. It's just about smack in the middle of the state, get yourself a Texas map and you can't miss it. There's a whole lot of spring-fed rivers and creeks supplied by the Edwards Aquifer, a big limestone formation that was created some hundreds of milions of years ago as ancient seabed. The water comes out of the ground crystal-clear, aquamarine in color, and about 70 F year-round. These systems are full of largemouth bass, Guadalupe bass (State Fish of Texas, only found there), some smallmouth, numerous species of sunfish (including the introduced redbreast, a stream-dwelling blue & orange beauty that feeds on caddisflies in the evening just like trout, and warmouth, which look like a more colorful rock bass), Rio Grande "perch" (as I said here elsewhere, actually a cichlid, related to Oscars, discus, and angelfish, and in fact kept in aquaria), channel catfish (yes, they actually do hit flies, caught two myself while down there), spotted gar (had one hell of a fight out of a 20-incher that eventually clipped me off on his teeth, just like a pike), and even some trout in the tailwater fishery of Canyon Lake Dam/Guadalupe River (never went there, the San Marcos was 5 minutes from my apartment). I had an absolute blast fishing there for 2 1/2 years, and if you are ever in that area for any reason, don't forget your fly tackle!!

This is not to even mention the saltwater fly fishing along the Texas coast, which I never did either...

Jonathon

spence said : "There are just way too many of us on this planet and we are stressing it out and each other as well...Not sure what we can do about that."

answer - OBAMACARE ;)

GC, excuse me but why are you trying to start yet another political pissing contest on this site??? I thought we were talking about fishing, yet for some reason you feel it necessary to hijack this thread for your own personal political drivel. Save that for the conservative blogs, I'm sure they'll love and worship your viewpoints on there. In the meantime, I strongly suggest you stick to FISHING.

Jonathon

Whoa, Jonathon, did I just hear the CHAMPION-POLITICAL-RANTER-OF-ALL- TIME cry foul?

I fail to see how a one-word political editorial could be so offensive to someone who regularly posts lengthy (and mostly CAPITALIZED) political tirades on this website. Please take a moment to consider the wisdom of following your own advice.

Gonzo, I've given up on the ranting. As Jason points out, it just turns people off. That's why I didn't bother to respond with a rant of my own, which you are obviously aware that I am more than capable of. However, I have to listen to 4-5 political commercials IN A ROW every time I turn on the freaking TV, find political crap in my mailbox and stuck in my front door, and get political voice messages left on my answering machine, PLUS deal with a sister who happily apes everything Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin says as the gospel truth. I'M BURNED OUT ON THIS CRAP and I'm too hoarse from trying to express my own rants over all of the shouting. I thought I could come here for some relief, and obviously I was WRONG.

Not to mention, this thread didn't start out as having ANYTHING to do with politics, I thought James, Flatstick, and I were sharing stories about fishing for bass. You wanna talk politics? Start a thread ABOUT politics and rant away - you might be surprised to find out I WILL NOT BE CONTRIBUTING to it anymore.

You know, James, those really are very impressive bass you have in those photos. What exactly did you catch them on again, hmmmm???

Jonathon

Glad to hear it, Jonathon. Did Jason mention anything about using the "Caps Lock" key?

Capital letters work well for EMPHASIS, Gonzo. As if I should have to explain this...

Jonathon

They also come across as SHOUTING, Jonathon. Try italics.

Oh please, not italics. They need to be reserved for scientific names. LOL

Any further political comments in this thread will be deleted. Keep it to fishing guys!

jmd;

Very nice post about central Texas where you lived!! Very informative info about places you fished, species you caught, and your level of success, thank you very much!! That's why I enjoy this site so much, 'cause of posts like yours!! If I ever have the chance to go fishing in Texas, I'll give you a holler (if you don't mind of course)!

Thanks again,

Adirman

Adirman, glad to share the information. I do have a great fondness for that part of the world, the Texas Hill Country and especially the San Marcos River. I never would have expected to find an "aquatic wonderland" in that part of the world, but I found myself down there in 1997 at the only meetings of the North American Benthological Society that I have ever attended (and I have a Masters degree in entomology, so I need to go to more of them, doncha think?) and was amazed and delighted at the river and its beauty (and FISH). Then, in late 2002, while living in Marietta, GA (a suburb of Atlanta, where I did in fact catch browns and rainbows in the Chattahoochee River in spring of that year while the water was still cool enough not to kill them!), and not being happy in my job there (they in fact let me go which was a big relief and then owed me some $$$ in unemployment), I applied for a job in Austin, TX (now my favorite big city anywhere on the planet!) and got offered the job. Remembering my experiences in San Marcos from '97, I decided to look for a place to live there instead of in Austin which was about 1/2 hour north, and found an apartment complex on the very outskirts of town, behind which was a great big natural area full of amazing Texas flora (I also have a degree in botany) and fauna, and only about 5 minutes from the river. My TX experiences were overwhelmingly positive, not the least because of some very friendly and welcoming Texas folks who made this "yankee" feel right at home. The ONLY reason I left that part of the world was the lack of work...

Also, thanks for bringing this thread back to FISHING (sorry, Gonzo, you're just going to have to keep your earplugs handy when reading my posts - italics ARE for scientific names)...

Jonathon

Very nice!! Were the browns and rainbows that you caught in GA a very rare occurrence in that river or do guys catch them pretty regular there? It's really cool to hear how well trout populations are doing in different parts of the US where, maybe even 25yrs ago, you would have been laughed at to say you caught them in the deep south!

The Chattahoochee River trout fishery in the Atlanta area is a tailwater put-and-take fishery, although I heard rumors of natural reproduction in some of the tributaries in the area. It gets too warm in the summer for those fish, although again there must have been some holdovers (found cool water refugia in the tribs??) because some bigger guys are taken every year, including one that had to be in the 18-20" range I saw a guy wrestling with back in 2002. My best day on the river, in fact the second day I fished there, I caught 16 rainbows and two browns, plus four bluegills and two black crappies! All except the crappie were caught on dry flies, I think I was probably using an Elkhair Caddis (a personal favorite) if I remember correctly. It was a wonderful fishery in late winter into spring, but after about May or so the water got too warm, and when heavy rains hit the area the local sanitary sewer lines leaked enough fecal coliform bacteria into the river to prompt the Park Service (National Recreation Area) to unfurl "Health Risk Warning" signs about why you shouldn't be going in the water!! So, very much a seasonal trout fishery, NOT like northern Michigan (where I am waiting to move right now)...

I just read an article in Fly Fisherman magazine about lake-run brown trout, and they mention the Rifle River, my favorite "Up North" trout stream...I'm waiting for my boss to get me a freakin' microscope so I have the excuse to move up there for a couple of months!! Local fisheries (Troy/Oakland County) aren't producing much due to drought and the fact that winter is coming...

Jonathon

Did you ever post the recipe for your killer bass flies?
thanks,
Jack

Jack, do a search on this site for "Killer Bass Fly" and my post with the recipe and step-by-step instructions should show up for you (I regret no photographic step-by-step like in the magazines but my little digital camera isn't quite good enough for it). I hope this helps!

Jonathon