How many fly fishermen on here.

[Clay C]

All I know is that it was Rolled by Mike McFarland. The builder lives in South Carolina, and had him roll 10 blanks geared towards redfishing.

Sorry, that was meant to be a reply to Draco.

[KevinAndy]

I'm going to Belize in March. Do I just need to suck it up and learn how to fly fish? I was planning on using a spinning set up, but I may change that.

[Clay C]

I'm going to Belize in March. Do I just need to suck it up and learn how to fly fish? I was planning on using a spinning set up, but I may change that.

Yup, you need to learn to learn to fly fish.

[AtTheWall]

Just getting into fly fishing.

Had a question to all of you about how do you match the hatch?

I'm in the hill country and was wondering what flies work best for the area?

Hill Country rivers are a blast for fly fishing. And you really don't need to get too technical with the lures offered to them, if you fish water filled with Largemouth, Guadalupe and Smallmouth bass. On these waters, you may get away casting a bug popper (with little rubber feet). Colors in Yellow, Yellow\Red or Chartreuse, Chartreuse\White & Chartreuse\White\Red deliver. Nymphs, Streamers, crawfish and frog flies work well too.

For trout, below Canyon Dam, nymph flies that are weighted, typically bring the best action. The weighted nymphs allow the fly to drop down deeper where the trout are holding below. Many of the ledges along the main channel of the river, have trout sitting under them. And working the edge of that drop off, letting the fly get down to them, works the best. Some use a strike indicator, either a San Juan worm, cork or a Sneaky Pete popper with the weighted nymph below.

The trout are stockers and the bigger trout, are trout that survived a few summers, but started out as stockers. They can be a bit picky on color offerings but, darker colors at low light and lighter colors during bright light are the base color hues to start with. The majority of fish are caught down in deeper water. There's a lot of fishing pressure on that stretch of water so getting topwater rainbows is pretty rare....unless you can fish it when there is little to no pressure - which is next to nil.


I fish the Upper Guadalupe and I use a mix of big and small flies. Sneaky Pete poppers, nymphs, Gummy minnows, streamers, clousers and crawfish and frog flies. Bass and bream readily hit them. Larger flies draw bigger fish and smaller flies cover the small bass and bream readily. You can cast a yellow popper on some days and catch over 30 or 40 fish an outing. And even the smallest popper can bring a bigger bass easily. On my bigger wet flies (sinking all varieties) there are times I will tip the hook, with a pumpkin seed and red sparkle mini tail, which adds motion and color to a fly. I have bags of these little mini Mr Twister style plastics, various colors, and adding one to a fly, can bring a lot more attention to the bait.

It's not super fine science by any means. These fish are aggressive, except for the rainbows. But I've fished an upper section of Guadalupe River stocked with Rainbows before, and they hit literally everything I threw at them.

A solid clear water Hill Country river color to start the day off with, should have some green and red in the pattern. Chartreuse\White with a splash of red covers bass like crazy. Small flies, perch out the wazoo, in these same basic colors.

The top fly is a good Guadalupe River trout fly. It's weight, covers dark, a splash of red, gold with hair that pulses.

The middle is good for everything, including saltwater. Tarpon will even hit this little fly. I've caught a bunch of fish fresh and salt using the GUMMY MINNOW. In the surf, you can hammer big 2 - 3ft long late summer skipjacks, wading thigh deep and casting out angled into the second gut. Strip back and there will be about dozen skippies fighting over it. They jump like crazy and are blast to catch on a fly rod (poor man tarpon). It fishes the Hill Country rivers great since it's opaque and shines in those clear waters.

Bottom is a Sneaky Pete. You can fish it on top alone and or tie a drop leader, through the hook eye, and have a wet fly below covering both columns of water.

[AtTheWall]

You can buy a bass fly kit and start there. There are some decent panfish and bass fly kits out there, and any of them are decent starting spots. If you get into fly tying, these are great kits to start figuring out what works (colors or patterns) then reduplicating these on your favorite places to fish, tying your own flies.

I use some big clousers, deceivers and streamers for bass. Some of these same flies, work for redfish too. Both species are not too picky when they are on a feeding tear.

There's a few fly balsa poppers sold in various fly shops. They are too light for spinning tackle but perfect for fly fishing. They work very well at sunrise, sunset and after sundown along the banks of the Guadalupe River. Frog patterns are good but it's more about the noise and action for bass. They aren't too picky, especially if you can run a kayak down sections of rarely fished sections of river. Which is why I love the Upper Guadalupe river so much. And Upper is the section near Kerrville and up into both South and North forks. The sections down below Waring into Canyon Lake and below CL are fished and yakked pretty hard.

Using a Kayak, I can drift down toward deeper holes and get out and wade the edges and or drop an anchor and cast from the yak. Adjusting slowly down stream to cover river. Quiet and low profile, they are there.

[Chad C]

I'm fairly novice but enjoy fishing with a fly.

[SwampRabbit]

Just getting into fly fishing.

Had a question to all of you about how do you match the hatch?

I'm in the hill country and was wondering what flies work best for the area?

Listen to what AtTheWall said. I wouldn't be able to say much more. Hill country streams are a blast to fish for smallies, chichlids, and giant gills. I tend to be most productive with simple foam hopper flies with deer hair wings. Simple deer hair caddis flies are awesome too if they want something smaller. Bead head nymphs and clousers have been best if they aren't rising.

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[hopedale]

AtTheWall Thank you.

Now if I can learn to cast when near trees that would be great. Was in the backyard and 2nd time I came back the loop was grabbed by the tree.

I've got a creek near the house I'd like to be able to fly fish.

May have to focus on Pflugerville lake first, until I can control my cast.

[SwampRabbit]

AtTheWall Thank you.

Now if I can learn to cast when near trees that would be great. Was in the backyard and 2nd time I came back the loop was grabbed by the tree.

I've got a creek near the house I'd like to be able to fly fish.

May have to focus on Pflugerville lake first, until I can control my cast.

For tight areas from a bank, I have really started to like my 7.5' rod over my 9' rod. Also, in these areas, I tend to use a side cast to keep under the limbs rather than a vertical cast. You can go up one on the line weight so you don't have to have so much line out to load the rod. A 5wt line on my 4wt 7.5' is nice for a narrow river or pond with tight trees line near the bank.

[hooligan]

Haven't fly fished Texas coast. Is it worth it to go down without a boat or kayak to fly fish. Saving up for a guide trip for my dad and I but not in the cards right now. Need to get back to the salt

[froghunter]

Trees and tight quarters require some inventive casting. Youtube roll cast and side arm cast. Once you get that down it can be done over the left or right shoulder, standin, squatting and kneeling.

[klooney]

AtTheWall Thank you.

Now if I can learn to cast when near trees that would be great. Was in the backyard and 2nd time I came back the loop was grabbed by the tree.

I've got a creek near the house I'd like to be able to fly fish.

May have to focus on Pflugerville lake first, until I can control my cast.

Hopedale, where are you located? I'm in hutto, and would be more than happy to go fishing with you

[AtTheWall]

AtTheWall Thank you.

Now if I can learn to cast when near trees that would be great. Was in the backyard and 2nd time I came back the loop was grabbed by the tree.

I've got a creek near the house I'd like to be able to fly fish.

May have to focus on Pflugerville lake first, until I can control my cast.

Learn the side arm - flats style cast. It cheats the wind and you can keep the entire cast no more than shoulder height above the water. It's very effective in wind and or casting off the front of a flats boat. Everything stays away to the side and it's very versatile to use. You can zip casts up under overhangs and keeping your left hand (if your right handed) on the fly line, allows you to stop at exact distances, before you hit banks and or overhangs.

Practice casting is a joy with a fly rod. Always pick targets and cast to them. Learn to cast from your left side, crossing your arm over to the left side, when winds are blowing in from your right (right handed). Just little changes in how you cast, playing the wind, will give you a lot of directional control without the fly getting too close to you on the forward cast.

If I have a real strong wind blowing in from my right side, I just go side arm and stick the tip way out low and to the right...it keeps the fly hook away, cheats the wind a lot, and allows you to deliver on target playing the wind.

Roll casts (spey style) are great for predetermined distances and with a bunch of stuff behind you. You can practice this on grass as well. It's better on water, since the friction of the water helps you raise and lift with power loaded up into the fly blank.

Lot of great "how to" tips out there to make you a better fly caster.

For bass, pay attention to those fishing conventional tackle, reports and such, with attention to color. This will help you match what works on various water bodies.

Also, buy an extra fly spool and have one spooled with a sinking fly line. This will allow you to fish deeper setups, when the fish are down deeper. It's an excellent fly line to use for white bass....which are about to start running very soon. If you get into a mess of white bass with a fly rod, it's a blast! Guadalupe River above Canyon Lake is an excellent area - kayak friendly too. Crappie mix in some sections up there in good numbers too. Sinking fly line is perfect and if you see them schooling on top, swap spools to a floating fly line and go to town.

I have a 3 wt, 5 wt, 7 wt, 8 wt & 9 wt. It covers a good spectrum of different fly sizes, tippets and leader weights. The good thing about all of the bass species, noise isn't a big concern, so bombing a loud setup is preferred since the noise gets them in the mood to destroy whatever they find making the noise.

The Guadalupe Trout, a more finesse is involved, so smaller weight setups and lighter lines are best for presentation.

We have a lot of fly fishing opportunities here in Texas. A well stocked tank is a blast as well! Even spotting carp and using carp flies can be a hoot in a clear Hill Country river during the hottest part of the day, and they are bruisers on a fly rod. Easy to see and approach.

[hrdwrkncwby76]

Hopedale, where are you located? I'm in hutto, and would be more than happy to go fishing with you

I'm in Round Rock. I fish mainly on brushy creek but always looking for something new. There are two local clubs that you can also get help from. The San Gabriel fly fishing club and the Austin fly fishing club. The local fly fishing shop in round rock is living waters fly fishing shop


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[klooney]

I'm in Round Rock. I fish mainly on brushy creek but always looking for something new. There are two local clubs that you can also get help from. The San Gabriel fly fishing club and the Austin fly fishing club. The local fly fishing shop in round rock is living waters fly fishing shop


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I fish mainly brushy as well... where do fish