JANUARY FLY FISHING FOR GUADALUPE RIVER TROUT
In January we have all been splitting our trips between the Colorado and Guadalupe Rivers. Most of that time has been on the Guadalupe River catching some nice rainbows in some unseasonably cold weather. With the frigid weather compliments of Polar Vortex I and Polar Vortex II, the water temperature on the Guadalupe River has been cold and the trout seem to love it. We'll repeat, "trout love cold water and lousy weather", which will continue on Guadalupe River in February.
It seems as though with every trip down the river the catches have been improving. We are consistently catching good numbers of fish between 15 and 19 inches. Even better than all the catching, is watching friends and family members — fathers and daughters, sons and moms, old college roommates, etc. — all coming out to fly fish and enjoy this wonderful resource. Families and friends fishing together, making memories, and sharing old stories makes for a great day on the water.
We are primarily using tandem nymph rigs using a 4X 7-1/2’ leader with a larger attractor and a small (size 20) midge tied on a 16” 5X tippet dropper under a small indicator. Top attractor patterns included eggs, stones, and pheasant tails size 12-16. Midge patterns included CT trico emergers, RS2s, and zebra midges in sizes 18-20. Increasingly, San Juan worms and sucker spawn will be brought in the rotation throughout February and into March.
Along with our colder than usual winter weather, additional trout stockings have contributed to the quality fishing we have experienced in January. Weekends have been very crowded and those clients that book Monday-Friday are having much better catches than our weekend anglers. We would be more than happy to explain this to your bosses, your spouce or your school principle in the hopes of getting you out on the water during the week.
