Took the St.Croix fiberglass rod out for a exploration of the Texas Hill Country; specifically in and around the Llano River. Like many anglers I get in a rut and naturally head back to the same stretches I've fished many times before. So, Saturday I forced myself to spend a little more time behind the wheel and check out access points that are a little off the beaten path; which is hard considering about 95% of Texas is privately owned.

Drove by several crossings before getting out and fishing. It was over cast almost to noon, so I tied on a local favorite; a Llano Bug. Caught a vibrant Longear amongst a 60 ft cliff.







After about 45 minutes I hopped back into my truck to continue checking out access points. A couple sites later I found myself at a promising place for both wading and kayaking. This spot kicked out several Guadalupe Bass and more sunfish. Some hatch had happened on the river and it felt like I should be targeting trout instead of warm water fish.







After about an hour this time I jumped back into my truck and found a couple more promising access points; some better for wading others for kayaking. By now the sun was finally breaking through so I stopped riverside for a lunch break; a granola and dried fruit trail mix, jalapeno venison dried sausage, and a cold Texas craft brew called St. Arnolds Lawnmower.



After lunch I found a good access spot for another wade where I caught more sunfish and Guadalupe Bass. Found a pool holding some carp, but couldn't entice them.







A little more than hour later I was back in my truck to scope out even more crossings. All said and done I scoped out about 2 dozen access points. I had brought my kayak, but never unstrapped it from the bed of my truck. It was fun to break out of the rut and do some exploring. This is just my second trip with a glass fly rod, and I'm really enjoying it.

Great report - good looking water and fish. It’s always satisfying to explore new water and catch a few fish in the process. The Llano bug looks similar to the stealth bomber fly we use in Georgia for shoal bass. The combination of foam and rubber legs probably looks something like venison sausage and beer to bass.

Well done Sir.
Carl

Josh,

Great info and pics! I live in Dallas and I have dreamed of doing this trip, with a visit to the Garrison Brothers Distillery mixed in. I’ve visited the distillery many times, but never fished the area!

Thanks everyone, it was fun day.



As Ron mentioned the Fredericks burg area would make a great home base for a fishing trip. Garrison Brother's in Hye and little bit farther in Blanco is Andalusia, Real Spirits, and Milam & Greene; all four being grain to glass distillers. Becker (reservation required) and Hilmy Vineyards are two of my favorite in the area. Slate Mill Wine Collective has good wine as well, I just mention it because I grew up dove hunting the property and it's surreal seeing the fields full of grape vines now. There's also Altstadt Brewery for a cold brew. For German food it's hard to beat Old German Bakery for breakfast and Auslanders ($$) and/or Ottos ($$$) for dinner.

Slightly more back on topic there's the Country Flyfisher Shop. It's easy to spend hours there talking to Martin.

Dave, Hermann Sons in Hondo is a Texas institution.
There's one item on the menu I can never get past - Alvin's Pepper Steak.
No place else would I ever recommend a hamburger steak. But Alvin's is layered with sliced jalapenos, onions, cheese, and grilled over mesquite.

It's a St. Croix Imperial 7090 XXL 1-3/4 oz and I was throwing a SA AirCel Panfish line (5/6 wt 160 gr WF, which casts well on my Phillipson Fly Fox FF66C 2-3/8 oz). It does well on this rod, but may be a touch too much when I need to "air it out" on some casts. I'm going to cast it some more but I may look at stepping down to a WF 150 gr line for the St. Croix. Just getting started with fiberglass rods, so I'm trying to match line to rods.