Going there for new years with some friends. Can anyone tell me about fishing around there? I know nothing about the area. Thanks

Used to hunt on the other side of ole baldy (Garner State Park) what I remember is a lot of streams, small "rivers". COLD this time of yr. Pretty country.

I think they acctually may stock the rive with rainbow trout i know they do in the blanco and guadalupe rivers.

They stock at GSP the last 2-3 years. The trout are pretty dumb, and will hit worms, corn, bugs, flies, streamers, powerbait, spinnerbaits, etc.

They surely make their way downstream eventually, and may survive a few years if they are red strain warm water tolerant rainbows, usually from Alabama, because of the spring water, IF the springs are flowing well enough to keep the deeper holes in the river cool.

I like to throw nymphs and streamers and grasshopper imitations from my flyrod, or I use a rebel Teenycraw or a roostertail spinnerbait in white/silver or green/orange/gold.

For native fish, there will be some channel cats and yellow cats here and there, plenty of redbreast and bluegill and green sunfish, and a few largemouth and guadalupe bass. The catfish really like hotdog chunks in the Frio for some reason. It is a cheap and easy bait if they are feeding, and they like to eat from dusk to about midnight, but will feed all day.

There are also some riogrande perch in there.

It is sometimes hard to get the fish to bite well when it is cold, but a warm snap after some cold gets em biting in the afternoon, even in winter.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 12/18/2008 6:05p).]

So is there one place good in particular i should go? Were staying at a cabin right on the river.

ttt

Anywhere on the river you can find fish. There are several deeper pools in and right below Garner State Park.

The Frio is the river in Concan. I've seen some deep holes with some nice bass in them,

awesome thanks, any advice for those bass?

would it be reasonable without waders this time of year? or are the good spots to far from the shore?

You can throw a line from one bank to the other most anywhere on the Frio. The key is finding a bank where the property owner will let you fish.

Get/rent a kayak

The best way to catch bass is to use minnows. I caught tons of fish on the Frio this summer doing that. My brother and I would seine minnows below some sort of water fall where they congregate. It was really cool to watch the bass attack the minnows since the water is so clear. I had one fish that struck at a minnow 5 times before actually taking it. Really fun. I have never had much luck at all on artificials.

The bass love green colored diving plugs, worms, etc. I hooked a 5lber once using a large grasshopper for bait. I also caught a nice 6lb flathead cat using a perch for bait.

mneisch is dead on. i've fished the frio for about 25 years and minnows have always been the most effective.

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You can throw a line from one bank to the other most anywhere on the Frio. The key is finding a bank where the property owner will let you fish.

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If you are on the bank or even standing two inches deep in water, you should be able to fish wherever youd like.

is the water much deeper this time of year... i have only been in the summer.

Spring fed = not much deeper unless there is a flood. I've caught TONS of bass on the frio using spinnerbaits, jigs, and plugs.

Live bait works, too.