Anyone have advice for catching stocked trout on the Guadalupe just off the canyon dam? I don't have a fly rod but will be using just an ultra light spinning rod. I fished for trout up in Maryland when I lived there, had luck using tiny grub-looking "trout magnets" and small inline spinners. I'm assuming the same tackle should work here?

Any advice will be appreciated....I'm from Houston, was out of state for several years but moved back to TX to New Braunfels area this summer....I wasn't even aware Texas had a trout stocking program until the other day but I'm looking forward to it.

Here you go


Source

You can put in at any of the locations listed on the website and there's also multiple camp sites along the river that you can pay a few bucks to get in at. One of the biggest challenges of fishing the Guad is access. The land through that area is mostly private so access to the river can be challenging especially since the public access points get fairly crowded. But once you are on the river you can wade in the water pretty much all you want. If you live there, you may consider joining GRTU (Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited) and joining the lease access program. Apart from TPWD, GRTU also stocks "trophy" rainbow trout in the river and through their lease access program you gain access through specific private lands and are privy to information as to when and where they stock the trout. It's expensive, but you may find it worthwhile if you plan on going a lot.

As a fly-fisherman, I'd suggest picking it up if you want to get into trout fishing there. You don't have to be able to cast much further than your shadow through most of the runs and you can get into the sport with a 5wt for pretty cheap. If you're set on spinning tackle though I'm pretty sure small in-line spinners are the way to go, add a split shot above it to get it lower in the water column. As you mentioned small grubs would probably work. I'd go with drab colors like olive or rust.

Thanks for the advice. I plan on picking up fly fishing at some point, but can't afford another hobby just now.

you can also catch white bass at the release. Use and white or yellow rooster tail. Stay on the north/east side where it is permissible. I got a ticket fishing in the wrong area 15 years ago or so.

I was standing on the rocks adjacent to where the water was coming out. I caught 4-5 good sized white bass in the current.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.8704022,-98.1945476,73m/data=!3m1!1e3

And stripers too.

For trout on ultralight spin gear, small spinners like Mepps and Roostertails are tough to beat.

What time do they normally do the releases?

TPWD publicly announces the releases and I think they do a couple throughout the year. You won't know when GRTU does theirs unless you are part of the lease access program or know a member willing to tell you. From some of the reports I've been seeing this year though a lot of holdovers (trout that were stocked last year and survived the summer) are still being caught. They're generally a little more educated and harder to catch but they're also big.

If not posted already, all state-wide TPWD trout stocking locations and dates will be posted on their website.

I had no idea stocked trout could survive a Texas summer. Interesting...I live right on the Guadalupe...if I ever catch a trout in the summer that will make my day!

For those that recommend fly fishing....is it more productive or more rewarding? Or both?

primomosquito said:

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I had no idea stocked trout could survive a Texas summer. Interesting...I live right on the Guadalupe...if I ever catch a trout in the summer that will make my day!

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water out on canyon is 50ish degrees year round. there are some pools that the trout can cool off in during the summer. some big trout are caught past the horseshoe.

Yep. The water they release from the Canyon dam comes from the bottom of the water column so it's cold enough for them to survive. There's deep runs in the river too that the fish can go down in during the really hot periods, but as long as there's some release from Canyon, there's usually a decent amount of holdovers. The Upper Guadalupe is the only place in TX where this happens.

As for the fly fishing question. I think it's both. Fly fishing gives you more of an ability to match the hatch which can at times be very important particularly with being able to easily throw both on the large and small side of the spectrum. With conventional gear, you're limited to the larger side of the spectrum and during certain times, they may not want something larger than like a no. 16 or 18 midge which is impossible to throw using conventional gear. With fly fishing you have the flexibility to toss bigger streamers or nymph depending on what the fish are dictating. Also those fish get educated fairly quickly which usually leads to the need to throw small stuff. In my opinion fly fishing is more rewarding as well. I invest time before I ever get on the water to practice my casts and tie flies so every fish I catch is more rewarding in that sense.

The Guadalupe is great fun in the winter. We like to rent a place on the river then wade or float the river during the winter. It is close to many major cities and just a beautiful region. It's fun to invite other guests and grill outside, teach fly fishing or head to town for an evening out. We also use this period of time to do some bike rides in the hill country as we prepare for the MS-150.

Is it worth taking a kayak or is it easier to just wade? I have a Kelp Clip so it is easy to stay put in one spot when I need to. Would be fishing using conventional tackle.

I floated last summer (smallmouth bass fishing). We were in sea kayaks and was an unplanned trip (long story, planned in motor boating at canyon lake). It was a great float and would be perfect for spinning rods (was a tad hard to flyfish and kayak). You definitely need to review a map of the river and be aware of some key wiers that have racked up some fatalities in the past. (Easy to portage around). This is why the guides use rafts instead of drift boats on the Guadalupe.

So they are releasing some trout in neighborhood ponds as well. How soon after the release is ideal to go and what is used for lures/bait?

Use to clean up on stockers as a kid in the one stocked pond in the area on sweet corn under a bobber.

KW02 said:

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So they are releasing some trout in neighborhood ponds as well. How soon after the release is ideal to go and what is used for lures/bait?

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Immediately. Those stockings can become a cormorant feast especially if it's still pretty warm.

When I lived in San Marcos a few years ago, they stocked the Guadalupe every other week from about the 1st weekend in December to the mid/late February. The "fly-fishmen" used a fly rod a bubble and a salmon egg fly to basically bobber fish with a fly rod. I caught a bunch of trout using rooster tails on an ultra light spinning reel.