Fly Fishing the World Television Show

From left to right: Brad, Conway, Marcus, Jesse and Jake.

Marcus and I were fortunate enough to host the crew from Fly Fishing the World for three days of fishing on the Devils River.
The show is currently airing on the Sportsman Channel. (315 for Time Warner - 605 for Direct TV)

Air times are:
Sunday @ 1:00 am
Monday @ 1:00pm
Wednesday @ 3:30 am
Friday @ 4:30 pm
Saturday @ 10:00 pm

If you miss it I'm sure they will post it on their website at some point.
http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/programming/descriptions/description.php?ID=277

Special thanks to Rick and Mary at Ryes'N Sons Ranch.

Thank you for your support!
Johnny Q

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The Roadrunner

The Bluffs at Homer Martin Ranch.  Photo by Johnny Quiroz

I paddled the canoe to the lip of the small rapid. I made a draw stroke to position the canoe into the deepest part of the rapid. The best line to the pool below was only inches deep and barely wide enough for the canoe to fit through. A canoeist, whether he is in a deep, dangerous boulder strewn rapid or in a shallow spit of a river in the Texas Hill Country, must always pick the best line for his canoe to go, to avoid any mishaps or embarrassments. I immediately realized that I picked the right line as the canoe shot down the shallow rapid, over a gravel bar and into the deeper pool below. We were on the Llano River, below Homer Martin Ranch. It is at this point, where a large red bluff blocks the river and turns it sharply to the left.

As my client and I plunged into the pool, I made a quick stroke to position the canoe so that we could begin fly fishing the hole. A flicker of movement at the top of the bluff caught my eye. I scanned the bluff, looking for the source of movement. A roadrunner, sat on a small outcropping in a clearing of cliff side sage, cedar, cactus and yucca. We fished the hole and caught several small fish. Throughout our time in the hole, the roadrunner stayed in the clearing and appeared to watch our every move. After a few minutes, we pulled over onto the shore to eat lunch. The bird would disappear into the brush, but would always return to the outcropping to watch us.

After lunch, we pushed off down the river. I looked up at the top of the cliff to see the bird still watching us. I like to think that as the roadrunner watched angler and guide on a clear ribbon of the Llano River, it became slightly envious. Envious…wishing it could change its name and be a river runner too.

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Fly Fishing for Bass on the San Marcos River

Ray and I fly fishing for Largemouth and Guadalupe bass on the San Marcos river.

We would greatly appreciate your recommendation of this blog post. Please utilize the buttons provided below. Thank you! TGOT

Fly Flinging in the Rain

All of Texas is in the grips of a tremendous drought. At the time of this writing Central Texas is about 15 inches below normal precipitation levels. There are however a few rivers that are flowing nicely and fishing well. All of these rivers are within a 1-2 hour drive of Austin or San Antonio.


On Friday September 16, 2011 I met up with client Bill Balch (http://tinywaters.blogspot.com/). I last guided Bill on the Llano River in April of 2009. From what I remember, the fishing on the Llano was pretty good. We caught quite a few fish, but nothing of great size. It is nice however, to share a river with somebody who gets fly fishing and appreciates all of the little things that make fly fishing in Texas a very special thing.

A Few Pigs on the San Marcos River

The shadows cast by the riverside cypress, pecan and cottonwood trees were dark and deep. Despite the oppressive heat of the day, the shadows offered shelter for fish and anglers from the scorching sun. I turned th3 canoe to give Jarid Malone owner of Urban Waters Guide Company(http://www.urbanwatersguidecompany.com/) a proper casting angle to the deepest shadows along the riverbank. Jarid cast a large deer hair popper and it landed with a splat next to the bank. A couple of feet below the popper was a tangle of brush and downed trees. Jarid stripped the fly
line as soon as the fly hit the water. The fly pulsed and pushed water. Immediately a nice three to four pound largemouth bass exploded from the water and took the popper in its gaping maw. The fish had jumped in the direction of the canoe and caused just enough slack in the line to keep Jarid from getting a proper hook set. Jarid stripped line quickly and tried to catch up to the fish. I made a couple of quick paddle strokes to help

A Couple of Miles on the Llano River.



Ruin of an old Homestead at Raye Carrington on the Llano River.

Today I guided a little half day trip on the Llano River near Mason, Texas. I had not been on any of the Mason sections since early April. I was curious to see what the drought had done to this section of beautiful river. My clients wanted a half day on the river. They had never fly fished. Before the trip, I explained that the river was going to be very low and the river would be fairly warm. I told them that we would catch a few fish. However, trying to teach fly casting and trying to get a few fish into the boat in only a few hours is quite the challenge for angler and guide. I decided that I would make the trip an on the water lesson. We would go over basic casting, line management, stripping the fly, fighting fish, and hopefully landing a fish or two.

Fly Fishing Intuition

Peaceful scene on the San Marcos River.

I spent ten days in the month of June in the small town of Ozona, Texas. The town is located in the scrubland of West Texas and it is quite quaint. In fact, the town used to have the most millionaires per capita within the whole United States. I was in town on business, and most of my time was spent confined in a hotel off of Interstate 10 and on an oil pad on the outskirts of town. I missed my family and I missed my rivers. The ten days out of town put a damper on my guiding. I was fairly close to the South Llano River, Devils River, and the San Saba River and many of my daydreams involved me casting a fly into the depths of one of these beautiful rivers. While gone, my two oldest daughters would call me on a daily basis and they would ask me if I could take them fishing after I returned home. I told both of them that if I was going to go fishing, they would be more than welcome to come with me anytime. On my last day in Ozona, I could not get packed fast enough. Even though Ozona is a quaint little town, the best thing about it… is seeing it in the rearview mirror.

It was the end of times, it was the best of times....

On May 21, 2011 the world was supposed to end. The prediction was made by a man of religion and this fine fellow’s followers, helped to spread the message across the land. Apparently, massive earthquakes were to shake the world and the good would be swept up to heaven and the people left behind would have to endure hard times for the next several months, until the actual end of times. Depending on one’s point of view, the good news is that the rapture did not happen. The bad news is…the rapture did not happen. This weekend, Johnny Q and I guided Harold and Marc Willis. We decided to fish Heaven on Earth located on the lower San Marcos River.
We fished for two days. We figured if the world was going to end, it might as well end with us paddling down a beautiful river.

Flowing with Jack and John on the Devils River

The Guides of Texas offer the only guided canoe trips down the Devils River.  Many folks who visit this beautiful and wild river only get a small taste of what beauty, adventure, and great fishing the river has to offer.  This river is not for the person who likes to take it easy and stay clean for a trip.  The river can be treacherous, with mean rapids, brutal winds and

The April Fools Day Float

Text from Facebook March 3, 2011.

Michael Dreyspring landing a very nice Guadalupe Bass.

Michael Dreyspring: Marcus, In Fredricksburg all day March 31 and Friday, April 1. Would like to fish all day either day. What do you recommend? Can you pick me up in Fredricksburg?

Marcus Rodriguez: We would have to go on April 1st… it would be foolish if we didn’t  We can fish the Llano in Mason and I can pick you up in Fredricksburg and drop you off.

Michael Dreyspring: Well, I ain’t no fool, so April 1st it is. I’ll let you know as soon as the wife settles on where we’re staying (should know by tomorrow). Looking forward to it.

Marcus Rodriguez: Perfect!

 

Two Days Two Nights

Testimonial from Dave & Emily Whitlock:

Dave Whitlock and Marcus Rodriguez 

on the Llano River

I was so impressed with the Llano's unique sandstone structure and how the river has shaped it and winds it's self thru it... And as it does there seem endless nooks for it's Guadalupe and Largemouth bass to ambush surface bugs from. Gosh we raised alot of beautiful fish and they attacked the bugs so well!

 - Dave Whitlock

The Calm Before the Freeze: Fly Fishing the San Marcos with Old Uncle Hugh.

I awoke as little yellow slivers of light kissed the eastern horizon. I loaded up two canoes, four fly rods, life jackets, fly boxes and lunch for four while stars still hung in the early morning sky. My plans were to meet a good friend Old Uncle Hugh Gardner and his Godson Morgan Jordan for a short day of fishing on the San Marcos River. Hugh is from the Denver, Colorado area and we met several years ago, after he spent a several days with Johnny Quiroz, Joey Lin and me for a fly fishing and exploration jaunt in the Texas Hill Country.
 Johnny and Joey had met Hugh in Argentina, when he flew down to write a story about the un-tapped fly fishing opportunities that Joey and some of his Argentine friends had discovered. The story featured Johnny and Joey and several other folks as they floated a beautiful wild river and caught many large and uneducated

Matt's Bug

My favorite fly is called Matt's Bug.  It was designed by a good friend of mine named Matt Jennings.  I first learned about this fly back in the early days before Johnny and I started guiding.  The fly has become the official fly of The Central Texas Fly Fishers in San Marcos, Texas and it has caught at least a hundred different species of fish including bass, bream, trout, speckled trout, redfish and even tarpon.   I had heard that Orvis had shown some interest in the fly, but as of now I have no idea if it is something they will start providing to the fly fishing

Fly Fishing in Winter

Here are a few pics from a couple of fly fishing trips on the San Marcos River. These trips were in late November and the first and second day after two seperate cold fronts. The fish were not jumping in the boat, but there is a lot to be said for steady fishing action in the
winter. Out of the four days spent on the river, only one day proved to be
very hard fishing.
My two clients, Matt Polster from Dallas, Texas and Harry Daley
from Colorado came down for some fishing on the San Marcos River. They brought the cold weather down with them. I took Matt the week after Thanksgiving and Harry the following week. Morning temperatures were

Christmas Gift on the River

GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA!

If you are thinking about that special and unique gift for your outdoor loving family member or friend, what about a fly fishing lesson on the beautiful Comal or San Marcos river or a half day fishing trip in a canoe down one of these jewels of the Hill Country.

17 inch Guadalupe bass caught in the Texas Hill Country

Ken Prehoditch hooks the largest Guadalupe bass of his life! All on his new TFO fly rod. It was the first fish of the day!

For those not familiar with the State fish of Texas, the Guadalupe bass, it is typically a small fish averaging 6-10 inches.

This video was posted back in the Fall of 2010.

TGOT

Welcome to the new and improved Guides of Texas website!

The 13th October

Marcus, Tony, Frank and Johnny

The San Marcos River below Martindale Dam pours into a deep pool of froth and heavy current.  Downstream, the river pinches into a narrow channel and shoots under a one lane bridge and immediately

Guadalupe Smallmouth Hybrid.mov

Llano River Experience

I recently had a great 2/1 overnight trip with our newest member of the TGOT Fishing Club, Steve Compton from East Texas. This trip had been rescheduled due to tropical storm Hermine and what a nice trip it turned out to be. Steve was fishing a short, soft, bamboo rod

Hill Country Tour

It was Tuesday morning, May 25th, day one of fishing with Bob Steenrod. I had driven all morning to get to South Llano State Park to meet Bob. When I arrived, Bob stepped out of his beautiful Airstream trailer to greet me with surprising news.

“The park ranger came by and said it had rained 12 inches overnight

17 inch guadalupe bass.mov

Any Texas Hill Country river fish that is 17 inches would be considered a nice fish. A 17 inch Guadalupe bass however, is considered a great fish. This 17 inch Guad was caught on a recent two day Hill Country trip by Ken Prehoditch. Ken is one of our more frequent clients and over the years he has hooked into some large fish. This Guadalupe bass is his biggest to date. Ken has already booked two days for June.

Trophy Guadalupe Bass.

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Johnny (left) and Marcus (right) with The Guides Of Texas.

This morning I shrugged into my Patagonia Capelline under shirt.  I then put on a long sleevedPatagonia flats shirt, Patagonia fleece vest, and then a Patagonia Rain Shadow Jacket.  For some weird reason I was wearing