Texas March extravaganza

Several weeks ago my family took a trip down to Texas to enjoy the finer F's of that wonderful state: family friends and food. Oddly enough, Texas also holds some very nice fishing opportunities so I decided to add that to the list of F's and fish at every moment I could.
My Mom (and sister with her family) lives north of Austin near some great sections of a beautiful creek that I enjoy fishing when I'm in town. This creek holds largemouth bass, Guadalupe bass, bluegill, redear, redbreast, Rio Grande Perch and many other species. My goal was to catch as many of these as I could.

 I woke up early before family activities to get an hour or two in the water and would take a few hours in the afternoon while others were resting. I caught dozens of fish each time. None were huge but it was fascinating to me to learn how each species would take the fly and and fight. I began to learn what kind of fish I had on before I saw it. There were also dozens of carp swimming in the waters that I tried sight casting to. None of them were interested in what I offered but it was a lot of fun watching them feed and chase each other around. I was using my Superfine 1wt and I wasn't exactly thrilled about getting spooled by a carp so I was happy to catch my targeted bream and bass. The water was pretty clear so I imagine the carp saw me but several times one of those 2 foot monsters ran into my shins then would slap me with their tail as they sped off. Made me laugh.

Of all the sunfish out there I think the redbreast is on the top for me. For some reason I just love them - their aggressive feeding and fighting and their natural beauty really stand out. I'm on the hunt for these here in Missouri but haven't found them yet.

After a few days in the Austin area we went up to Dallas to visit my mother-in-law, brother-in-law (and his family) and several friends. I arranged an opportunity to fish with two guys I know from the Ultralight Forum. Les and Jerry are two guys that i have enhanced my gear acquisition abilities with and are both outstanding fisherman. We fished Les' home creek and had a great time.

 Fishing started out slow but picked up. Roll casting is a must and I got a lot of practice in. Les is a roll casting machine and I learned a lot just from watching him - he's a terrific teacher and host/guide too. I bet he could practically fish his waters blindfolded (that would probably level the playing field a bit too!).

 Even though I had only known these guys virtually, we hit it off quite well an were ribbing each other like brothers. We caught a ton of greenies, bluegill, longears and bass.

This was definitely a highlight of the trip.