First Trout Trip

[Fred H]

Hi guys , this is a very imformative forum . I will be making my first ever trout fishing trip in April on the Guadalupe river. Will be fishing the tailwaters near New Brunsfel, Texas. I will be fishing for rainbows that are released each year as well as some hold over fish from the years before.It's the hold over fish that I want to target. Can anyone help me with what patterns to tie to fool these smarter or luckier fish . Parts of the tail waters are catch and release but bait fishermen take a good portion of the trout in the areas they fish that allow a creel limit. So these hold overs or either smart or lucky or both.
Fred

[robdog]

Wooly Buggers, Wiggley Warts, anything that has flash in it. Also check w/ a local fly shop. I am sure they could provide more info. I see that you are from Louisiana. You might want to see if you have Red fish opportunities near you. That could be just as rewarding. :unibrow:

[Darian]

I've never fished the Guadalupe River but there are some basic ideas you can use to get into some fish. You don't say how long you'll be down there but if longer than one day, I'd recommend using a guide for one day to shorten the learning curve. :)

Otherwise, if the water is high (likely in spring), the fishing will probably require wet fly patterns. Since you and the bait guys have the same problem, (1) identify what they're taking and (2) getting your bait/fly down to the fish.

Tail waters can carry a variety of naturals, including baitfish, crayfish, insect and other bottom dwellers (e.g. worms). I'm going to assume that you can cast a fly rod that will handle larger patterns and with that in mind, I'd carry some of the following general patterns in several sizes:

Any crawdad pattern
Any minnow pattern (Threadfin Shad)
San Juan Worm
Wooly Buggers (black, brown, olive)
Mosquito pattern
Snail pattern
Scud pattern

OK, I've been purposely general in description of patterns types. since you have some time, I'd try to contact a local fly club or one near your destination to find out specifics. Another source of info is the internet. Use Google to find websites that have flies for sale or pattern descriptions for your area....

Hope you have a good trip. :fish: :fish:

[Fred H]

Thanks guys , I contacted an entomologist from the area and he has yet to get back to me. Most of the people I have talked to that have fished the area tell me what to throw for the young trout but have never caught a hold over fish.Darian your suggestions cover just about everything the guides have told me . I'll just have to see if I can come up with some good patterns that are a little different than what they are use to seeing.

Robdog , thanks for your imput as well. As for the redfish , I fish them hard. Trout fishing will be something new for me as we have no coldwater fish within a few hundred miles of here.
Thanks , Fred