Greetings Fellow Fly Fishers!
By now, temperatures are cool enough in the mornings to begin targeting holdover trout on the Guadalupe River (like during the New Braunfels’ Fly Fishers Annual Holdover Tournament this Saturday), and by early December, it will be freshly stocked for the winter. Every year we have a slate of new fly anglers anxious to try their luck, but often the tactics anglers have learned on Western trout fisheries don’t translate down south. If you’re a new fly angler, are new to fly fishing tailwaters, or are simply struggling to crack the code on Texas’ only year-round trout fishery, you’ll want to join us at the fly shop on Saturday, December 6th for our yearly Fly Fishing the Guadalupe River class. We’ll cover fly selection, reading the water, entomology, perfecting your presentation, adjusting for flow rates, river etiquette, and more! Owner Chris Johnson spent more than a decade guiding the Guadalupe tailrace, so you don’t want to miss your opportunity to ask questions and learn his secrets to success!
Our Annual Christmas Party is scheduled for Saturday, December 13th! We’ll have warm drinks and treats to enjoy as you come and go to shop. For every $10 you spend in store or by phone, we’re gifting you a FREE raffle ticket to place in any of seven prize drawings! Stay tuned for more details – including the full list of giveaways – as we get closer!
Want to learn to tie your own flies? Do you already tie? Whether you’re new or experienced, join us Wednesdays for Fly Tying Nights! The first and second Wednesdays of the month are in-person Instructional Fly Tying for Beginner and Intermediate+ level tyers. Beginners, please register in advance. Instruction and materials are always provided free of charge! Vises and tools are also available for Beginner students.
There will be no Roundtable Fly Tying or online fly tying for the month of December.
The fly shop will be CLOSED December 24-25th and December 31-January 1st.
For more details head to our Events & Education page!
Take care and God Bless!
Tight Lines,
Living Waters Fly Fishing
K.C. Williams
Of all of the spots you will fish in your life, only a few will really stand out. Not in a “We caught so many fish there!” kind of way, but on a deeper level. It can be sentimental, spiritual, or just an unexplainable pull to return there frequently. I have a few like that – the Llano River, Padre Island, that one creek in Colorado I won’t name. These places sit on a mantle high above anywhere else I have fished. Sure, the fishing is good, but it’s really about the feeling I get when I’m there. A feeling of wonder and exploration, like anything is possible. Going to these places feels less like taking a fishing trip and more like an expedition. I never know what is in store for me when I get there.
Some, like that unnamed creek in Colorado, represent a memory, a snapshot of a time in place. These spots are the most fragile. Every time you return there is a risk of finding a newly posted “No Fishing” sign or private subdivision. Either would be devastating. As if something had been taken from you. And something would be taken – your memory, your ability to daydream about its possibilities.
Yet, even in those cases there is some reason to rejoice. Fishing spots are fluid – literally and metaphorically. They come and go. It is this fluidity that pushes anglers to find new (sometimes better!) spots, to forge memories in new locations. Isn’t that what we’re always after anyway? The next great spot.
Comparing these spots and experiences is what drives conversations in fly shops and at tying nights. How many times have you heard someone graciously offer up a “Well, if you like that river, you really gotta try ____. It’s my favorite!”. For a group notorious for our “secret spots,” we sure do talk about them a lot. And we should. It’s what keeps the fire burning. Telling your new friend at the bar about an alpine lake with Golden Trout isn’t likely to hurt your fishing. After all, you only make it there every three years. And who knows? They might just return the favor.