Another season on the Guadalupe is in the books and I would like to thank everyone who enjoys trout fishing on the Guadalupe River for making it another successful year.
Special thanks goes to the members of the Fisheries Committee for helping spearheaded the stockings, along with all the members that came out to help get the fish into the river. It was an unusual year, with fish coming from Missouri as well as Nebraska with varied success. I am looking forward to next season, when we will have our normal hatchery back to full capacity and less issues with fish arriving stressed.
I would also like to thank the vast majority of lease members for adhering to the rules of the leases. There were few issues with landowners this season and that is a direct result of members paying heed to the rules and being respectful on one another while enjoying and, some would say, enduring, another low flow year.
Coming into the spring and summer, we are looking at the distinct likelihood of a continuation of low water conditions and a potentially stressful summer for trout on the Guadalupe. I would strongly encourage each angler to pay close attention to water temperatures to determine if it is safe to fish. Water temperatures are starting to creep up on the river downstream of Lazy L&L and having a good thermometer should be essential equipment for anyone fishing for trout on any stream in the summer. Sixty eight degrees is the suggested limit to safe fishing temperatures; while playing fish quickly and keeping them in the water at all times is essential for a successful release. I would strongly encourage all anglers and guides to keep their fishing to the mornings when temperatures are cooler and the rubber hatch is at a minimum.
For those that utilize the online temperature monitors, please be patient for another month. GRTU ordered new monitor units this winter and have been waiting patiently for them to arrive. The last update we received was that the new units will arrive late in April and it is our plan, barring any unexpected issues, to have the monitors back up and running by mid May.
For those who live near to the Guadalupe, please consider volunteer to become a fish feeder this summer. The GRTU supplemental feeding program will get going in early May and we still need a few additional hands to make it a success. This will be the third year of the summer feeding program and it has proven to help sustain the trout through the summer months and provide for more holdover trout going into the fall. Any chance we can provide the fish to reduce stress and increase easy access to nutrition only helps sustain the investment made in previous stockings. Email me at coned@grtu.flywheelsites.com if you are available to help with the feeding program.
Looking forward to the upcoming season, I am working to be able to announce additional lease sites in the coming months, as well as a revamped LAP signup process that will improve the signup experience and help to better educate members on the finer points of the lease program.
I have two summer reading suggestions for everyone:
An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World. by Anders Halverson, 2010, Yale University Press
Viva Texas Rivers! Adventures, Misadventures, and Glimpses of Nirvana Along Our Storied Waterways edited by Edited by Steven L. Davis and Sam L. Pfiester, 2021, Texas A&M University Pres
Thanks again to everyone that came out to fish and especially to those who reached out to offer their time and support to the Fisheries Committee to make this year happen. The LAP could not happen without the work of many dedicated members GRTU and I am grateful to each and every one of you that helps make LAP work smoothly each year.
Dan Cone
GRTU VP of Fisheries
