If you’re going farther than
the grocery store, be sure to take two things: your fly gear and a copy of the
new Flyfisher’s Guide to Texas. Just
about anywhere you go in Texas, this book will point the way to the nearest fly
fishing.This encyclopedic Guide
published by Wilderness Adventures Press of Belgrade, MT is authored by
Houstonian Phil H. Shook, a nationally recognized fly fishing writer and instructor.
What he doesn’t know about the 5,363 square miles of Texas waters, he finds out
from locals who do.
Many GRTU members probably
already have dog-eared copies of Fly
Fishing the Texas Coast: Backcountry Flats to Bluewater (Pruett Publishing
Co., Boulder, CO, 1999) on their shelves, which Shook produced with Chuck
Scates and David Sams, so they’ll know what to expect. The Guide is the freshwater companion piece, though from a different
publisher.
The book divides the state
into seven regions: Panhandle Plains, Prairies and Lakes, Pineywoods, Gulf
Coast, South Texas Plains, Hill Country, and Big Bend, which requires the
fewest pages. Each section lists rivers, lakes, state park waters, urban
options (including Houston’s concrete-lined bayous), and private waters and
includes some information on accommodations, restaurants, sporting goods
stores, and services in each region’s hub cities.
Entries for each body of
water typically give some idea of what to expect in terms of size, water
quality, depth, shoreline, fish species, access, boating regulations, seasonal
factors, and even alligator warnings. Waters with better-than-average fly
fishing potential get more coverage (26 pages on the Guadalupe) and those that
are not so promising get just the basics and what you really need to know,
e.g., “. . . sandy brown water can be a challenge . . . scenic but challenging
. . .” There are over 120 maps to show the way.
The only part of the Guide that’s a bit disappointing is the
section in the back on “Texas Fly Patterns.” It needs more photos of the flies
discussed or, at least, more detailed recipes to give an idea of what the
result is supposed to be. But that’s a
small complaint. The Guide delivers
in full measure what it promises. You may know of some secret waters that
aren’t in the book, but it does an excellent job of letting you know where you
can sneak off to when you have to make the inevitable visits to the in-laws.
If your favorite fly shop doesn’t have the Guide yet, try the publisher’s website: www.wildadv.com. The Texas Guide is one of a series of 12 state guides and one of 2,500
titles.
Richard Stanley