Purpose of the trip today was to start teaching my son, Parker how to fish with a fly rod and flies instead of frozen hot dogs which was his primary bait up to now. Although he’s only 6 (almost 7) he is extremely interested in fly fishing and watching me tie flies so with my crazy passion for this rod waving sport, he’s bound to be an Anglerwannabe Jr soon.
After church, we packed up the Pacifica (or ugly boat as my 18 yr old calls it) and drove the 15 minutes over to Reimer Ranch to practice on the Pedernales River. The weather was sunny, a bit windy and in the high 70’s. Absolutely beautiful Sunday for spending time outdoors.
Parker did great learning to rollcast. It won’t take him long. We used a 5′ 3wt rod that I picked up in VA years back. It’s not the easiest rod to cast but the length was ideal for his height. Here are some pictures of the lessons (taken by my lovely wife, Brittany).
He lasted about 15 to 20 minutes. After that, he was a bit more interested in finding things in and around the water.
Brittany gave it a shot a few times, but with the mismatch of the conehead wooly bugger I tied on after Parker’s lessons, and the gusty wind, she had a difficult time casting it more than about 15 feet. Although I tried to help, she’s a bit stubborn and claimed she already knew how. Best to let her think that and go get my Headwaters Bamboo rod and my newly arrived classic reel and have fun myself.
Did I mention it was sunny?
Brittany took some pictures of me casting the rod, but the loop / casting form is soooo bad that I’m embarrassed to post them. Here is the result of one of the casts…….
A complete and total, um, windknot.
We had a good time and I’m so thrilled that Parker and I can share this sport and obsession. BTW, if any of you have little ones who are interested in fishing or better yet, fly fishing, check out the new site for kids by Trout Unlimited. I just signed him up for TU Stream Explorers membership. I think he’s going to love it.
I have lot’s to blog about coming up in the near future as I’m almost finished with At the River’s Edge book and I also picked up “The Drift” last week and have watched it 3 times already. Reviews are coming soon. I also went in to Sportsman’s Finest on Saturday and picked up “The Fly” which is a book about fly fishing history. I’m a sucker for fly fishing history.
Have a great time on the water this week.
Looks cool, can't wait to head out there. Like the blog, added you to my blog roll. I'll be back soon.
Looks cool, can’t wait to head out there. Like the blog, added you to my blog roll. I’ll be back soon.
I had the same experience with my boys! Nice photos.http://www.mikebazzo.com
I had the same experience with my boys! Nice photos.
http://www.mikebazzo.com
Disqus, i just moved to Austin and was quite disappointed w/ the fly fishing opportunities here. Then I read your blog and like you, i became addicted to fly fishing about 5 years ago when i was in law school. I tried fishing Reimer's Ranch this morning but found that the water was very brown and discolored. Also, the TPW gal at the gate said the water was running fast due to the rains. I didn't get to do much fishing but found the area beautiful. Please tell me the water clears up eventually :)On the drive home to i spotted the Barton creek overpass i think you refer to in your blog. Is that the spot I should try????? Your pictures are very inspiring and I hope you might be able to give some direction as to any decent places to fly fish. Thanks for some good reading.Stephen
Hi Stephen,
Glad to have another fly fishing addict in town. You definitely have to change your expectations for fly fishing in central texas. Although some of the areas can be very pretty, the heat makes it a little less enjoyable. I am a member of the Guadalupe Trout Unlimited and joined the lease program. Its the easiest way to fish for trout in the area. It’s not quite the same as fishing in VA, PA, GA, or UT. There are usually a fair amount of people around in a limited area. But, it’s close to Austin so it’s not bad.
Reimer’s is really a nice location. I’m glad I found it. The water does clear up a bit. If you look through some of my pics, you’ll see some fairly clear water.
I’m guessing you probably were crossing Barton Creek off of 71. I haven’t fished there before. The only place I’ve fished Barton Creek is off of Loop 360/Capital of Texas hwy in the Lost Creek subdivision. If you get a chance, check out the diefische.wordpress.com blog. He has some maps for Barton Creek if you want to check it out further.
Where did you move from?
Dean
i just moved to Austin and was quite disappointed w/ the fly fishing opportunities here. Then I read your blog and like you, i became addicted to fly fishing about 5 years ago when i was in law school. I tried fishing Reimer’s Ranch this morning but found that the water was very brown and discolored. Also, the TPW gal at the gate said the water was running fast due to the rains. I didn’t get to do much fishing but found the area beautiful. Please tell me the water clears up eventually :)On the drive home to i spotted the Barton creek overpass i think you refer to in your blog. Is that the spot I should try????? Your pictures are very inspiring and I hope you might be able to give some direction as to any decent places to fly fish. Thanks for some good reading.Stephenrod