I very rarely have to work the weekend, maybe once or twice a year. Since this past weekend was one of those times I decided to reward myself with a day of fishing.
Got a little bit later start than I planned, and set foot in the Guadalupe a little after 9 am. Tried out the new fly rod, and after about fifteen minutes I realized that I needed to get in a lot more practice lawn casting before trying to actually fish with it. So, back to the car to trade the fly combo in for the familiar spinning rig and the reliable black Roostertail.
First fish was your typical stocker, about nine inches long if I'm being generous. Let him go without making him pose for a photo. On the very next cast I caught this handsome fellow:
He measured at exactly twelve inches. Held him facing the current for several seconds until he was rested enough to swim away. Thinking I'd found a honey hole, I kept nailing the same spot with the Roostertail for the next little while, with no luck.
Moved upstream and tripped in a rut in the riverbed, going down to my knees and getting a little water in my chest waders. That'll wake you up! Fished for another hour without a single bite. This was a new to me area of the Guadalupe, so I decided to move back downstream from where I'd caught the first few fish and try my luck there.
In quick succession I landed two more twelve inch trout, and then this:
He measured in at 15 1/2 inches and showed his muscle against the light spinning tackle I landed him on. I saw it hit the lure, and not wanting to lose such a nice fish I let it tire itself out on the drag. Once I had him in the net I took about six or eight photos, but he thrashed around so much these were the best two I got. I spent almost a full minute holding him facing the current before letting him go.
Now, I've caught bigger trout, but not on the Guadalupe. Last year my biggest rainbow trout on the Guad was barely eleven inches long, and skinny. This one had some nice heft to him.