I used a wolly bugger for the first time on tuesday because i heard they work excellent ...... well i came up with 2 perch the size of my finger... needless to say i was pretty disapointed.... i was throwing it about 45 degrees up stream and leting it float down and stripping it every so often..... then I decided to try somthing different and started throwing it in the middle of the river , deep pools, shallow pools with no luck.... Im new to fishing with sinking flies any tips on how i can look for "fishyspots" when sub surface fishing.... i usually use a crankbait here and kill them on the bank (rebel Crickhopper) ... i dont know what i was or wasnt doing?

hard to say Mike, without knowing any more than that. Any idea how the crank baits would have done that day? If you have a go-to crank bait then perhaps a fly that closely resembles it might br in order.

Each fly has its place, a woolly bugger would fish differently than a crank bait fer sure.

Another point to consider is presentation. Try stripping that woolly bugger like the hounds of hell were after it, make it dash and dart. Might draw the interest of more and bigger fishes.

Also you might give poppers a try off the bank, nothing to make the heart leap like a bass or bluegill blowing up on a popper.

well i tied on a popper and was getting strikes, ive used them before and had good luck , but zip with the bugger ... i really stuck with the bugger because i heard great things about them ,,,,,,, that is my second time using them and getting skunked .... do you fish them any particular way, or just throw them where you would throww a popper

hey there Mike

The thing abot a woolly bugger is that they can be fished just about any old way. They can be dead drifted, stripped fast like a streamer, greased up and fished like a dry fly (although there are better flies for that).

The main thing to keep in mind is, what are you trying to show the fish? And what do the fish want to be shown at that time? If yo think like that many doors will open for you on the water.

I've had some success working the Guadalupe river for trout and bream at the tail end of most rapids, usually with woolys too. I've done the best by casting between a 90-45 degree angle downstream and letting it drift across the center of the area I believe holds fish. Using this technique helps me feel the fly all the way through the swing. The hardest part is figuring out how much weight to use to get the fly down consistently. Trout are very funny about depth (IMHO) and that has been the hardest thing to get right consistently. Scott Graham (a guide on the river) showed a group of TU members a technique that he has all his clients use. Using a strike indicator positioned above the fly at varying lengths depending on swiftness of the water, you cast upstream 25 feet or so and "high-stick" as the fly comes back to you ready to set the hook if the strike indicator stops. With a little work I can see how this would be a killer technique on fish waiting to ambush something in the swift water. I have always done best fishing the tail end of any rapid where the water slows down and gets deep. Typically the fish are holding just out of sight and out of the strongest part of the current waiting for dinner to swim or float by. If a spot looks fishy it probably is! I've learned to work a good looking spot very hard and in as many different ways possible.

Not to change the subject too badly, but when I see someone post something about the Guadalupe, I never seem to hear of anyone catching too many Trout, it's always Bass or Bream. So whats the deal here? Is it better to just hold off until close to winter to go? I've always wanted to go ever since I saw the TP&W magazine article about it down there. Looks nice. Does the river really get too warm for Trout regardless of the springs water? Just trying to get an idea of whats best for now.

Some trout do carry over through the summer but it is pretty stressful on the fish to go now (summer) and catch trout. The local TU club is really good at keeping the river healthy. I've caught trout through June but once summer starts the tubers really get out of hand and the fish are spooky. If you go mid week early in the morning you can have the river to yourself and maybe catch some trout and bass and bream. The Guadalupe is a fly fishing mecca during the winter and TPWD and TU stock it regularly from December through March. I've caught a 21 inch carry-over trout at what was beans camp back three years ago and a number of 18+ fish. TU stocks some big fish and they are fun to catch!