I am trying to find a place within reasonable driving distance of Corpus to test out a couple of self-built Skagit type Spey lines. The "best" test conditions would be a stream having some actual flow. Considering the current drought, is there any flow left in the Guad below the dam? The testing will be on lines customized for use on an actual 3 weight 9 1/2'singlehanded rod that has had a small bottom handle put onto it for doublehanded use. So, the stream needn't be real wide - 40' to 70' or so - as such a size of rod isn't really intended for casting more than 70'. Would appreciate any input. Thanks!

not really enough flow imo. You'd be better off on the comal or san marcos on a cold day so the tubing traffic is gone

The Guad is flowing at 65cfs...not all that fast. Above Canyon Lake is a desert. Nada. I'd try another river.

+1 San Marcos. Double handing a 3wt? Interesting.

Low flows. Mixture of Bass & Trout. Get away from the places where everyone else fishes & it is nice. From Corpus, the Colorado or possibly the San Marcos would be other options. They are both float rivers. The Llano in places would give you wade access.

Actually, you could walk into the Colorado in East Austin, just past the last dam (Longhorn Dam), and find the conditions you are looking for - sans fish.

"Double handing a 3wt? Interesting."

I second that motion. Tell me more.

If you timed it right you could hit up the packery channel on a strong tide and perhaps get your riverine-like conditions.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! That Longhorn Dam does look interesting (I checked it out on Google maps), unfortunately it is a bit far for day tripping. I am curious about the "sans fish" comment though.

The 3 weight doublehanding is something I've been playing around with for the last couple of years. It is ideal for streamer-type fishing when wading smaller streams and casting from 25' to 60' for smaller fish such as trout or bass in the 8" to 16" range. I used it for a couple of sessions last Spring on the Llano and upper Guad and had a blast with the bass and perch.

As regards Packery Channel... I do fish out there with my 5 and 6 weight Switchrods. But, using the 3 weight out there is a bit too risky I think considering what one might hook up with! Also, the last time I fished out there (a few weeks ago), I ended up with a bunch of EXTREMELY itchy spots all over my legs (wet wading) that looked like some kind of "bug bites" though I don't recall feeling anything biting me at the time?!

Oh yeah, "more" on the 3 weight. It is a Cabelas 9 1/2' 3 weight CZN, Czech Nymphing rod. I have built a couple of lines for it to do singlehanded Skagit casting and twohanded Skagit casting. The singlehanded line is used when fishing consists mostly of casts less than 40' while using smaller flies, size 4 or under. The twohanded line is used when casts are mostly over 40' and flies are bigger than size 2. The reasons for the different lines are that singlehanded casting line provides better accuracy at ranges of less than 40', while the twohanded casting line provides more power for longer distances and/or bigger flies. With the singlehanded line I have fished flies down to size 16 and with the twohanded line, flies up to 3" long weighted streamers... quite the wide range of capability for a 3 weight rod. I also used this rod last Spring with the singlehanded line to fish for bass with small Clouser flies while wading around in Choke Canyon. The Skagit type Spey casting came in real handy around some of the flooded timber where there wasn't much room for backcasts.

I forget what the locals call them but it always starts up around this time of year, they say that it's some sort of duck louse or something. I get away from it using waders or a kayak.

As for being intimidated by what you might hook into out there, isn't that half the fun of fishing?! Play the fish well and see what happens, says I.

Well, the "sans fish" means I didn't do a darn bit of good. One lmb about 10 inches, but nothing else. It's a pretty dirty place as well.