River fishing from kayak a great way to beat the heat
08/04/2002
MASON, Texas – The tiny popping bug landed with a faint "splat"
about an inch from a limestone ledge that disappeared in the clear, green water
of the Llano River. In water so still and quiet, nothing much happens without a
predator knowing about it.
The popper wasn't in the water for two seconds when it disappeared in a plume of spray, and I was fast to the state fish of Texas, a Guadalupe bass. The dappled fish jumped twice, then tried to tow my kayak into the submerged roots of a riverside live oak tree.
It almost succeeded. The boat's bow swung with the bass, but I managed to apply enough pressure with a 5-weight fly rod to snub the fish short of its goal. After the dramatic struggle, I was shocked to see that the bass only measured about 10 inches.
"A 'Lupe' puts up a pretty good fight," said Dub Dietrich, who had witnessed the battle from his own kayak just upstream. "About 70 percent of the bass we catch on the Llano River are Guadalupe bass."
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Dietrich has the right idea about beating the August heat. An independent geologist, he runs Hill Country River Adventures as a method of combining business and pleasure. Dietrich uses kayaks to float select sections of the prettiest streams in Texas. He guides fishermen but also naturalists, bird watchers and adventurers who enjoy paddling in beautiful places and running the mild rapids of Central Texas.
Even the river names – Llano, Blanco, Guadalupe, Nueces, San Marcos and Colorado – conjure images of clean, cool water gurgling across limestone riverbeds. Dietrich is a West Texas native who lives near Austin. He learned stream fishing early in his life and eventually graduated from canoes to kayaks as the ideal mode of transportation.
"The kayak is a great way to fish," Dietrich said. "Each person has his own boat, and they can go anywhere he chooses and fish at his own pace. When you fish from a canoe, the person in the back does all the work and the person in the front does all the fishing."
Aside from being an efficient fishing craft, the kayak makes the river experience very personal. Kayaks are low to the water, and it only takes one sweep of the double-bladed paddle to propel the streamlined craft where you want it to go.
Dietrich uses Wilderness System kayaks, craft slightly longer than 13 feet. The boats weigh 63 pounds and have covered hatches for packing lunch, extra clothing or anything that needs to be kept dry.
The kayaks are self-bailing, meaning the water that inevitably drips into the boat from the kayak paddle runs out through a drain plug that Dietrich leaves open. Because it is a kayak, you stay damp most of the time.
As you float silently along, there's a subtle exchange of river water through the open drain plug that struck me as a form of riverman's osmosis, connecting the paddler to the cool, green lifeblood of the Hill Country stream.
We made a leisurely five-mile float that required about eight hours. Dietrich has spent a lot of time researching his favorite rivers, first through topographic maps and detailed backroad maps to find potential access points. He then drives to the spots to check them out and, finally, floats the stretch of stream to see what it offers.
The stretch of the Llano River we floated near Mason is one of his favorites, partly because of the dramatic scenery and solitude. We saw no other boats on the river and very few houses on this stretch. Limestone bluffs loom high, and the prevalent sound, other than the flowing water, was the charming song of the canyon wren.
Green kingfishers entertained us with their fishing antics and bobwhite quail called from the nearby hillsides.
Stream fishing is unlikely to yield big fish, though Dietrich's personal-best river largemouth bass weighed five pounds, and he has seen bass as heavy as seven pounds caught from the river. You might catch a Guadalupe bass as heavy as 21/2 pounds, but most will be eight to 12 inches. In between the accommodating Guadalupe bass, you'll catch a variety of sunfish and an occasional channel catfish.
This is light-tackle fishing. Ultralight spinning gear with six-pound line is perfect. Fly rods of 5-weight or lighter work very well. Dietrich carries two spinning rods, one rigged with a very small topwater plug, the other with a soft plastic grub on a light lead-head jig.
"Hill Country river fish bite well most days," Dietrich said. "The average catch is about 50 or 60 fish per angler. Weather doesn't seem to affect them much. They bite whether it's sunny or cloudy."
Guadalupe bass particularly seem to like the highly oxygenated water below a riffle. After a while, you get a feel for the river and can predict, with high accuracy, which spots will hold fish. If it gets too hot, you can wade in the cool water or go for a swim.
