TR: Llano River

[I hope the formatting is OK. I'm posting through Google groups and
it sometimes does some screwy things that don't show up until the
message gets posted.]

ROFFians,

I needed to get some fishing in over Spring Break, as well as
testing my camping setup for my upcoming trip to the Smokies, but I
wanted to avoid the usual drunken hordes. A friend here at work
recommended a place called Llano River Camping (http://
www.llanorivercamping.com/) . Besides being out of the way, it has
the added advantage of being on a stretch of river that maintains
decent flows even during times of drought.

Short version: Camped for a couple of days, the site was
beautiful, got rained and hailed on, the river was muddy, fishing was
tough, but I had a great time.

Long version: On Tuesday I packed up all my gear, and marveled at
how quickly I could fill the back of my mini-SUV. This brought to
mind a universal law of camping. To wit: You need just as much gear
(food excepted) for a three-day camping trip as you do for a two-week
trip.

I arrived at Junction (10 miles from the site) to heavy rain and
ominous clouds. However, by the time I reached the turnoff for the
ranch where the grounds are located, the sun had come out. The sites
themselves were nice; about a dozen well-shaded sites with picnic
tables, fire-rings and even electric plugins. I got one overlooking
the river, high on a ridge facing some red rock cliffs with a nice-
looking pool below, white gravel bars on either side of a bend in the
river and a nice set of riffles upstream. The water itself looked
nice, and was surprisingly clear given the heavy rains in the area
that day and the day before (http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/
llano.jpg).

I immediately started setting up camp, as the weather still looked
threatening. My diligence paid off, as around 5:00 a large storm
front blew through. The rest of the night followed a pattern of heavy
rains, followed by lulls, followed by more rain and even some hail
(http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanohail.jpg). During one of the
lulls, I heard some wild goats calling from on the cliff across the
way (you can barely make them out he http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanogoats.jpg).

Through it all, my tent/tarp setup held, and I was even able to
cook a little dinner under the shelter of the "vestibule" I had
created (this pic was taken the next day: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanocampsite.jpg).

The next morning I geared up and took off exploring. The water was
slightly offcolor and high, but looked surprisingly good. The river
just looked "fishy" at every turn, and the cliffs were gorgeous:

http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanoredcliffs01.jpg
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanoredcliffs02.jpg
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanoredcliffs03.jpg
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanoredcliffs04.jpg
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanoredcliffs05.jpg
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanoboulder.jpg
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanohill.jpg

Unfortunately, the fish weren't very cooperative. Early on I got
some action from small sunfish that were rising to a mayfly hatch, and
I had one solid bite later in the day after I switched to a woolly
bugger/leech mutant, but I missed that fish. The rest of the day was
spent flailing the water with various minnow imitations, including one
"bendback that was a close approximation of the minnows I saw in the
river. Unfortunately, only tiny bass seemed interested in that one.

I talked to some other guys at the campgrounds, and they said they
had really good luck fishing for Guadalupe bass early the day before,
but the weather seemed to have put the fish off their feed, as no one
was getting much action that day. Still, I had a great time
exploring, and wound up hiking a couple of miles along the river until
I hit the end of the property, where the river widens out quite a bit
(http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanowide.jpg). This area would
probably require some sort of watercraft to fish it, but it looked
like largemouth and catfish territory.

Back to my campsite for an uneventful evening with clear skies and
tons of stars that looked close enough to reach out and grab ahold
of. The next morning it was time to break down camp and head back
home. (Another universal law of camping: Though it seems impossible,
it takes just as long to break down camp as to set it up.)

The end results of the trip: A tent and tarp setup that kept me
bone-dry through pretty hellacious weather, some nice holes to return
to when the water/weather are more cooperative, and the discovery of a
small yet adequate campground that's just far enough out of the way so
that the crazies can't overrun it easily. If you're in the area of
Junction I'd recommend it highly. The managers/part-owners were great
folks and seem genuinely concerned with keeping it a friendly/laid-
back place. (Hell, the guy sat around and drank beer and shot-the-
**** with me for a couple of hours during the storms, and even offered
to put me up in their cabin if I didn't want to stay out during the
stormy weather.)


Chuck Vance (Smokies, here I come)

Conan The Librarian wrote:

....... and they said they
had really good luck fishing for Guadalupe bass early the day before,

But of course. Real nice report, thanks.

I've got a sister in Austin, and I keep telling myself that one
of these years I'm going to take advantage of a visit there to
hunt the famed Guadalupe bass. Good to have a reminder from time
to time.

- JR

JR wrote:

Conan The Librarian wrote:

....... and they said they
had really good luck fishing for Guadalupe bass early the day before,

But of course. Real nice report, thanks.

Glad you enjoyed it. And yes ... it was a classic case of "you
should have been here yesterday".

I've got a sister in Austin, and I keep telling myself that one
of these years I'm going to take advantage of a visit there to
hunt the famed Guadalupe bass. Good to have a reminder from time
to time.

I think most ROFFians would enjoy fishing for them. The type of
water they prefer is very similar to trout water. And they only seem to
live in pretty areas.


Chuck Vance (plus they take surface flies more than some of their
larger Micropterus cousins)

Conan The Librarian wrote:

Through it all, my tent/tarp setup held, and I was even able to
cook a little dinner under the shelter of the "vestibule" I had
created (this pic was taken the next day: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanocampsite.jpg).


damn... if you're bringing this rig, let me know when you'll be set up
on hazel creek.

mark and i are planning a fishing/camping trip on a little creek in the
blue ridge. i think you'd really enjoy it. your set-up looks ideal for
it. a pleasant stroll down the greentown trail... g

jeff (but, the walk back might present a few interesting...uh...moments)

jeff wrote:

http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/llanocampsite.jpg

damn... if you're bringing this rig, let me know when you'll be set up
on hazel creek.

mark and i are planning a fishing/camping trip on a little creek in the
blue ridge. i think you'd really enjoy it. your set-up looks ideal for
it. a pleasant stroll down the greentown trail... g

jeff (but, the walk back might present a few interesting...uh...moments)

I'm under no illusions that I won't be further than 30 feet from my
car with that rig. I'm at the age when comfort at the end of the day is
important, and that outfit is damned comfortable. :-)

But from what I've heard, Mark could probably haul it all on his
back up to the Big Falls at Snowbird. ;-) For me, I'm just planning to
unpack it at the Elkmont campground.


Chuck Vance (travelin' light? ... no way ... the beer alone would
require a pack mule)

Conan The Librarian typed:
I needed to get some fishing in over Spring Break, as well as
testing my camping setup for my upcoming trip to the Smokies, but I
wanted to avoid the usual drunken hordes.

Bastid. ;-)
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/pics/almos...low_bastid.jpg
This was not the not the fluffy-pretty-nice stuff, but the
snow-then-freezing-rain-50lbs-per-shovel stuff. Oh, well - it's what we do
up *here* on our spring breaks, eh?
--
TL,
Tim
-------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

Tim J. wrote:

Conan The Librarian typed:

I needed to get some fishing in over Spring Break, as well as
testing my camping setup for my upcoming trip to the Smokies, but I
wanted to avoid the usual drunken hordes.

Bastid. ;-)
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/pics/almos...low_bastid.jpg
This was not the not the fluffy-pretty-nice stuff, but the
snow-then-freezing-rain-50lbs-per-shovel stuff. Oh, well - it's what we do
up *here* on our spring breaks, eh?

That's what you get for living up there in the Almost Great White
North, eh? ;-)


Chuck Vance (who's about ready to start wearing shorts to work,
as it's getting downright warm and muggy down here)

Tim J. wrote:

http://css.sbcma.com/timj/pics/almos...low_bastid.jpg
This was not the not the fluffy-pretty-nice stuff, but the
snow-then-freezing-rain-50lbs-per-shovel stuff. Oh, well - it's what we do
up *here* on our spring breaks, eh?

Looks like you need to tell the family and friends to forget
about the FFing gear and get you one of these for X-mas:

http://i.treehugger.com/files/honda-...wblower-01.jpg

(The red thing, not the other.......)

AND it's got a *hybrid* powertrain. You'll be the envy of all
yer liberal neighbors.



- JR

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
oups.com...
The end results of the trip: A tent and tarp setup that kept me
bone-dry through pretty hellacious weather, some nice holes to return
to when the water/weather are more cooperative, and the discovery of a
small yet adequate campground that's just far enough out of the way so
that the crazies can't overrun it easily. If you're in the area of
Junction I'd recommend it highly. The managers/part-owners were great
folks and seem genuinely concerned with keeping it a friendly/laid-
back place. (Hell, the guy sat around and drank beer and shot-the-
**** with me for a couple of hours during the storms, and even offered
to put me up in their cabin if I didn't want to stay out during the
stormy weather.)


Chuck Vance (Smokies, here I come)

Chuck:
Kind of quit camping due to my last rainy experience in Arkansas on the
Buffalo River. Wife said "No More." But, when I get together on the
Deschutes every year with the guys, I don't mind camping. Now its the YO
Ranch hotel in Kerrville. Even the dog is welcome there and it has
reasonable rates not to mention its proximity to allot of good rivers

Haven't fished the Llano. Have fished several of the Hill Country rivers:
The Perdinales near Fredericksburg and the Guadalupe above Kerrville near
Mountain Home. Both were productive. My next fishing trip will be on the
Guadalupe below Canyon Dam for trout.

Let us know of your successes in the Hill Country. Maybe we can cast a line
together sometime.

Guy
Sitting here waiting for the phone to ring with some work thinking about a
cold Shiner Bock or three

Guy wrote:

Kind of quit camping due to my last rainy experience in Arkansas on the
Buffalo River. Wife said "No More." But, when I get together on the
Deschutes every year with the guys, I don't mind camping. Now its the YO
Ranch hotel in Kerrville. Even the dog is welcome there and it has
reasonable rates not to mention its proximity to allot of good rivers

Haven't fished the Llano. Have fished several of the Hill Country rivers:
The Perdinales near Fredericksburg and the Guadalupe above Kerrville near
Mountain Home. Both were productive. My next fishing trip will be on the
Guadalupe below Canyon Dam for trout.

Let us know of your successes in the Hill Country. Maybe we can cast a line
together sometime.

I'd be happy to join you for some fishing on the Pedernales. It's
basically my "home river", as I've spent a lot of time on it in the
state park (Pedernales Falls). It can be pretty good fishing for
Guadalupe bass and channel catfish (yes, they'll take a woolly bugger).
However, with the drought(s), the character of the river has changed,
and frankly, it was downright depressing the last time I was there.
Maybe the recent rains will help.

Good luck on the Guadalupe. It's got some nice-sized trout, but be
prepared to fish tiny stuff. It's probably not a bad idea to hire a
guide, or at least to go with one of the TU leaseholders your first time
out.


Chuck Vance