A September South Llano Saturday

South Llano River, Fly Fishing the South Llano, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures

Life is hectic and all-too-often just gets in the way.  Weather changes plans, so the best laid plans don't always work out.  But, if you stick with it and maintain flexibility, sometimes things turn out.

I had been planning a trip to the South Llano for a while.  I was working with Dac Collins of Spring-Fed Adventures to plan this trip, and after some conversation and planning we found a great time to make the trip.  Then...it rained, and when it rained, it poured, and thunder-stormed, and ruined our trip.  

Then...you know, life.  I have three your boys, two that play little league baseball, and summer came, and my work schedule got busier as well.  On top of that, Dac is a fly-fishing guide that was working in Alaska for the summer, so our trip got delayed.  But, we finally had a chance to get on the water together this past Saturday, and I couldn't have asked for better weather.

Dac took me to the South Llano river.  I pulled up just after 7:00 am, with the weather cool and crisp (my wimpy butt had to put on a heavy flannel jacket to stay warm.)  We got organized, were ready, launched, and were quickly on the water. 

The South Llano has been one of my favorite fisheries for some time, but within the last few years it has blown up in popularity.  Add in a devastating flood a few years ago and the quality of fish has declined recently.  I hadn't fished this particular stretch since the flood, so I was interested in seeing what the fishing would be like.

Well...to give you a quick overview before I break everything down, the South Llano still has plenty of fish, but the quality of Guadalupe Bass is still down since the flood.  Our average Guad was about 8 inches long as opposed the 10-12 inches that used to be my average out there.  But the numbers of fish was really high, giving hope to the future of the fishery.

I had a White/Gold (really an olive Gold) Improved SMP already tied on, so that's what I started fishing.  Almost immediately I caught a couple small Guadalupe Bass (in the 6 inch range.)  I fished it a little longer, but wanted to catch some larger fish, so I switched to larger (probably 4-5 inch long marabou gamechanger in the same color pattern, that I tied up a while back.  Almost immediately I caught a few fish, some of them a little bit better.  

Pat Kellner, Guadalupe Bass, Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Texas Fly Fishing, South Llano River, Fly Fishing the South Llano River, Improved SMP
Guadalupe Bass on Improved SMP

Pat Kellner, Guadalupe Bass, Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Texas Fly Fishing, South Llano River, Fly Fishing the South Llano River, Improved SMP
Guadalupe Bass on Improved SMP

Pat Kellner, Guadalupe Bass, Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Texas Fly Fishing, South Llano River, Fly Fishing the South Llano River, Improved SMP
Guadalupe Bass on Game Changer

Pat Kellner, Guadalupe Bass, Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Texas Fly Fishing, South Llano River, Fly Fishing the South Llano River, Improved SMP
Guadalupe Bass on Game Changer

As the sun got higher, the fish were slowing down, so we both switched to crawfish pattern flies.  My favorite, and the one I tied on is the Crawfish Bite in Two-tone Rootbeer. When the fish are on a crawfish pattern, they are on a crawfish pattern!  I couldn't keep count of how many Guads I caught, and on top of that I caught a decent largemouth, numerous sunfish, and some great Rio Grande Cichlids!  The crawfish bite was producing!  Here are a few of the fish I landed.

Redbreast Sunfish, Sunfish on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Redbreast Sunfish on Crawfish Bite Fly

Longear Sunfish, Sunfish on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Longear Sunfish on Crawfish Bite Fly

Largemouth Bass, Bass on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Bass, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Largemouth Bass on Crawfish Bite Fly

Redbreast Sunfish, Sunfish on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Probable Redbreast/Longear Hybrid on Crawfish Bite

Guadalupe Bass, Guads on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Guadalupe Bass on the Crawfish Bite

Guadalupe Bass, Guads on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Guadalupe Bass on Crawfish Bite

Rio Grande Cichlid, Rio on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Rio Grande Cichlid on the Crawfish Bite

Bluegill, Sunfish on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures

Guadalupe Bass, Guads on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Guadalupe Bass on the Crawfish Bite

Rio Grande Cichlid, Rios on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Rio Grande Cichlid on the Crawfish Bite

Redbreast Sunfish, Sunfish on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Redbreast Sunfish on the Crawfish Bite

Guadalupe Bass, Guads on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Guadalupe Bass on the Crawfish Bite

Guadalupe Bass, Guads on the Fly, Fly Fishing for Sunfish, Fly Fishing the South Llano, South Llano River, Texas Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Texas, Pat Kellner, Dac Collins, Spring-Fed Adventures
Guadalupe Bass on the Crawfish Bite

Overall, it was a great day.  Dac does a great job guiding for kayak trips, so if you are ever looking for someone to take you down a river (fishing or not) on a single or multi-day trip, be sure to reach out to him.  You will enjoy it.  You can find him at Spring-Fed Adventures.  Be sure to mention that you are a part of Texas Freshwater Fly Fishing!

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