Is Texas a fly-fishing destination?
Published 5:15 am Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Damming the Guadalupe River in the Hill Country west of New Braunfels began in the 1960s. A new lake would be called Canyon Lake.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department inland fisheries biologists realized the tailrace water — coming from the coldest part of the new lake — was too chilly for largemouth bass. They consequently sought a cold-water species to stock in the swift, chilled water.
TPWD had begun stocking small rainbow trout in fishing tanks at boat shows and other events. It was rumored that excess trout had been released into Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) by TPWD.
One afternoon, a friend and I fished upper Lake Austin. He caught a fish he didn’t recognize. It was a rainbow trout. Possibly, the creative fisheries director also stocked a few surviving trout into Lake Austin. It had the coldest water in Central Texas since its water came from deeper Lake Travis. Trout could have survived there for a while.
The CEO of Lone Star Beer — a TPW Commissioner — requested permission to stock excess trout from their boat show exhibit into the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam. TPWD permitted it.
It was highly successful. I even caught a five-fish limit; the biggest measured 14-inches! Interest in trout fishing swelled. TPWD increased winter stockings of small, catchable trout. A Guadalupe River Chapter of the nationwide Trout Unlimited was soon chartered, and it began stocking larger, trophy rainbows.
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A fly shop – Gruene Outfitters – opened in Gruene, a quaint town just west of New Braunfels. Shortly after that, I met an energetic young man – Chris Johnson — who had just opened a small fly shop named “Living Waters” in Round Rock. We became friends. I followed him through two moves to larger locations.
His current location is a dazzling emporium of flyfishing gear, tackle, free advice, and fly-fishing lessons — a short hop off I-35 and RR 620.
Chris also guides fly-fishers, instructs, and speaks to outdoor clubs. So far, three John Jeffersons have taken his lessons.
Chriss’ first book – entitled “Favorite Flies for Texas,” is hot off the presses and available at his shop. I hit the shop last week for a copy, but Chris was in Denver speaking at the Denver Fly Fisher show. That’s impressive.
As a writer myself, I class his writing as crisp, passionate, and honest. As photographers, Chris and his wife, Emily, have produced enticing, illustrative pictures. Their in-stream fishing scenes also reignite my wanderlust. The book’s fifty-color fly pattern pictures ensure hope for more strikes!
And the names of many of the numerous flies pictured amuse me – ones like “Rio Bandito,” “Lunch Money,” and “Llanolope.”
The book and its introductory romp through our states’ many lake, coastal, creek, and river fly-fishing options firmly establish Texas as a fly-fishing destination. Trout Unlimited recently declared the Guadalupe River one of the top 100 trout streams in America.
Colorado and other western states may hold the lead in fly-fishing publicity, but Texas is a lot closer to home for most of us.