Hill Country Flyfishers, operated by veteran guide Kevin Hutchison, provides a great way to experience fly fishing on the rivers of South Central Texas.
Kevin makes it very easy to experience the angling excitement and scenic wonder of rivers like the Llano, the Colorado (around Bastrop & Smithville), and that spring fed wonder (which seems to make for happy fish) that is the San Marcos. You show up at the designated time and place and Kevin will be there ready to help you string up your rod and step on to the raft. Other than prudent allowances for the elements (sunscreen, a rain jacket during the cooler months or if the weather is at all dynamic, and footwear appropriate to being outdoors) and a license, you really don't have to bring anything. If, like me, you prefer to use your own fly rod, a 5 or 6 weight will do the trick. As the action is almost all streamers, I like to use a sinking tip, but a regular floating line will work fine. Kevin will set you up with a short leader, stout enough to stand up to all the abuse it is likely to take, as well as whatever flies you going to need. You will fish as hard as you want to, all day, except for when you stop for a lunch that is most assuredly delicious and, excepting perhaps the brownies (which is okay, Kevin!), healthier than your usual fishing guide lunch. And hopefully, you will find that it's not all about fish, that these rivers are natural wonders, delightful ecosystems that need to be seen at least once from just above the water level.
It doesn't matter whether you are a "been there, done that" angler who wants a hassle-free chance to connect with a lot of bass and sunfish, along with the occasional gar or, memorably for me anyway, eleven pound carp, or just want to experience fly fishing for the first time, Kevin is your best path to a successful and memorable experience. Besides knowing the waters and the flies, he has mastered the art of teaching people how to cast, whether at square one, or perhaps just a better way to flip that bulky streamer back up into that skinny little backwater where the local Alpha smallmouth just might be hanging out today. He can help a good fisher get better, and someone brand new to the game have enough success to want to try it again.
So how is the fishing? If you know bass (the primary object in these rivers), you know that it can change a lot from day to day. Two anecdotes should suffice, and explain why I like to fish with Kevin. On my very first trip with him, my son-in-law and I had a tough day, catching just a couple of tiny sunfish. It was a beautiful day, but a big wind kind of pushed us down the river, shortening our day. So Kevin pulled out the raft and took us to another spot, and before long we had each caught a camera-worthy smallmouth. (Kevin will take nice pictures of you with your fish before you set them free). Another time, as we were getting started, Kevin said that he had taken two guys who had never fly fished before down the same stretch and they had caught twenty. Ever the skeptic about what guides tell you happened yesterday or last week, I retorted, "I'm guessing that's guide-speak for almost a dozen". (Not that that would not constitute a fine day!). He insisted it was true, and while I don't normally like to count fish (it's either too humbling or too easy to lose track), hooking four bass before we had drifted 300 yards made me decide to try and count. I lost count somewhere around lunchtime, somewhere around 27, and well before we put the two biggest (even more camera-worthy) fish of the day into the net.
I have fished with Kevin a couple of times a year for a few years now, and intend to continue to do so for as long as I can cast and he can get the raft on and off of the water! If you have not experienced these fisheries, or want to have a great day of fishing without having to deal with rafts, shuttles or anything besides fish and being in a special place, check out Kevin Hutchison at Hill Country Flyfishers. read more
