February 16th Chapter Meeting – Ron McAlpin, White Bass Fishing

by David McWilliams, AFF Vice President

Ron McAlpin will be Alamo Fly Fisher’s guest speaker on February 16th. In preparation for the upcoming white bass outing to Colorado Bend State Park, McAlpin will share his knowledge and experiences with this species. The meeting starts at 7 pm at the Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church, 6201 Broadway.

Ron has been fly fishing since he could drive. In 1974, with cash earned from his first job, he purchased a Shakespeare WonderRod. Although upon purchase it was im¬mediately put to use on the Guadalupe, the rod’s intended target was white bass on Lake LBJ.

And thus began a way of life. Ron frequents the Guadalupe from Sisterdale to the headwaters, but he has especially honed a sense for when to target white bass… and he seems to catch them even when others are having a difficult time.

His choice in tools and materials hasn’t changed either - he prefers to fish venerable glass and vintage bamboo rods with period reels. Ron is an avid (but focused) collector and repairer of vintage fly reels, and takes reels for repair from all over the world.

Ron admits to hanging around Austin Angler a bit in the 80’s, but claims he has always been “the notoriously tough to mentor type.” Regardless of whether he was mentored by individuals or acquired his knowledge via direct inter¬vention of the fish gods, there is much an angler can learn from Ron. His acclaim recently landed him a gig fishing and filming “TU On the Rise” on the Guadalupe with Frank Smethurst and his buddy Jimbo Roberts.

Since that first trip to the Guadalupe with his Shakespeare WonderRod, McAlpin notes that access to Texas Rivers has dwindled while at the same time public use of available access has notably increased. He understands that water will be the most important issue in this and generations to come. As a result he has donated his time generously to the sport of fly fishing. Among other things, he has served as a VP of GRTU (currently a board member), a retreat guide for Casting for Recovery, and a fly-fishing life group leader with Community Bible Church in San Antonio.