Colorado Bend State Park – March 11th – 14th

White Bass FliesAs March draws near I begin to look forward to White Bass fishing and especially to the David Young Memorial White Bass Outing. It is one of the club’s biggest and best outings of the year. The combination of camaraderie, camping, good food, and fishing is hard to beat, and makes for great memories.

Eight to ten years ago, on some of my earliest trips to Colorado Bend State Park, I remember the group of us being rather small. The David Young and David Wallace families, and just four or five more of us, easily ate together and stayed on as few as three campsites. Our traditional fish fry on Saturday night was attended my no more than eighteen people. (Over the past two years we have had between forty-five and sixty club members and their families and guests attend the fish fry!) And the names were fun too: we had four David’s (three Young’s and one Wallace) and two Bruce’s (one Nelson and one Young) in camp. It could be very confusing.

White BassBut some things have not changed. The camping remains basically primitive. Camp sites come with fire pits, and without showers, telephones or electricity. It is just how camping should be. But for those who have never been to Bend, don’t let this deter you. Gas lamps, Dutch ovens, tent cots and a little effort make for a great time without the conveniences we take for granted in our daily lives. It is hard to imagine, but on the last several outings we actually had too much food for Saturday night’s potluck fish fry, whether we had rain or shine, and while feeding sixty people.

Just remember: if you need it, bring it. There is no camp store, so pack what you need. You can sometimes buy ice and firewood at the Park office, but little else. Our club has some very experienced cooks and campers, and it may be possible to borrow some things, but I wouldn’t count on it. If you expect to need it, you best prepare to pack it in.

Fun for the whole family!The Colorado River level is looking promising this year, with the recent rains and a gradual increase since the start of the year. If the trend continues, the Park should yield plenty of fish this year! Fishing reports have started to show some promise in the surrounding lakes, with the activity typical of the spring run starting. The white bass start to pile up in the lakes before making their gauntlet run into the rivers. With early reports of already excellent fishing, this year should be phenomenal! Scouting trips will begin soon, so make sure you are at our meetings and off Tuesday tying sessions to hear the latest scoop. Remember to keep an eye out for the wild flowers: there is a high correlation between the run and the ground being warm enough to cause the Bluebonnets and Redbud trees to bloom. And with the spring rains we have had, the landscape should be quite a site to see! God willing, and the creeks keeps rising, we’ll have another great time this year.

Tres AmigosPlease join us for the fellowship, food, fun and fishing. The David Young Memorial White Bass Outing will be March 11th-14th at Colorado Bend State Park. Please reserve your spot in a campsite at one of the Tuesday meetings or by contacting Joe Mitchell, this year's Outings Director.

As an encore to the David Young Memorial White Bass Outing, our club will be venturing to Colorado Bend State Park once again for a "weekend after" trip. Camping will be available on the club's group site at $5/person/day.

Please contact Todd Fleming for additional information at (210) 296-9342.

Action AnglerOn February 6th, from 8:30 to 10:00 AM, our club will be meeting at Action Angler Fly Shop for an instructional workshop on fishing the Guadalupe River for trout. Chris Jackson, owner of Action Angler will be hosting the instruction. Action Angler is located at 9751 River Road (at the third crossing). Following the workshop, Chris has graciously agreed to let those interested access the river from his shop for the remainder of the day. Please visit Action Angler's web site at www.actionangler.net for more details on the shop and its location.

If you have any questions, please contact Joe Mitchell (Outings Director) or any of the other officers.

There will be a sign up sheet at the January meeting for those interested in attending, so that we know who and how many to expect. If you cannot make it to the January meeting, please e-mail or call one of the officers so that we know to expect you. We look forward to seeing you there!

Bud Priddy The Alamo Fly Fishers will be hosting the 2009 Bud Priddy Memorial One Fly Contest on Saturday May 2nd from Camp Wood, Texas on the Nueces River.

Entry fee is $20 plus a duplicate fly of your contest selection. Registration will be from 7:30am to 8:30am on May 2nd at Lindbergh Park. The entry fee also includes dinner. A buffet dinner will be served starting at 6:00pm at the Holy Smoke BBQ in Camp Wood.

Contest prizes will be awarded in three categories to the lucky fly fisher who catches either the Most Fish, Longest Bass, or Longest Perch. Contest rules require that you use only a single fly, and count only the fish you bring to hand with that fly until you loose it or change to another fly. You may continue fishing after you change your fly, but caught fish will no longer count toward your contest totals. Fishing hours for the contest are between 7:30am and 5:00pm.

For area accommodations, please check out the following motels and campgrounds:
Woodbine Inn (Camp Wood) - (830) 597-2310
Nueces River Motel (Barksdale) - (830) 234-3648
Big Oak River Camp (South of Camp Wood) - (830) 597-5280
Wes Cooksey RV Park (South of Camp Wood) - (830) 597-3223

I hope to see you on the river in Camp Wood!

Todd Fleming
Alamo Fly Fishers - 2009 Outings Director

On June 13th and 14th, our club will be joining the Texas Fly Fishers of Houston for a two day float trip of the Llano River. The group will be camping at South Llano State Park beginning Friday night. Saturday has a 6 hour float trip planned and Sunday will be a 4 hour float trip. For more details on the outing, please visit the Texas Fly Fisher's web site by CLICKING HERE.

Join the club for some fun fishing and friendly company while fishing the pristine waters of the Llano River. We will be hosting a freshwater outing with a couple of float trips on the S. Llano River near Junction. Camping is available in the state park on the river just south of town. We have a couple of campsites reserved for Friday and Saturday nights (April 17th & 18th), but if you are not into camping, other accommodations are available in town.

Colorado Bend State Park – March 12th – 15th

White Bass FliesAs March draws near I begin to look forward to White Bass fishing and especially to the David Young Memorial White Bass Outing. It is one of the club’s biggest and best outings of the year. The combination of camaraderie, camping, good food, and fishing is hard to beat, and makes for great memories.

Eight to ten years ago, on some of my earliest trips to Colorado Bend State Park, I remember the group of us being rather small. The David Young and David Wallace families, and just four or five more of us, easily ate together and stayed on as few as three campsites. Our traditional fish fry on Saturday night was attended my no more than eighteen people. (Over the past two years we have had between forty-five and sixty club members and their families and guests attend the fish fry!) And the names were fun too: we had four David’s (three Young’s and one Wallace) and two Bruce’s (one Nelson and one Young) in camp. It could be very confusing.

White BassBut some things have not changed. The camping remains basically primitive. Camp sites come with fire pits, and without showers, telephones or electricity. It is just how camping should be. But for those who have never been to Bend, don’t let this deter you. Gas lamps, Dutch ovens, tent cots and a little effort make for a great time without the conveniences we take for granted in our daily lives. It is hard to imagine, but on the last several outings we actually had too much food for Saturday night’s potluck fish fry, whether we had rain or shine, and while feeding sixty people.

Just remember: if you need it, bring it. There is no camp store, so pack what you need. You can sometimes buy ice and firewood at the Park office, but little else. Our club has some very experienced cooks and campers, and it may be possible to borrow some things, but I wouldn’t count on it. If you expect to need it, you best prepare to pack it in.

Fun for the whole family!The Colorado River is lower this year than last, and it may be difficult for the bass to get to the Park if we don’t get some rain (apparently there is a sandbar across the river near the lake). Fishing reports have been a bit spotty, with some good days and some bad. Scouting trips have been the same, but we were always able to catch some fish, with this year yielding more variety than year's past. Some female White Bass have been caught below the boat ramp at Bend in deeper water. The water has been too cold for the spawning run to begin, but watch the flowers: there is a high correlation between the run and the ground being warm enough to cause the Bluebonnets and Redbud trees to bloom. God willing, and the creeks do rise, we’ll have another great time this year.

Tres AmigosPlease join us for the fellowship, food, fun and fishing. The David Young Memorial White Bass Outing will be March 12th-15th at Colorado Bend State Park. Please reserve your spot in a campsite at one of the Teusday meetings or by contacting Todd Fleming.

As an encore to the David Young Memorial White Bass Outing, our club will be venturing to Colorado Bend State Park once again for a "weekend after" trip. Camping will be available on the club's group site at $5/person/day.

Please contact Todd Fleming for additional information at (210) 296-9342.

Nueces River - Open “V” Ranch, owned by Sky Lewey

Nueces River SunfishThe Alamo Fly Fishers will be meeting this weekend at the Open V Ranch on the Nueces River for fun times and great fishing. If you have never fished the gin clear waters of the Nueces River, this is a must attend outing. Join other members to learn the techniques for success in catching catfish, guadalupe bass, largemouth and many types of sunfish. The fishing is usually very good and the river is easily wadable.

The ranch is located on the west side of Highway 55, just north of Uvalde. Some of the members will be camping in the pecan bottom of the ranch on Saturday night.

Directions to the ranch are as follows (from Uvalde)
- Take Highway 83 North out of Uvalde
- Take the turn off for Highway 55
- You should see the sign for the ranch on your left hand side approximately 14 miles north of Uvalde
Note: If you pass Chalk Bluff Park, you have gone to far.

When you enter the ranch, you will have to pass through several gates. Please leave the gates as you find them (open or closed) as there is livestock on the ranch.

Cost will be $5 per person (or $10 per car). Camping is available for $2 additional per person.

Hope to see you all there!

Colorado Bend State Park – March 20th – 23rd
by Bruce Young

White Bass FliesAs March draws near I begin to look forward to White Bass fishing and especially to the David Young Memorial White Bass Outing. It is one of the club’s biggest and best outings of the year. The combination of camaraderie, camping, good food, and fishing is hard to beat, and makes for great memories.

Eight to ten years ago, on some of my earliest trips to Colorado Bend State Park, I remember the group of us being rather small. The David Young and David Wallace families, and just four or five more of us, easily ate together and stayed on as few as three campsites. Our traditional fish fry on Saturday night was attended my no more than eighteen people. (Over the past two years we have had between forty-five and sixty club members and their families and guests attend the fish fry!) And the names were fun too: we had four David’s (three Young’s and one Wallace) and two Bruce’s (one Nelson and one Young) in camp. It could be very confusing.

White BassBut some things have not changed. The camping remains basically primitive. Camp sites come with fire pits, and without showers, telephones or electricity. It is just how camping should be. But for those who have never been to Bend, don’t let this deter you. Gas lamps, Dutch ovens, tent cots and a little effort make for a great time without the conveniences we take for granted in our daily lives. It is hard to imagine, but on the last two outings we actually had too much food for Saturday night’s potluck fish fry (this year it will most likely be on Friday night, due to Easter being Sunday), whether we had rain or shine, and while feeding sixty people.