Fishing high water - Pain in the neck!

OK, so trying to fish in high water is just unpleasant.  Last weekend we went fishing where the James River joins the Llano river near Mason.  The water was high and the current was relatively strong.   The Llano was still muddy over a week from the last rain but the James River was relatively clear.

Confluence of the James River and the Llano river.  Where Sarah was sitting was in the Llano, where I was sitting it was in the James River.  One was muddy and the other not.  You can see a line between our kayaks where the current changed.

The main problem was that the fish had about 6 times as much area as they usually had.  This meant the fish were very spread out.  In spite of that, we still caught a couple fish - one being a white bass of all things.  Needless to say, it was a tad frustrating.

This Friday we went to Chandler park in Georgetown on the N. Fork of the San Gabriel.  They are still letting water out of Lake Georgetown dam.  While this may not sound like a big deal, the main issue was that the water in the small reservoir was...  Flowing.  We were not used to the water flowing and apparently neither were the fish.  We only caught one tiny bass and had one strike from something sizable.  One other weird thing was that since the water was coming from the bottom of Georgetown lake, the water was COLD.  I didn't have a gauge with me, but I suspect it was in the LOW 60's.  Yes, that meant the fish of the day would have been TROUT. Bass were just not happy with the conditions. (There are no trout in the San Gabriel!)

That said, it was great to see waters moving again at both places.  The fish will benefit over time and I'm sure we'll see greater numbers of fish if the improved water conditions continue.

Today we are heading off to Mason again for an evening fishing trip.  Looks like there could be a small shower around, but the river is stable all the way to Junction. And it's almost back to normal... woohoo!!  Hoping to see a much clearer river today!

Will drop a note with pics later!

Tight Lines,

Mike

HCFR