Thousands of trout make a move to the Guadalupe River
Fishermen were anxiously waiting for a truckload of trout from the San Marcos fishery to be dumped into the Guadalupe River just below the dam at the water gates on South Access Road last Friday.
The truck arrived just before noon and tried to back up to the river. The wet weather and slick mud, however, presented a problem, as the truck couldn't gain any traction and eventually ended up getting stuck at the river's edge.
The drivers, Jack Brooker and Nathan Reynolds, had to come up with a "plan B" because the fishermen were as jittery as the fish inside the tanks in the truck.
The truck was close enough to the water to allow for a manual transport, and so Brooker and Reynolds began the arduous task of scooping out the fish from the tanks with nets and dumping them into the river by hand.
According to officials from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the heavy rains over the last year has increased the water release from Canyon Lake to be higher than usual. Consequently, the cold water that is usually at the bottom of the Lake has been flushed out causing an increase in temperature.
Because cold water is necessary for trout to survive, TPWD officials, along with other environmental conservation organizations, are worried that the temperature increase may have killed off some trout.
Now with the Lake levels almost at normal, TPWD has decided to restock the river with over 2000 trout. One thousand of the fish were released into the Guadalupe a the water gates. The other thousand were divided up and distributed at four other locations farther down the river.
Moreover, the Inland Fisheries Division of TPWD has leased two sites along the Guadalupe River until March 17, giving people access to two more areas for trout fishing.
One of the sites, Camp Huaco, is located at the first river crossing. This site has good bank access for about 3/4 of a mile and is also a good area to bank fish. Anglers must park at the top of the hill and walk to the river in order to avoid the daily access fee. Twenty-five percent of the trout stocked by TPWD in the Guadalupe River are stocked at this site.
The Cliffs is the other site and is located directly below the third bridge crossing on River Road on the south side of the road. Free parking is available at this site and then anglers must walk using a marked path to the river. Wade fishing only is allowed at this site.
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