Our good friend Johnny is an avid flyfisher and guide, and invited me and Jess for an overnight paddle trip on the Llano River. This river is one of our priority watersheds at Texas Land Conservancy and we have a few conserved properties in the area, one along the river itself, but there is so much to the river that I don't know and haven't had many opportunities to explore or experience.
Johnny's plan was for one night on a short stretch of river, about 6.5 miles. He had an inflatable raft that we loaded down with food, a couple fishing poles, and camping gear for three people and a dog! It was a full house!
I sat and hung out with the boat while Jess and Johnny carpooled to get Johnny's truck at the take-out. Around 11 am we set sail!
There was a little bit of wind and the clouds were in and out. The water was a great temperature, a bit chilly but felt good, and it was a beautiful color. Lots of different shades of blue-green in different pools.
Johnny's plan was for one night on a short stretch of river, about 6.5 miles. He had an inflatable raft that we loaded down with food, a couple fishing poles, and camping gear for three people and a dog! It was a full house!
I sat and hung out with the boat while Jess and Johnny carpooled to get Johnny's truck at the take-out. Around 11 am we set sail!
There was a little bit of wind and the clouds were in and out. The water was a great temperature, a bit chilly but felt good, and it was a beautiful color. Lots of different shades of blue-green in different pools.
After a mile or so down the river the fish started jumping into the boat! Johnny made it so easy to catch fish. He had a regular spinning reel set up with a little crawfish lure and a fly rod. As we floated along he pointed out little holes, boulders, and ledges to drop the lure and they were biting all day. It had been a long time since I've fished, maybe just about 10 years (with spear fishing invasive plecos being a recent exception) and it was a blast!
There is a beautiful cliff face on this short route and seems to be a pretty big draw for paddlers and the like. I had seen pictures of it from several friend groups but it was actually much bigger than I expected! I'm not going to name them here just so they don't show up in google searches.
These bluffs were about half way through the float and we knew we wanted to camp somewhere in this area. The landowners opposite of the bluff have posted no trespassing signs all across the beach, which would otherwise make a perfect camping spot. Even if there was room to legally camp on the gradient boundary, it wouldn't be worth the hassle of a landowner arguing otherwise. We scouted a couple island spots that could have worked but there were too many cockleburrs for sokah's poodle fur. We checked out a spot on the bluff and what looked like a small ledge someone had camped at before but I felt stranded being in a small spot next to a deep pool. We settled on a larger ledge area and it worked out perfect. We had room to walk around (and fish!) where we set up our tents on the bluffs.
To finish the day we caught some fish, watched a stunning sunset, and Johnny grilled up some steaks!
These bluffs were about half way through the float and we knew we wanted to camp somewhere in this area. The landowners opposite of the bluff have posted no trespassing signs all across the beach, which would otherwise make a perfect camping spot. Even if there was room to legally camp on the gradient boundary, it wouldn't be worth the hassle of a landowner arguing otherwise. We scouted a couple island spots that could have worked but there were too many cockleburrs for sokah's poodle fur. We checked out a spot on the bluff and what looked like a small ledge someone had camped at before but I felt stranded being in a small spot next to a deep pool. We settled on a larger ledge area and it worked out perfect. We had room to walk around (and fish!) where we set up our tents on the bluffs.
To finish the day we caught some fish, watched a stunning sunset, and Johnny grilled up some steaks!
The next day was pretty tame. The weather wasn't as welcoming, it was overcast, and the fish weren't biting. Johnny paddled us down river where one final treat was waiting for us, a bald eagle and its big nest!
