Chapter 12: Other Fishes
While black basses, trout (see the Guadalupe River chapter), carp, sunfish, and cichlids are the most common fly rod targets in Central Texas, several other native and introduced species provide good sport and are common enough to bear mentioning.
Crappie are the third most popular game fish in Texas, after bass and catfish. White crappie (Pomoxis annularis) are more common in Central Texas than are the similar and closely related black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus). Both species of sunfish are more often found in reservoirs, but white crappie in particular will become established in deep pools and impoundments of rivers in Central Texas.
“The fish and I were both stunned and disbelieving to find ourselves connected by a line.”
Crappie can grow quite large for members of the sunfish family, with some specimens of both species topping 4 pounds. Small streamers, like Clouser minnows, and a sinking or sink-tip line can be effective when fishing for crappie around docks and points in area lakes. In Texas, there is a daily bag limit of twenty-five fish, with a minimum length of 10 inches.
Bass
Temperate or “true” basses include white bass (Morone chrysops), discussed in the San Gabriel River chapter, striped bass (Morone saxatilis), and hybrid striped bass, sometimes called palmetto bass, sunshine bass, or “wipers.” A fourth species, yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) is a small, slow-growing fish not found in Central Texas.
Striped bass are native to the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico as far west as Louisiana. Stripers spend most of their lives in saltwater, ascending coastal rivers as much as one hundred miles to spawn.
Stripers do just fine in freshwater and have been introduced into a number of Texas reservoirs, notably Canyon Lake, Lake Travis, Lake Buchanan, Lake Whitney, and Lake Texoma. The latter location is the only reservoir with a free-flowing tributary long enough for striped bass to naturally reproduce most years.
In addition to being fine table fare, striped bass grow to prodigious sizes and are revered as sport fish. Fish stocked in reservoirs often escape or are swept into the river below an impoundment (as has happened on the Guadalupe River) or, during the spring spawning season, travel upstream in streams that empty into lakes. The current rod-and-reel state record, a 48-inch, 53-pound monster, came from the Brazos River, and my friend John Erskine captured the current state fly fishing record (43 inches, 36.5 pounds) on the Guadalupe River on a big black-and-yellow streamer.
For stripers on the Guadalupe River, any big streamer, but especially one that looks a lot like a rainbow trout, will do the trick. The daily bag and size limit for striped bass and hybrid striped bass is five fish in any combination, with a minimum length of 18 inches. On Lake Texoma, anglers may keep ten fish, but only two may be over 20 inches.
Hybrid striped bass do not naturally reproduce, but they are regularly stocked in reservoirs throughout Texas, where they can reach weights of 20 pounds and lengths of more than 30 inches.
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A word about identifying whites, stripers, and wipers (hybrids): It’s helpful to remember the “rule of two.” Striped bass have two spines on their gill covers, two elongated tooth patches, and two or more distinct, unbroken lines that extend to the tail. White bass have one spine and one tooth patch. Hybrid striped bass may have either but usually have two tooth patches. The horizontal lines on a white bass are faint, and only one extends unbroken to the tail. Wipers fall somewhere in between, but they usually have broken lines that nonetheless extend all the way to the tail. |
Catfish
Catfish are, overall, the second-most sought-after freshwater fish in Texas, just not by fly anglers. I’ve heard trout snobs scoff that muddy or degraded waters are “catfish water,” but the clear streams of Central Texas are home to several species that provide good sport and, if you are of a mind, a guilt-free meal.
No trout snobs here. If it swims, eats, and pulls, we'll probably chase it.
Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) are the most commonly encountered catfish species in the streams of Central Texas, and though they prefer to feed from dusk until about midnight, they can often be seen in the company of foraging carp or freshwater drum. As the common name indicates, channel cats are river fish; in fact, caddis fly larvae make up a significant (40–60 percent) portion of their diet. Larger fish will readily take baitfish patterns intended for bass, but I have had the best luck with lightly weighted damsel nymphs.
Channel cats (like the closely related blue catfish) have deeply forked tails and are a uniform olive brown or dusky gray color with fine black spots that sometimes disappear in older fish. The state record channel cat was a 36.5 pound fish taken from the Pedernales River. The daily bag limit is twenty-five (blue and channel catfish in any combination), with a minimum length of 12 inches.
Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) can be distinguished from channel cats by the absence of dark spots (except in the Rio Grande population) and a straight-edged anal fin (it is noticeably rounded in channel cats). Blue cats are the largest of the native catfish, with a 121-pound specimen from Lake Texoma currently leading state records. Blue cats are more frequently found in larger river systems and reservoirs and eat a wide variety of prey, including crawfish, insect larvae, fish, and frogs. The Texas fly fishing record is a 35.5-pound fish that fell to a Clouser.
Mature flathead, or yellow, catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) shelter beneath rocks, logs, banks, or other structures in deeper pools during the day, making them difficult to target. Interestingly, juvenile flatheads are found only in riffles. These fish regularly reach weights of 50 pounds in rivers; they are primarily piscivorous and prefer to hunt after the sun sets. If you are going to give it a shot anyway, a sink-tip line and large streamer imitating a sunfish might do the trick. The daily bag limit is five, with a minimum length of 18 inches.
Armored and sailfin catfishes (Hypostomus plecostomus, Pterygoplichthys spp.), commonly called “plecos,” “suckermouth catfish,” or just “suckers,” are native to Central and South America and have established reproducing populations in Central and South Texas, likely as a result of aquarium releases. Similar in shape but widely variable in coloration and pattern, there are at least several genera and species present in our rivers, some of which are hybrids. Plecos are algae grazers and are rare incidental catches for fly fishers; they should be removed from the water, gutted, and—preferably—consumed whenever caught.
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Take care when handling catfish. Catfish, when agitated, will often lock their dorsal and pectoral fins (presumably this makes them more difficult to swallow). The sharp, serrated spines of many species deliver a (usually mild) venom that can result in intense, localized pain and swelling. |
Drum
Freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) is a rarely targeted species in Central Texas but is a frequent and welcome incidental catch, particularly on the Lower Colorado and on the Lampasas River, where it often can be found in company with carp. Nearly ubiquitous statewide, gaspergou, or “gou” as they are sometimes called, are the only freshwater representatives of the drum family, which also includes spotted seatrout, redfish, and black drum. The species most closely resembles the latter, minus the stark black vertical bars. Freshwater drum are opportunistic feeders, with adults eating fish, crawfish, mollusks, and larval insects. I’ve caught them on streamers intended for bass and crawfish imitations meant for carp. They feed at or near the bottom of deeper pools, so a heavy fly or sink-tip line is helpful if you would like to catch one.
Gar
Gars are sometimes called “living fossils” because they have remained relatively unchanged from 100-million-year-old fossil specimens, and they retain primitive traits (like the ability to extract oxygen from both air and water). In Central Texas, the spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) is the most commonly encountered species and can provide a thrilling, acrobatic flight on a fly rod.
A quick look at a gar’s mouth tells you all you need to know about its dietary preferences: Rows of needle-like teeth are designed to capture fish, which make up about 90 percent of adult gars’ diets. The other 10 percent is made up of crawfish and insects. Spotted gar will readily take a streamer, or even a topwater fly, but expect some missed hooksets as their mouths are extremely bony.
Longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) are found less frequently in Central Texas streams and grow larger (up to 72 inches) than spotted gar, which usually are 3 feet or less in length. Longnose gar can be identified by the namesake snout—noticeably longer and thinner than in any other species—and the lack of rounded dark spots on the head and pelvic fins.
Alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula), which can exceed 9 feet in length and weigh more than 270 pounds, are found primarily in larger, slower rivers along the Gulf Coast and in East Texas, but they do make their way up both the Brazos and Colorado rivers.
Shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus), the fourth gar species found in Texas, is limited to the Red River basin in the northern part of the state.
Oddities and incidentals found in some Central Texas streams include everything from feral goldfish (Carassius auratus), which can grow to several pounds, to rare, native mountain mullet (Agonostomus monticola). Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) and the similar, but smaller, threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) are found in larger streams and in some smaller creeks (Onion Creek comes to mind), where the former grow to a sporting size of more than 12 inches and will sometimes, unaccountably for an herbivorous filter feeder, eat a fly. You can catch rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) in the San Marcos River.
These are just a few of the 247 species of freshwater fishes in Texas—not all of which are found in Central Texas and not all of which will take a fly; but you never really know what you might encounter.