Llano River and Texas Trout

Every year for the past 40 years TPWD stocks local state park rivers with farmed trout. The event garners a following of dutiful trout fishers who follow the stocking from park to park. We were lucky to meet and talk to a few of these trout regulars and get the gist of trout fishing in Texas.

Texas has an active fish stocking program which supplies a mind blowing 40 million fish to Texas waterways each year. In the summer months this program takes the pressure off native species by providing adult catch-able fish to anglers. The program also aims to diversify the genetics of local speices, and promote breeding of fish by introducing healthy individuals. The majority of fish stocking happens in local ponds and lakes that are closed to other bodies of water. This form of fish stocking is purely for recreational benefit and provides a constant source of fishing year round. This practice also allows people of all ages and abilities to fish in a very family friendly environment. Trout stocking exists purely as a driver for recreational fishing. It turns a summer activity into a year round event. Rainbow trout, which are not native to Texas, will die as the water temperature rises. This ensures that the species doesnt have a huge impact on the ecology of the area. Rainbow trout are also a very desirable fish to catch. They taste good even with minimal seasoning and they are beautiful to look at. There is no surprise here that it is good business for TPWD to stock Rainbow Trout.

We arrived at Llano River state park on a cold Saturday afternoon. We booked the campsite only two weeks before and there were only two spots available for the weekend. The weather had been rainy and cold for a couple of days before, but most of the winter so far has been dry. The fire risk was set to EXTREME as we drove into the state park, which didn’t bode well for campfire activities. We got the ok from the on duty ranger to have a campfire that night but were told to just be extra careful at night when putting it out. We got a pile of wood from the ranger station and began setting up our campsite. Before it got dark we decided to do a sunset hike up to the scenic overlook. The hike is pretty easy and the view is incredible. You can definitely see why people fell in love with the beauty of the hill country. To the west the landscape seems unchanged after hundreds of years of human activity. The only marker of modern civilization is the power lines which supply the state park with electricity. To the east you see a few ranches and the highway but not much else. We stayed at the scenic overlook until we got too cold and began our hike back down.

We were at the park to go fishing for trout and that meant an early morning. However, you cant rush campfire cooking. One of the most enjoyable things about camping is being able to cook over an open fire and I was not going to let a little fishing get in the way of that. The rain did that instead. We started up our fire only to find out that all of our wood was soaked through during the rain. The sun had dried out the first layer, which caught fire, and then immediately went out when it met the wet interior. Campfire was a no go tonight. I have been camping enough times to know that you don’t bring only one change of underwear and you dont bet on a campfire. The coleman stove came to the rescue that night. Two steaks and a bowl of mac n cheese later we were ready for bed.

One of the best views at Llano river state park is at night. It is a registered dark sky park meaning you will find minimal lighting anywhere within park grounds. All you need to do is turn out your flashlight and look up. We saw more stars than you can count. I lost track of my bearings and it took me several minutes to find the prominent Orion constellation. His bow, which is normally hidden within city limits, was on full display that night.

The next day we cooked a quick breakfast during a brisk 32 degree morning. One of our neighbors invited us over for hot chocolate before we went out to go fish. Her and her husband are retired and now RV around to various parks throughout the season. They have been following the trout stocking all around the Texas State parks and catch their bag limit nearly every day they fish. We were pretty eager to get going so we thanked her for the hot chocolate and went on our way.

We had a good time fishing that morning. The trout were biting and we reeled two in. Without any campfire we were not prepared to cook the trout on the Coleman stove to so we decided to send them back on their way for someone else to catch later. After the morning when things calmed down by the river we hiked up and down the riverbed looking for animals and birds. We were cold and tired by the time we made it back to camp and packed up our stuff to head home.