Guadalupe Bass

Although I certainly caught larger fish on the recent Texas trip with Nathaniel, I'd have to say that my single favorite catch from the trip was a Guadalupe bass that hit a Rebel Wee-Crawfish. The catch came from the namesake Guadalupe River in a stretch that cuts through Guadalupe River State Park.

The setting was part of the reason. High bluffs bound a clear tumbling stream that almost looks like it should be in the Ozarks, except for the very Texasish looking vegetation. We only fished one short section and for a couple of hours, but I could have easily spent a day walking along the edges or wading these waters.

The big thing that made this one No. 1 in my mind, though, was simply that the Guadalupe is a unique Texas black bass species that is the Texas state fish, and I had never caught or even seen one before. Catching one was a definite trip goal, and one I'm glad to have achieved.

Interestingly, in just a little more than a month I'll be in Florida and will spend a day trying to catch Suwanee bass, which, like the Guadalupe, would be a first-time catch for me.