Every year the Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited  Chapter of Trout Unlimited holds TroutFest, a celebration of fly fishing and conservation along the Guadalupe.  This year, it was back at the Lazy L & L Campground on the banks of the organizations namesake river.  GRTU is the largest TU chapter in the US boasting over 5500 members and TroutFest itself draws nearly 3000 attendees and vendors.  GRTU also stocks some beautiful rainbows (pic 1 above) and browns that make fishing this tailwater so fun!

TroutFest is one of those events that draws folks for a variety of reasons.  Some come to support GRTU via fundraising dinners, silent auctions and live auctions with their donations.  Others come to see the vendors in the giant tents and checkout the latest in gear and fishing locations.  Many come to participate in hands on casting lessons taught by certified fly casting instructors.  Featured speaker sessions are a popular draw for the event as well.  This year, the lineup of featured speakers boasted the legendary Flip Pallot, Jen Ripple of Dun Magazine, Chris Johnson (pic 2) of Living Waters Fly Fishing, Noah Parker of Land of Enchantment Guides, Duane Redford, Author of the “Fly Fisher’s Playbook” and Daniel Galhardo, founder of Tenkara USA.  We had a blast hearing all of these speakers imparting their wisdom on fishing and conservation, but the highlight was hearing Flip share a story about going to New Zealand to fish, Beware of What You Wish For.  It had people in stitches laughing as he unfolded his journey down under.  We had a great chat with Flip (pic 4) afterward talking about the opening of fishing on the Bighorn River and the work of Phil Gonzales.  As a bonus pic (pic 3), above you’ll find the top nymphs for fishing the Guadalupe provided by Chris.  Finally, one of our favorites that’s always a part of TroutFest is the screening of the Fly Fishing Film Tour films (pic 5).  This year was amazing with some of the biggest and baddest fish we’ve seen.  I’m sure ready to try tarpon on the fly now.   To top things off, the band Little Outfit provided some great music during dinners, the film festival and at other special times.

Every TU chapter around the US hosts annual fundraisers like GRTU’s TroutFest and we’ve had the pleasure during our River Ramble to visit one of these in North Georgia courtesy of Jimmy Harris at Unicoi Outfitters in Helen Georgia.   If you’re reading this and aren’t already involved in your local TU chapter, we encourage you to do so.  It’s fun, it’s rewarding and it’s critical to the ongoing support of these cold water fisheries.  There are over 400 chapters and councils across the USA.