I am a bass fisherman at heart, so the majority of my tales will have to do with fresh water adventures.  I went to Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.  Georgetown is about 30 miles north of Austin in the beautiful Texas hill country.  It was my time at Southwestern that really got me into fishing, so my first post will be about my experience on the San Gabriel River.  

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/pwd_rp_t3200_1047/23_c_tx_san_gabriel_san_marcos.phtml

    The San Gabe is a great place to catch largemouth, smallmouth, and perch.  You won't find huge fish, but you rarely will get skunked.  It is shallow enough to wade in most parts.  Since I was a poor college kid (living off school loans) I usually waded.  It gets cold toward the end of October, but if you have enough Copenhagen (school loans again) you shouldn't have a problem with it.  I only brought enough tackle for two set-ups with me - red zoom-bait salamanders and a top-water popper.  As I mentioned before, I'm in no way a pro, but I have found that cheap poppers work just as well as the expensive ones.  It's all about the presentation of the lure, not its cost.  I used a Texas rig with a #3 hook with the salamanders.  If you aren't familiar with a Texas rig, it's just a slip weight (the cone-looking weight with a hole in the middle so the weight can slide up and down on the line) and a hook.  I think we might end up having some links on the site with picture illustrations for some of the things we talk about. 

Texas RIg:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NpndQeBhnU

    Back to business…   a little side note on the salamander – I have since learned that the reason the bass hit the salamander is not because they are hungry – it's because salamanders eat their eggs.  The fish go after the salamander out of anger, not because they think they're getting a tasty treat.  Same for the top-water popper – most of the time a bass hits the top-water is because it pisses the bass off.  Bass are very territorial, and if the bait makes enough racket, they will hit it out of shear frustration.  Another side note – a lot of times bass will slap a top-water lure with their tale to stun the bait.  That's what happens sometimes when you reel a fish in and you have foul-hooked it on its side. 

    Back to the San Gabe…  the exact spot I usually go to is known as the "Blue Hole" around Georgetown.  It is actually called Blue Hole Park – and it's off of University in downtown Georgetown.  It's always good for a few hours of R & R, and a few fish as well.  I have since experimented with other soft plastics, and they all work well.  They tend to hit the red and green shades the best.  The lower blue hole area is also great for fly fishing.  Perch are abundant in the more shallow waters, and they will hit popping flies all day.  In the upper blue hole (above the waterfall) it gets very deep.  There are bigger bass and you can find some great smallmouths.  To fish the upper blue hole you really need a john-boat or a kayak.   They also stock Blue Hole Park annually with rainbow trout – so for a few weeks in the late fall you can get some salmon eggs or small, white spinner baits and catch some trout.  Check the Texas Parks and Wildlife stocking report for exact dates.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/management/stocking/

    I hope you find some time to make a trip to central Texas and fish the San Gabe River.  You should catch some fish, and enjoy the outdoors in central Texas.  Email me if you have any specific questions and I'll try to help you out.