Preferred environments are small still water environments commonly found in flowing water, which may sound contradictory, but watch out for them in pools and raffles where they congregate and wait to ambush prey fish.

Guadalupe bass prefer shallow flowing streams and rivers that are well oxygenated, offering riffles and pools and that are free of turbidity, though they will tolerate some turbidity. These waters are commonly clear and flow from mountain or springs with temperatures in the 50°Fs and lower 60°Fs/10°C to 15°C, which is their preferred water temperature.

However, during peak summer months, parts of the rivers (Edwards Plateau, Guadalupe, San Antonio and the upper Nueces river drainages in southern Texas), especially slow moving water, can reach 95°F/35°C degrees. At this time, the Guadalupe Bass seeks deeper water, and for those that are close to lakes and reservoirs, try the Lampasas river, which flows into the Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir.

Their natural food consists of water-bound insects, crayfish, fathead minnows, golden shiners and gizzard shad and they will strike out of hunger or out of a sense of territorial defence. All these streas are rather small, no more than about 30 feet/9.1 metres at the widest part of any one river, which is the main reason why the bass don’t grow large – there simply is not enough of an ecosystem to support larger fish. However, while they are small, they put up a great fight and are a desirable sport fish in southern Texas.

Preferred environments are small still water environments commonly found in flowing water, which may sound contradictory, but watch out for them in pools and raffles where they congregate and wait to ambush prey fish.

The Guadalupe Bass is not afraid of rapids and when found there, they are often found near eddies. They can also be found in turbid downstream sections of rivers that have gravel riffles and at heads of deep pools that often have a silt substrate and you can also find them in flowing waters of streams around large rocks, cypress knees, stumps and similar types of cover for refugia.

Preferred environments are small still water environments commonly found in flowing water, which may sound contradictory, but watch out for them in pools and raffles where they congregate and wait to ambush prey fish.

The Guadalupe Bass is not afraid of rapids and when found there, they are often found near eddies. They can also be found in turbid downstream sections of rivers that have gravel riffles and at heads of deep pools that often have a silt substrate and you can also find them in flowing waters of streams around large rocks, cypress knees, stumps and similar types of cover for refugia.