Comal River Fishing Guides

About the Comal River

The Comal is often described as the shortest river in Texas, and from the springs at Landa Park to the Guadalupe junction it covers only about three miles. What makes it worth a page is not its length but its constancy. Comal Springs is the largest spring system in Texas, and because the river is spring-fed rather than runoff-fed it arrives at the gauge at New Braunfels holding close to the same temperature in February as it does in August. In a state where most streams swing between flood and trickle, that stability is the whole character of the water, and it is why the river is classed here as a spring creek rather than simply a short Hill Country river.

The fishing is clear-water, sight-fishing water, and it rewards a careful approach far more than a long cast. Guadalupe bass, the Texas state fish and a genuine endemic, hold on the current seams below the spring runs and at the heads of the deeper pools. Rio Grande cichlid are the other signature fish, bright and territorial, stacked around rock and cut bank, and they take small flies and soft plastics readily enough that they have become the reason many anglers come. Redbreast sunfish and bluegill fill the shallows, longnose gar hang in the slower glides, and channel catfish work the deeper holes below the bridges. The river is heavily used by tubers through the warm months, so the practical fishing happens early, late, or in the cooler half of the year.

The gauge reports discharge and stage but no temperature, which matters less here than almost anywhere else, because the spring source does the thermal work. The flow trace is still the number to read before a trip: a steady baseflow means the springs are strong and the river is clear and wadeable, while a sharp spike after a Hill Country storm means short-lived turbidity that usually clears within a day or two. Spring and autumn are the best months by a comfortable margin.

Access

Landa Park - the city park at the spring source, the upstream end of the fishable water and the easiest place to start.
New Braunfels - the gauge town, with lodging, tackle and the shortest walk to the water.
Prince Solms Park - the mid-river access and the reference point most local anglers use.
Hinman Island Park - a downstream access that opens the lower glides and the tube chute reach.
Comal confluence - the junction with the Guadalupe, where the two rivers meet and the fishing changes character.
Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam - the obvious nearby alternative when the Comal is crowded.
San Marcos - the neighbouring spring-fed river thirty minutes north, useful as a second option on a weekend.

Seasons

Spring: the strongest season, with the river clear, the tubing traffic not yet arrived and Guadalupe bass and cichlid feeding hard on the spring runs.
Summer: the water stays cool and the fish stay put, but recreational traffic owns the middle of the day, so fishing means first light or last light.
Fall: traffic drops away, flows hold steady and the fishing is as good as spring with far more room on the water.
Winter: the most underrated months, with the spring-fed temperature barely moving while every other Texas stream has gone cold and slow.