TX Brookies- TR

[BigCliff]

I waited too long to go hit this section of river.

A front came through and cooled things off a bit, so I got to take it easy hitting the road, and grabbed some machacado and horchata.

Being a few miles from the headwaters, I figured it would be skinny, but there was even less to it than I expected

Don't matter, the fish were plentiful, even though the top half was all sunfish,

And then the bass showed up hungry, and some were quite pretty

A little river can still cut big rocks

After fishing down a long curved section, I had a long straight walk back to the car. It was a little unnerving to not see my car until I was almost back to it. (wasn't 100% confident in the legality of my parking spot)

But, I decided I wasn't done yet, grabbed two beers, and hit the section upstream from the crossing I parked at. The best bass of the day was all of 80' from the car.

That ended up in a big swimmin' hole pool pretty quick, but was a gorgeous little section, and still produced 30 fish or so.

Even though I did break off a 5lb+ catfish, it was still a damn fine day of head clearin'. 80+ on a 3wt is a fine time.

​

 

[mcnerney]

BigCliff: Thanks for the trip report, that is a very nice looking area (good to see something besides snow or leaveless trees). Congrats on the great looking fish! Like you said it must have been fun on a 3 wt.

Larry

 

[Ard]

Like Larry I'm all about that no snow and green stuff The day looks like it was a beauty Cliff, plenty of fish, warm weather, cool water and some beer back in the cooler. The pictures are great and when you put up a bunch like this I feel like I got to know the place.

 

[jpbfly]

Great report Cliff...for sure a nice place to fish

 

[chuck s]

Great report and pics!:thumbsupu I agree with you comment about those bass being pretty! They sure get colorful down that way. I love mixed bag fishing like that and the day you described sounds like getting close to heaven for sure!

 

[milt spawn]

Nice day! Hey, is that a cichlid in pic #12? milt.

 

[whoknows]

Nice report, good day of solid fishing. I am in Ohio and have a bunch of family in Oklahoma and Texas and have fished some areas but I have never seen a fish like that before from the wild it looks like a cichlid, as Im a geek about aquariums and have seen African ones in an aquarium but never seen one with such a tall body like that one. Care to share about it if you know more about it? Thanks!

 

[txbevo]

That indeed is a Rio Grand Cichlid that Cliff caught. It is a blast to catch. You would swear it lost 6" and 1/2 pound after you land one. The fight is great.

Nice report Cliff. Days like that are definitely are one of the pleasures of living in Texas in the spring.

 

[Jimmie]

Nice report Cliff. Thanks. Looked like a fun day.

 

[piscatorial_phd]

Great looking spot...looks like some of the places I used to sneak off to go fishing when I was a kid. I felt like nobody had ever been there before.

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi Cliff,

Thanks for sharing a nice day of fishing.

Frank

 

[wjc]

Very picturesque spot, Cliff. And lots of nice bass as well. Thanks for taking all the pictures and the time to put them up. I'm also curious about fish #12. Looks like a great day.

Cheers,
Jim

 

[wabi]

Looks like a day to remember!
I usually go to my 3wt when I'm not targeting large fish, I may loose a big one in the process, but those smaller ones are plenty of fun.

 

[littledavid123]

Texas Brookies...lol

Great pics and congratulations on the successful day.

Dave

 

[BigCliff]

Very picturesque spot, Cliff. And lots of nice bass as well. Thanks for taking all the pictures and the time to put them up. I'm also curious about fish #12. Looks like a great day.

Cheers,
Jim

They're locally known as a Rio Grande Perch, but Mexican Cichlid is more accurate.

They're the northernmost occurring cichlid, but still are all within about 3 hrs of Mexico.

They're quite finicky, and do indeed fight like a much bigger fish than they are.

 

[flyfisher45]

Great write up. Looks like it was a great day and it is a beautiful area.

 

[guadalupetrout]

Dude those guads and largemouth must have been a blast on a 3-wt!

 

[BigCliff]

Dude those guads and largemouth must have been a blast on a 3-wt!

Yes indeed.

That rod seems to have big-fish mojo somehow. I get into much bigger fish with it than with my 5wt. That catfish I broke off was already bending it down to the cork.