The Reliable Brazos River
Clint Taylor
With school starting up, I wanted to get out on the water one last time while I had the chance before a lot of homework started to pile up. I decided that catching some big bass sounded like a good trip so I went out to the Brazos River below Possum Kingdom Lake - a hotspot for big bass.
I got out on the water pretty early and anticipated trying to catch some striped bass, but with not much luck I quickly made a change of plans and started to target Largemouth Bass. I started out throwing some topwater lures, a sure thing for big bass. However, I have had very little success on the Brazos River with topwater lures. In fact, hardly any luck at all. I quickly switched to a Strike King Square Bill Crank Bait and caught some nice little bass.
The crank bait is always a good go-to lure, but it was even better today because I was throwing it on my new Abu Garcia Orra SX baitcasting reel. It has eight ball bearings and a super silky retrieve. It retails for about $100, and if you are looking for a new baitcaster that is in the middle ground range then I would definitely take a look at the Orra SX. Although it did a really good job at throwing some crankbaits, it did an even better job of throwing some Texas Rigs.
About two hours into my trip the fishing hit a real slow down. There was some weird weather going on and it was really affecting the way the bass were behaving. Anytime this happens I tend to slow it down, go deeper and tie on a Texas Rig. I went to my reliable Rage Tail Space Monkey and within a half hour I got a monster bite. I saw some branches overhanging on the water and there was a little cubby hole back in the brush. The water was about two to three feet deep and it looked extremely good for some good bass to be swimming in. I got my Jackson Kayak Big Tuna in position and made a perfect cast into the brush with my new Orra SX and about after two seconds of working the rig I got a hard hit. I set the hook and soon found out I had a nice three pound bass on the line. It was pretty weird just how hard the bass were fighting, as they were putting up as good of a fight that I have ever had from Largemouth Bass. It was especially weird considering how hard it was to get them to bite for a while. Whatever the reason may be, it certainly was fun catching a three pound bass that fought like he was twice his size. There was more to come though, but first I needed a break to test out how my new Klean Kanteen 64 oz. Growler and 16 oz. Insulated Food Canister were doing. .
I can't speak enough about how much I enjoy using my Klean Kanteen products. They do an excellent job at keeping stuff at the temperature that you want and are such a great product to have with you. I use my Insulated 20 oz. water bottles for immediate drinking purposes, but I can go through 20 oz. of liquid pretty quick. I got a 64 oz. Insulated Growler to help out for some reserve fluids and it worked great. The Growler can take both carbonated and noncarbonated liquids, but only cool liquids not hot. I have tested it first hand by filling it to the top with ice and it lasted well over five days in a consistent 80 degree temperature room. This is incredible and great for day trips because you can guarantee that your drink will stay cold.
The Insulated Food Canister worked great as well. although I didn't test out the insulated capabilities this time. I just ran it with some Chees Nips. It worked great at keeping them dry though out on the water.
I made my way into a narrower part of the Brazos River and was working the bank that was most dug out by the current during flooding. Very quickly I was feeling some nibbles, but I think it was only some small panfish looking for a big meal. I kept feeling some ticking at the line though, so I reeled it in to see what was going on and a tiny bass was on the line. It was pretty funny as it was probably six inches long and I never set the hook, but it had an excellent hook set on him. I let the little rascal go and started to look for some bigger bass again. Near some longs sticking up out of the water vertically was some really good looking water. I pitched a new Space Monkey into the logs and had an unbelievable hit. I thought initially that my kayak was drifting in the current and the Texas Rig had got lodged in a rock or something, but sure enough it was a bass. He fought super hard too. It was incredible how hard these bigger bass were fighting. This one was even bigger than the last too, at right around four pounds - a big bass I'll take any day of fishing.
It certainly was a great day of fishing and made for a good way to transition into the beginning of the school year. Something I have noticed is just how much I have been going to the Brazos below Possum Kingdom lately. It is partly because of the cool cliffs and scenery, but also because of the great bass fishing that happens there. Out of all the places I fish in Texas, the Brazos below Possum Kingdom could be the best for big bass. I will definitely be back soon, and hopefully with some more big bass to share with you.