Huge Congratulations to William Atkinson aka 1960Texan for not only catching his very first Rio Grande Cichlid but also getting his first ever Record. Will and I were fishing the Sabinal River and the fish were very active. Will was working the far bank with his Flyrod when he hooked onto a Trophy Size Rio. I looked over to him and saw his five weight flyrod bending and Will fighting the fish. Will got the fish in and it was a very nice Bull Rio (Female). The length of the fish was 9.20" good enough for the pending Rio Grande Cichlid Flyrod Catch&Release Record for the Sabinal River. An olive Wooly Bugger was the fly used. The fish was released. Paper work was completed and sent to the Texas Parks&Wildlife. Again CONGRATULATIONS Will on your Record Rio! Rounding out the trip were some nice Bluegill,Redbreast,another trophy Rio,a couple of Channel Catfish,and some small bass. We finished the trip with a super lunch at the R-BBQ located in beautiful downtown Sabinal. Watching a SUPER ANGLER catching his first Record Rio on the fly and spending the day fishing with a friend. It just don't get any better.

Thanks Chuck! It's always awesome fishing with you, you are the rio king!

Here's the release video:

[video:youtube]

Love that Sabinal Valley fishing. That video is AWESOME. Watching that Bull swim away is "GOOD STUFF"!

Congrats 1960texan on your record and chuck you always have the best spots to fish! Great post

Thanks Leo for the reply Love fishing the valley-canyon area. As I always say. "You are living in God's country."

Thanks gar1970, and you're right, Chuck has those fishing spots dialed in!

Well done. I caught my first Rio on a woolly bugger too. My first wasn't a trophy though.

Thanks Jamie! When we measured it I had this feeling that the record would stand until the next time you fished the Sabinal, or until Chuck takes up the fly rod!

Wooooohoooo wtg will congrats on the record and trophy size rio wtg

Clayton! You need to slow down at work and make some time to go slabbing.


Side Note: Just kidding. Make that money while you can! Fishing always comes later!

Thanks Clayton.

Chuck, the certificate came in the mail today. Thanks again for a great day fishing!

Awesome guys

But i agree ill try and pick a day this month to take off i sure could use some slabs in my life [quote=1960texan]


Ohh man seeing that great big envelope so gingerly tucked in the mailbox gets my heart rate going

Great fish, congrats

Chuck, it's very cool that you take the time to help us submit records to the State.
I certainly appreciate all the effort you put in to the process

It adds extra excitement to the day when fishing with you.

Andrew. Watching you fly anglers fighting a nice fish. "It just don't get any better"!


Side Note: There are a lot of open fly rod records out there along with spinning tackle records also. I am always happy to help out anyone who is interested in getting a record fish.

Awesome catch, congratulations on the record!

Congratulations 1960 Texan on your record Rio. Awesome place to fish,lots of active fish,great company,record fish,and a great place to eat. Yes Sir that is Chuck's style of fishing! Again congratulations on your record!



Side Note: 1060 Texan. Did you have any other results on other fly's other than the Wooly Bugger? Chuck: Looks like both the Sabinal Valley and the Nueces Canyon got some good rain the past few days. I did not get a drop at my house.

Thanks jrod88 and Laker One for the replies.



Lol! It doesn't seem like it based on my post history. I've caught a few fish on poppers and midges, but they've all been small.

Thanks for the information. When I was fishing both the Nueces and Frio rivers this past spring I was using Chartreuse,brown,yellow,and light green,sinking fly's. Got my best results using Chartreuse.

What kind of sinking flies? I'm still trying to learn half the names of standard flies.

Good results using the sinking grasshopper,cricket,and spider. Chartreuse-black or brown colors worked well for me.

Do not forget the best bait of all! "NIGHT CRAWLERS"!

Always love reading Chuck's post. He fishes a lot of places that are off the trail. Congratulations 1960 Texan on your record Rio! Good job!



Side Note: You can really get to know an area by eating at the local restaurants. I bet that Chuck has established one very nice information source by visiting those places. Again nice post,fish,and Congratulations on the record Rio.

Best part of the fishing trip is a GREAT MEAL at one of the local establishments in the area you are fishing at!

I can agree to that Chuck. Good food,and talking about fishing at the end of a trip would be hard to beat!