Brazos 19.5 mile float

I know a lot of y’all here have done this and I’m sure there are some threads already myself and 2 buddies are gonna make this trip the 9th and 10th of March any advise would be great one of my buddies can fish the other not so much we will be conventional fishing and fly fishing and we will be camping in hammocks

My advice is something that you may not be able to control -go when the release is 150-300 - less than 100 means a decent amount of dragging.

Good to know thank you

I don't recall an abundance of trees on public land to hang a hammock. Might throw an air mattress in for good measure. I slept on Brazos sand one trip and recall it gets fairly firm in the middle of the night.

Toilet Paper island has a couple of trees that would work for a hammock if they weren’t washed away in 15-16 flooding

Not sure which one is toilet paper island is but when I looked at google maps the island by where eagle creek flows into the brazos has a decent size and looks like it has a good amount of trees on it

That’s a really long first day though. Toilet paper island is the big bar on the northeastern reach befor the the turn downward to the place you are talking about.

On this trip are you putting in below PK? If so, I got plenty of observations...done that a few times myself...

I did the trip a year and a half ago and just brought a hammock. It was very difficult but can be done. I was the only one, multiple hammocks will be very tough to do while not trespassing.

Yes we will be putting in at the highway 16 bridge and it sounds like I need to bring a sleep pad as well

Also does anyone know how the cell signal is I know it defeats the purpose

I have cricket wireless and did this trip twice last year-
Reception was very spotty but mostly none-
When camped we could hit higher ground and sometimes get a bar or two but mostly I count on NOT being able to get a signal-

Please pack out all your trash and plan on packing out whatever possible that others are leaving. The amount of trash on that stretch last year
was totally unacceptable. It's been discussed and I'd be looking for better law enforcement this year.

Has there been an organized cleanup? Is one planned?

Has there been an organized cleanup? Is one planned?

Every time we're on the river

Friends of the Brazos has their big cleanup April 8. You can find them at friendsofthebrazos.org

So the Paluxy/Brazos confluence is a long way from the Hwy 16 to Dark Valley stretch. I could not find info on exactly which sections would be addressed though.

If they are meeting at Tres Rios, I would assume they they are cleaning up the section below Granbury dam or below the hwy 67 bridge.

We took that trip in the fall last year we had a good time but we are going to make it a 2 night trip this spring so we have more time to fish

You need 3 nights to really fish it.

Yea, forget the hammock and just take a sleep pad. Basically, your trout fishing will be limited to the first mile downstream...so show up in the evening and get a limit of fish that evening. Camp around the first big hole down stream. The GW may show up around dark when he sees the campfire from the bridge, but he is just checking to see if you are ok, need assistance, etc. I always used a green/brown/gray type fly (just take a good assortment), as they will likely change on you. A six weight rod is what I always carried...the carp can be really fun to catch, once the food catching is out of the way...also, in the deep portion of the first hole you can catch stripers as well. Make sure you clean and put away your nightly catch before you got to bed, because the critters will steal/eat anything staked out in the river (trust me on this)

When you get up the next morning (predawn, get in there and get a limit before the sun gets up, then break camp and paddle down to the second big hole (huge boulders on the right side of the river). This is a good place to fly fish for stripers and they like those white hair clouser flys, that Jesse uses...by the time you leave there you should have enough food for the entire trip. Take salt, pepper, toney Chacheres, and a couple sticks of butter, a sleeve or two of crackers, some trail mix (avoid dried fruit at all costs), and some extra heavy duty aluminum foil, a couple of lighters, and a good fork/knife, and some Vaseline soaked cotton balls. There is always plenty of dried wood to make a fire for cooking/warmth. I always took a light spinning rig with me as well, for both trout as well as, catfish on down the river. A gold super duper always did a good on trout, as long as it was the small size. Blood type bait always seemed to catch the catfish.

After you get on down the river for the second nights camp, you will recognize a large raised flat spot on the right side of the river...and you will be dog tired from the days activities before you find it. Sleep in the next morning (I always referred to this as Libation campsite) as it was a good place to have a libation or two with your evening meal...you can get to the first pull out point by mid afternoon, or you can keep going for another night depending on how much pain you can endure...hope this information helps...have fun

That was great information crapicat thank you and we always pack our trash out usually we take more than what we started with my buddies and I operate on the “leave it better than you found it” motto we are big advocates of clean rivers and clean Texas

can you camp along the shore just anywhere or is there areas that you can and cant and if so are they marked

Well, not really...on either count...yes there are can/can’t trespass areas that are not marked very well..but it will become apparent..if you just pay attention to my directions and watch the river bank. Here is the deal, BRA will usually generate twice a day...when camping, stay above the “wet line” of the river, the last camping spot is probably 5 feet above the wet line and one of the only places that is that high and flat...that is on your right side. As for the first night, camp just down from the bridge (1/4mile) just past the first S-turn about 50 yards (you can see the bridge) on your right...when you see a deep hole, stop, fish, camp (about 20 yards off the river)...don’t go past the riffles (you will have to drag your kayak/canoe past them, normally. Me, I fish at the bridge, at the s-turn, and first hole (both sides of the river). Personally, I have never had anyone hassle me while on the river...this is not the Guadalupe type environment...it is quiet, with solitude once you pass the S turn...

Oh yea, do NOT leave your YAK/ canoe in the river at night...pull it out of the water and above the wet line...and tie it to a tree as well....it’s not much fun chasing your buddy’s stuff down because he forgot to secure it...and it’s even less fun, if it’s your stuff...