GREAT FISHING in the Nueces Canyon!

Myself and Clayton aka Wildman of the navidad fished the Nueces Canyon. We started at 9am and fished till 3:30pm. The bite was "AWESOME" with plenty of fish very active. We started the day at the Camp Wood Creek just outside of Camp Wood. The creek is in GREAT shape with a super flow! The water is crystal clear and some of the pockets had good Hydrilla beds. We caught numerous bass in the 1 to 2 pound range. A few nice Bluegill,a couple of Rios,plenty of Longear,and a small Flathead Catfish. Clayton had a nice Flathead break off while fishing one of the deeper pockets. Fish were holding by both weed and hydrilla beds in the shallow spots and were holding by ledges in the deeper spots. We spotted lots of nice Rios but most of them were not interested in our worms. Both bottom and float techniques were used and all of the fish caught on the Camp Wood Creek were released. We took a quick break in Camp Wood and then headed to a spot on the Nueces River. The river is in GREAT shape with good flow and deep pockets. There is also plenty of weed,grass,and hydrilla beds. The water is crystal clear. The Nueces is on FIRE with plenty of very active fish. Nice fat Bluegill,Redear,Tilapia,Redbreast,and several nice bass were caught. We caught over 50 fish and left them biting. We kept about 15 fish for the frying pan and released most. Fish were stacked by weed beds and the hydrilla beds in shallow water. Worms with a bottom technique were used. After an AWESOME day of Canyon Fishing we had a GREAT dinner at the Townhouse Restaurant located in beautiful downtown Uvalde. Fishing a piece of God's Country with a friend and super angler. It just don't get any better!

PENDING REDEAR RECORD !



Caught a SUPER NICE Redear while fishing the Nueces River. The fish was 11.25"in length with a girth of 10". The certified weight of the fish was 1.21 Lbs. This shattered the old Nueces River record! Paper work will be sent to the Texas Parks&Wildlife Dept.


Side Note: The fish was not released due to it swallowing the hook! The fish was "released to the grease"!

Awesome post Banker and congrats on new record!!

Huge redear! Congrats chuck on your new record.

Thanks Pot licker and Leo for the replies! You guys are living the dream being in GODS COUNTRY! Love that part of Texas!




Side Note: Leo. Hopefully you can make some future time for fishing the W.Nueces! Sorry I could not make it today! Hope to see you soon! Pot licker! Saw you post in the photo section of the forum about the Buffet! Great post and super fish!

Outstanding post! Nice bunch of fish and CONGRATULATIONS Chuck on yet another RECORD! You always seem to find the HUGE FISH! Good fishing guys!



Side Note: Was this your first trip this year to the Nueces Canyon? Was wondering if you have ever fished the crossing near Uvalde? Myself,Jeff,and Steve will be fishing the Canyon this April and have our Kayak course already planned out. Will be fishing both the Frio and Nueces Rivers! Any current advice and reports would be appreciated. Again super fish and congrats on your new record!

"Paper work will be sent to the Texas Parks&Wildlife Dept."

Excellent! The ink might not dry on your new record . . . before you exceed it again!

So, for panfish of all sorts, what does one actually submit to TPWD for a lake or other body of water record? I'm guessing a weight on a certified scale, and photo perhaps up against a ruler according to the rules (what, pinched mouth and tail?), then all of the details related to how, when and where you caught it?

I think this is a great way to document what is going on, fish wise, in our waters.

Brad

Weight on certified scales length and girth pictures a picture of you holding the fish you can download the pdf file off of tpws and print off the form... fishing license number personal info method that was used and place of catch its fairly simple once you doit there's instructions on. The site I think I'm with you I think it helps tpw know what kind of fish are where

A few pictures I got one very memorable trip awesome fishing with a great friend

Never fished place before like we fished yesterday I'll never forget it great time

Thanks Curtis and Brad for the replies! Curtis: You guys should have a blast. The Canyon is looking great and both the Nueces and Frio Rivers are in GREAT shape. Fish are super ACTIVE! Ran into Jeff at Acadamey and he showed me your routs,camp, and take out spots. Looks like you guys have done a super job on planning out your rout. Stay safe and have a GREAT time.

Side Note: The Canyon area got some nice RAIN! Great for the rivers and creeks.


Brad: I have been part of the Angler Recognition Program with Parks&Wildlife as an Official Weigh Station. I have been with the program for eight years and can HONESTLY say it is a GREAT program. The program has made me more aware of taking care of our natural resources and how important they are. The program also gives an angler a personal challenge. Most anglers choose not to record a fish but there are also a lot of anglers that do. The process is fairly simple. #1. Record's Application.(Can download it from Texas Parks&Wildlife Web Site).#2.Get fish weighed from a scale that has been calibrated yearly by a licensed scale company(Weight Records).#3.Three photos of the fish. Photos showing the length,girth,and the angler holding the fish. For Catch&Release(Minimal length required.Length Chart on TPW Website)Records all you need is the records application,a photo of the fish's length,photo of the angler holding the fish,and a witness to the release. You send the completed work to the Anglers Recognition Program of the Texas Parks&Wildlife for the Official Record. The program also gives awards out for Elite Angler,Big Fish Awards,First Fish Awards,and Outstanding Angler Award. You can get all the information about the program and the records process on the Parks&Wildlife Web site.

I can HONESTLY say that over the years I have helped a lot of anglers through the records process and weighing their fish and every angler has been AWESOME and they truly love and respect the outdoors. I love the program and the people with Parks&Wildlife that oversee the program.


Side Note: You are also 100 percent right about the records program giving Parks&Wildlife vital information on fish habitat on water bodies in the state.


Clayton. You are getting pretty good with that Ultra light! to "Perch Jerking"!


Side Note: Clayton. Love that Nueces Canyon!

For panfish, could you recommend a particular scale? Your preference?

I note that the Boga Grip seems to be highly regarded and seems to be involved in more record weighings each year than most others, but it seems it has a "quarter pound" incremental limitation or sensitivity. If I have that correct, that is a big increment for fish perhaps weighing just over 1 pound.

Would this suggest that it, then, would only record pounds like this: 1, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75 and so on?

I like the ideas you state . . . doing our parts to provide valuable information on species stats, even their ranges.

Brad

Brad if you are looking for a scale to record fish there are a lot of nice scales on line. Berkley and Rapala have some good ones. I would also find a licensed scale company in your area that can calibrate your scale and ask them to recommend a scale. Let them know what you plan to use it for. I bought my scale from P&S Scale Company in San Antonio. It is a Avery Berkler digital scale with a built in battery pack. The scale is portable. P&S Scale also completes my yearly calibration and maintains records of my scale. I also keep records of my scale as well. You can either use your scale personally or you can contact Ron Smith who is head of the Anglers Recognition Program (Phone number on the TPW Website) and he can register your scale as an Official Weigh Station! Either way you will have a scale that can certify Texas fish records.


Side Note: If you are going to weigh a fish that you caught and are going to use your scale, make sure you have someone else weigh your fish !

Nice job,a little road trip sure can pay off. Those are some hogs!

Side note,if you enjoy making people smile,you can do what we have done and took our kids record to the ups store. The 2 late teen/early 20's girls working that day was a trip. The city girl said" Do what?" And other just said "Sure,Where's it at?" She grabbed the fish,weighed it,put it back in the bucket, then wiped off the water with a beach wipe. Oh man,she had it all. Gonna make a fine wife.

Nice fish and photos Chuck and Wildman!

Thanks will I've fished a lot of creeks and rivers before but nothing has compared to the nueces canyon I've never seen so many active fish in freshwater

Thanks CH and Will for the replies! Love that Canyon fishing! CH: Yes Sir that young lady will make someone a GREAT wife for sure! Does she clean fish and can she back a boat down a ramp? If she can then some lucky young man will have a GREAT CATCH!

Thanks Chuck for the information. Also have you gotten any updated reports on the rivers there since the last RAIN? Heard the canyon got over 5" this past weekend. Also do you have any information on the first crossing just outside Uvalde going west? Again thanks for all your help.




Side Note: Wildman of the navidad! Looks like you guys fished some super country!

As you stated in your weather post Curtis looks like a lot of additional rain may be headed our way. Seems like the last the two years I have been fishing between showers or in showers!

Still have about two weeks before the trip. We should be ok.

Great fishing guys. Nice haul. Looks like the Wildman of the navidad is catching on to "Perch Jerking".



Side Note: I know there has been a lot of RAIN fall in the area. Any current condition reports on the rivers and creeks in that area? Also fishing reports?

Thanks Gitter for the reply! The Nueces Canyon and Sabianl Valley have both gotten a ton of rain the past three weeks. The Nueces,Frio,and Sabinal are all flowing fast and wide! Conditions will improve each day. Hope to get back out there SOON!



Side Note: Certain areas got over 5" this past week not counting the 3 to 7" some areas received a few weeks ago. Would rather have the rain and not have any at all!

Fixing to head out to the Canyon for three days! Camp areas are saying the rivers are flowing well!

Should be a good year in both the canyon and valley!

Kayaked and fished with friend's for three days at the Nueces Canyon. Did not want to leave. Both the Nueces and Frio rivers are in great shape and the water is crystal clear. We saw deep pockets of water between 10 and 20 feet deep. You could see all the way to the bottom. Also caught some nice fish. The camp sites we stayed at were super. Plain on doing it again. You are right Chuck the Canyon is Gods Country for sure.

Glad you guys had a great time Curtis. Love fishing that part of Texas. Plan on fishing there a lot more!



Side Note: What camps did you all stay at?

We stayed one night in Concan and another at Garner State Park. The last night was at Chalk Bluff off of FM 155. All of the sites were clean and well kept up. Will be doing it again.

The three camp sites where we stayed all said that the summer months are extremely busy and that the best time to enjoy the rivers without the crowds is during the spring and fall! Me and my friends are already planning our next trip to the canyon.

October and November are GREAT months to fish the Canyon!




Side Note: Just may see you guys down there!