If you want to launch at the Airport launch, all you need is waders a kayak or both.
There are a few sections that you have to drag that one I know was about 100 yards long last year that was too shallow for a large boat. A small jon or kayak is ideal with the kayak being your best choice because it is easier to handle and paddle than a loaded down jon boat.
It's a fun river to fish from a kayak and even if you don't catch much which is rare, you have all the wildlife and unspoiled scenery to enjoy.
Take along some catfish bait also if the whites are slow you can fish for them, and don't overlook the brushpiles and try for crappie also.
Catching the whites is just icing on the cake.

Well the whites skunked us, hit 59 this morning around 9 in our kayaks, with the water being super muddy should have known just to head home visibility is zero for the water clarity, my opinion save your gas money until the water clears up a little, unless someone else has a different suggestion for muddy water!!!!

It was pretty dirty last week. I see the river is up 1/2 foot from last week, just got through getting the boat ready for tomorrow. We shall see.

I think we are going saturday morning, the spawn should not be on yet. This should be prespawn white bass staging before heading up river. Im wondering if this cold weather will push them back into the main lake?

Went today, like USM posted, the water is like mud. The River Level website I posted is accurate, the river is up 1/2 ft. I fished the area I had luck at last week, nothing. I used the same lures as last week, plus some darker and some brighter, it did not matter. Only fished about 40-min and decided to go farther towards lake and troll some, when I started trolling my motor ran hot, SOB the water pump went out. I could not troll, but when I got moving the motor got enough water, so called it a day, got back while I could, did not want to chance spending the night on the river. I did observe today was cloudy and I did not see any shad movement when I first started. About 2pm when I was running back, I noticed the sun came out and I started to see some shad movement. Last week the sun was out most of the day, it has been my experience that early in the season the sunny days are much much better. So who knows, maybe they would have started to bite or maybe I would have found them closer to the lake. I have got them as far away as 10-miles from 59. Did I mention the water was like mud. Maybe by Monday it will clear up. Good luck. Oh yeah, skunked.

Hit the Nueces this morning. Put in at hwy 59 bridge. Water low & muddy. Headed toward lake. Be careful on the straight away just south of hwy 59. Some shallow water areas. Ran into an area that was only a foot deep. Go slow & stay to the middle left of the river. There were a few submerged tree that I encountered also. No damage, no problems. It was like this for about 3/4 of a mile. There was another submerged tree about a mile down the river. (stay left) After that it was smooth sailing. Trolled with Rapala SR-5's, Roadrunners & Rattle Traps for about 2 hours. No luck. Not a bite. Water was to muddy. Decided to go see if we could find green water. Went down river about 5 miles. Past bridge about a mile past R.V. park on left. Found green water. Boom! Found the fish. Caught around 40 white bass, kept 12 of the bigger females. There were 3 other boats fishing the same area & catching fish also. We were catching males and females. The females were big and fat.(full of eggs).Fish were marking thick on my fish finder. The fish seem to favor the deeper water. we were fishing in water that was 9 to 15 feet. Water temp was 53.3 degrees. Left them biting. Had a blast. May try again on Sunday. Sorry no pics. Don't know how to upload them.

Shoot, looks like I was on the right track heading for the lake. One of the worst stumps, after leaving 59, looking straight down the river, right before the first bend(which is to the right) there is a big stump right in the middle. Before you start heading right, you can still see the 59 bridge. There is a faded red tape tied to a tree limb on the left side of river that is even with the stump. What makes it so bad, is it is big and dead middle of river. I stayed on the west side of middle and had no problem. Thanks for posting Chief, confidence is 90% of it. Tomorrow I will be replacing my water pump myself, will be first time, looks pretty easy LOL. I have been paying to have it done all these years, hope to get it done and then head to the coast and try for some snapper.

I've never launched at the 59 bridge. How big of a boat can launch there? I have a 19' skeeter, and my buddy has a 19' blue wave, would we be able to launch there?

Hey RAMM, Yes sir you were on the right track. I almost called it a day yesterday after trolling for 2 hours and nothing. Thank God I didn't. Hope you get your water pump impeller fixed and get back on the water. I did mine last year 90 h.p. Merc. Not to bad of a job. A lot of good info on You Tube. Elcoyote you and your buddy should not have any trouble. I run my 18 ft. Nitro Bay Boat with out any problems. I have seen bigger boats down there. Just be careful and take it slow. Several shallow spots on the straight away leaving the hwy 59 bridge headed toward the lake. Also submerged timber in that same area. I hit a few yesterday. Didn't do any damage or cause any problems. The thud was just a surprise. Remember look for green water.

Put in at 59 for the first time. First off, if they made a horror movie about about boat ramps that would be it. We happened to put in just after another boat and noticed they were putting down stream so I followed suit. About 200 yards past the bridge is hairy. We fished just south of the rail road bridge. NOTHING. It was our first time chasing whites on nueces. Probably won't make it back this year since I have to drive from Portland, and water is really muddy. I don't believe there was any green water. There was a lot of boat traffic. If you saw a white polling flats boat, that was me and my dad.

The perfect boat for that river has always been a 14' aluminum with a 15 hp. kicker.
Run that kicker with the lockdown off and a box of extra shear pins and your good to go!

I got the new water pump on today. It's pissing and not running hot, but not showing any pressure on gauge. This is all at idle on a 225hp Yamaha.. Will play with it some more tomorrow. I really would like to go to the coast, but not sure I trust the motor. I guess at the very least, back to 59 on Tues. What the hell is a shear pin LOL.

Check your inlet hoses for obstructions. It could be a bad sending unit or valve, not sure on what your motor has though, but it could be something simple like an obstruction in a hose at the inlet.
I don't think your motor has a shear pin, but those old motors used to be a lot less complicated and to fix them on the water was easy. Duct tape and bailing wire was all you needed.

The Shear pin, as Jimbo referred to, is a Pin that slips thru the shaft holding the prop in place. If you hit a log or obstruction while motoring the pin will shear (break) thus not damaging you main gear etc. in the foot of the motor. I keep a few in my tackle box for my old 9.5 johnson engine. And yes! Ive had to change the pin out a few times while running that river!!

I haven't been to the river yet this year so please, you guys that are going, take along an empty clorox bottle and mark those stumps for me would ya?...I'm all out of shear pins and they stopped making them in my size!
A few more days without rain and that muddy water will receed and the green water will be closer to 59. Need to oil up my reels!