Greetings to all from the Upper/Middle Brazos River.

Special thanks and gratitude to TFF Members Don and Leon for booking a trip with River Run Guide Service. I very much enjoyed sharing a day on the Brazos with you both and having the pleasure to introduce each of you to the sport of Kayak Fishing.

After talking to Don several times on the phone prior to our trip, I could tell these two were pumped about their very first Kayak Fishing Adventure.

Individually, these two had plenty of fishing experience. During our time spent on the River, I found myself listening intently to their personal accounts of walleye, pike, stripers, bass and catfish caught on numerous fishing trips throughout Texas and into Canada.

However, on this day, it would be about hunting down big river stripers in our quest for Personal Bests for each of my clients.

The NOAA forecast for our trip had the winds pegged at a steady 20-35 mph and gusts up to 45 mph. with an approaching front. Perfect!!!

Winds of this type can make for challenging conditions on any water. By the end of the day, we would actually experience (according to area windspeed recordings) gusts in excess of 50 mph.

No worries, I had a gameplan that involved taking advantage of the approaching front by launching precision strikes into the areas of the River that would be exposed to the most wind. Then, we would periodically drop back to a less wind battered position to regroup and pick off a few of the stragglers I knew would be lurking off the main River.

Striped bass love taking advantage of the added dissolved oxygen these type of winds add to the water. My gameplan was to have a ambush ready when the fish decided to visit the impromptu "Oxygen Bar" that Mother Nature planned to open up for them.

Typical for the Brazos Basin, the wind was up with the sun, blowing hard and building upon arrival at our riverside launch.

I unload the kayaks and begin to help my clients get familiar with a few kayak and paddling techniques along with the associated kayak safety gear. Like a duck to water, Don and Leon are soon handling the fully rigged sit on top kayaks like a couple of pros, ready to head out and conquer our quarry.

I hand each of them a rigged up plug rod as we proceed to the main river, where we begin pattern casting to likely areas upon my instruction.

Shortly, with no action on the plug rods, we switch presentations. Before long, we find ourselves getting the striper luvin' we are looking for, when Don jumps into action as one of our baits gets waylayed by a marauding River Linesider.



Well done, Don!

Overall, the bite starts out spotty, as we move around the River getting a few good runs and several hookups here and there. Even leon puts his cell phone up long enough to get in on the action. lol



Nice fish, Leon!

I really enjoyed listening to how the guys commented on the "back against the wall" fighting style these river stripers displayed in a shallow water fishery as we engaged them from our ambush positions along the river. On more than one occaision, I could hear one of my clients comment on being pulled up onto his toes by a supercharged striper as it embarked on a unadulterated rampage on the other end of the line.

Here are a few shots of the larger stripers we got into...








Don and Leon did a fantastic job in what I would consider, overall, tough conditions. After the battlefield dust had settled, both of my clients would wind up with Personal Best stripers and fish for the table.

Unfortunately, we pulled the hook on the biggest fish of the day just as we saw color/size on her and broke of another big fish on a unseen river obstruction just after it whalloped and made off with a footlong bait we had soaking.

Cogratulations to Don and Leon on their Personal Best stripers. Way to go, Guys!!!

After this trip, I think at least one of them has plans for a kayak purchase in the near future.

That being said...

I can't help but feel proud to be on the cutting edge of the "Kayak Fishing Insurgency" that is in full swing on the inland waters of our great State.

Ya'll don't let it pass you by!

Your reports never disapoint. Nice fish.

You gotta love it! Another great report Shane. Happy Easter!

First Class as always...Well Done!!

Great report as always YY. Gotta get my name on one....

Thanks, Guys.

Glad you enjoyed the report and pics.

you have better eyes than me looks like a fun day. Thanks for the report.

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

As stated in the report, both anglers came away with Personal Best stripers and fish for the table. I also stated that these are photos of some of the larger fish caught on that trip, not all of the fish we caught. There were others that we did not photograph.

This report is a accurate representation of the overall catch.

Glad ya'll enjoyed it!

Nice Fish!!!!

what is considered middle brazos? are we talking downstream from whitney? I drive across it almost every day and am curious how far down you fish

Zulu congrats on you 32nd post ..Great Report Yota! Keep up the good work!

Nice Shark Rod

is the middle brazos in waco? because im coming to the ft. hood area in a month and would like to go yaking for some hybrids or stripes

Thank you Mods!

Great report...