JJ (JJ4MEL), myself, and Mike (my girl friends 9 year old son) headed out to the Brazos at about 5:30am. The plan was to stop in Mineral Wells and get some live bait. Well when we pulled up to the bait shop at about 7am it was closed. They didnt open until 10am! I was in shock that a bait shop was not open early in the morning. Oh well look like we were going to use lures.

So we get to the hwy 16 bridge and put in. Michael has only paddled for about 15-20 minutes alone in his entire life and he has never gone fishing. We decided to head up stream a bit and fish the area that opens up to a wide open area. So after a few minutes of giving Michael a crash course in using a spinning reel I let him take a first cast. His first cast in his entire life resulted in this.....



I think I have a fishing partner for life now. The kid was hesitant on going with me because he was super nervous about kayaking and fishing. But while we were out there he thanked me like 20 times for bringing him out there.

So we fished the area for about another 45 minutes or so and both Mike and I were catching sandie after sandie. It was non stop. If we stayed there all day we probably could have caught 50 fish. Some of the fish we caught.....









Michael fishing


JJ fishing


It took me a little while to get Mike to hold the fish by its mouth and when he finally did the sandie got loose as I was about to take a picture. This is the result.

JJ went up stream some more while we were catching sandies and he scouted that area since non of us have been up that far. He caught 5-6 LMB while he was up there but it was a tough journey up there walking and dragging the kayaks so we decided to head back down stream.








We didnt have much success down stream. JJ caught a few sun fish, a small striper, and he also got a drum.



We took lots of breaks and swam around a lot. The water felt so refreshing. Im pretty sure the water was in the high 70's. It was so nice to be able to cool off in the water unlike the pools and lakes this time of year.

Michael is only 65 lbs so the boat was a little large for him but he did really well paddling the redfish 12 down stream.





We hung out on the river from 7:30am until about 3:30 PM. There was a strong breeze out there like always. The wind never stops on the brazos but it was welcomed because it felt great along with the cool refreshing water.

I cooked some mountain house chili mac for lunch and Michael loved it.



When we were on the gravel bar hanging out I decided to try and stand in my kayak. I removed all my gear from my kayak and handed Michael the camera and told him to "watch this". I paddled out to about 3-4 feet of water and stood up. It was easy! I was paddling around standing up in my kayak. Im 270 lbs so this shouldnt be so easy you would think.

Looks like ya had a great time! Congrats to Michael! Awesome pics

I did bring some balloons and planned on floating some large live baits targeting some large fish. I was abke to do this one time. I used a Sun Fish that JJ caught and I hooked him up under my balloon. I loosened my drag and paddled around trolling for something large. After a few minutes I heard my Abu Garcia reel SCREAM. Its such a beautiful sound. So I tightened the drag up and set the hook. I fought the fish for about 30 seconds which seamed like an eternity. I knew it was something big. Well I got it to surface about 30 feet away from me and then my 8lbs line snapped. I got a glimpse of the fish and Im pretty sure it was a gar. Oh well my one bait stolen on a gar. Hanging live bait under a balloon is a awesome way to fish the Brazos. Next time Im making sure I have lots of live bait or Im bringing a net and I think Im going to use a leader from now on with some heavier line when I fish like that there.


We ended up paddling approximately 1.5 miles down stream. On the way down Michael was fine but by the end of the day he was getting tired. So I hooked the redfish up to my Trident 15 and hauled him back up all the way to the ramp. It was a real good workout and I can feel my back muscles hurting a bit as I type this. Here Michael is taking a picture of my dragging the kayaks up a riffle on the way back...



And Michael pointing at me....lol




Overall it was a great trip as all Brazos river trips are. I taught a kid how to fish and kayak and he had an AWESOME time. Fishing with JJ was cool as it always is. And the scenery and refreshing water was well worth the 1hr 45min drive out there.

nice
so the water was shallow upstream from the bridge?

Dave that's awesome! That water looks so nice... Catching that first fish from the yak is something that Mike will remember forever. Way to make some memories!

In some spots it is but it opens up into deep pools too as the whole river does. Next time we are going to go all the way up near the dam.

Yeah he literally caught a fish on his first cast he ever took in his life. I was amazed.

cool story and pics. cheers

For about 150 yards the water was only 1.5 feet deep. Therefore the water was a little swift to paddle in and just as tough to walk in. It would have been manageable for Dave and I to paddle, but impossible for Michael. This trip was about having fun and catching a few fish. We will make it up to the dam next time.

Great report. Always cool to see a kid get hooked on fishing, but you have ruined him you know.

I thought the area up near the dam was restricted or blocked off. I haven't been there in years.

I got really close, but when I realized there was no way a 10 year old could make it I turned around so Dave and Mike would not try to follow. Not sure who here has been all the way up, but I went to the set of rapids that are after the 2 pipes I went over. Not sure how close that is to the dam.

I did make sure I caught the fish first, then told Dave and Mike not to bother going up there!!

You can go up aways past were you were. There will be signs posted not to cross.