I just scratched a bucket list itch that might be of interest to fellow PWF members. If you enjoy kayaking/canoeing and camping with some fishing, this might interest you!

After much anticipation and planning with our outfitter, I spent 4 incredible days running, camping & fishing the Devils River in SW Texas, with my son and nephew. Due to trip logistics (take out issues), we weren’t sure until the last minute, if we were going to run the upper third or the middle third of the river, so I brought a ton of tackle (based on all the youtube videos I watched in advance of the trip). As it was, we ended up running the middle section of the river (about 15 miles) and had an incredible time!

This spring fed river was crystal clear and although I didn’t catch a ton of bass, I did catch 11 largemouth and 3 smallmouths! All but three of the bass were in the 15-19” range and including a 15” smallmouth on day 1 (picture 3) and a 16” smallmouth on day 3 (picture 4). Man, those smallmouths put up a great fight! The only lure that produced under the bluebird skies, was a green blue wacky rigged senko with a nose weight!

I would venture to guess that the fishing might be more productive on the upper third of the river which appears to contain much more aqueous vegetation than the middle third of the river (which we mostly ran), as I noticed a big change in once we traveled south of Dolan Falls. Dolan Falls appears to be the result of differential erosion at the interface of two different geologic limestone formations (which seems to impact the aqueous cover).

None the less it was still great catching my first 3 smallmouths!

Another incredible element of the trip was the spectacular night sky...stars galore, shooting stars and a view of the Milky Way, as well as two magical nights of swarming Fireflies adding to the cosmic outdoor lightshow! Too much! Definitely recommend running this river during a new moon.

Please feel free to email me if you would like any additional info!

Bob

Finally figured out how to add a couple of pics.

Bob