need help planning a weekend river trip

[angryocotillo]

I usually search the heck out of this place until I find the information I need without having to post a new topic, but I am breaking down and doing just that. Information on this subject doesnt seem to be very consolidated anywhere. I am an experienced backpacker and a novice kayaker who hopes to merge those two hobbies together by overnight kayaking. I live in college station so the nearest place to try this out would be the brazos river although I have read many people say that this is not an ideal place, because of some dangers I cant recall. I have read "Goodbye to a River" by John Graves and enjoyed it, I do realize however that the upper brazos is much different than the lower brazos. Another option is to drive a little over an hour west and do a similar trip on the colorado river, which most people seem to think is more conducive to what I am hope to do. The first time i go I hope to do a two night trip and I'm not sure whether or not I should do an out-and-back or if we should do a through-"hike" and have someone pick us up down stream.

What is the fishing like on these two rivers? How difficult is it to find a place to camp? Can I just throw my regular backpacking stuff in a trash back and put it in the hull? Can someone recommend a put in or take out spot on these rivers somewhere close to the college station area? Thanks!

[sleepyTX]

You are welcome to join up on a float trip I have planned for mid-April from Brandt Rd (La Grange) to Thousand Trails (Colombus). url]http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 2&t=210209[/url]
I have not fished the Brazos but have wanted to fish the upper portion someday. I have fished the Colorado aroumd LaGrange alot. From what I have read the upper Brazos and the Colorado are similar.

There are plenty of bass and catfish in the Colorado. I have had good luck with TXrig worms in eddies and below shoals and lately spinner baits along the bottom of deeper holes.

There are plenty of islands and beaches along the Colorado on which to camp. You can access the Colorado at Bastrop, Smithville, Plum Park and La Grange. LCRA has a more complete list on their website.

[Hirsch]

The first 20 miles below Possum Kingdom is an excellent two night trip and you will see several reports in the trip reports above in this forum. The Colorado river between Austin and Bastrop offer several good possibilities including paddling a day, laying over and paddling out the third. The Brazos around Marlin offers paddle pout and back as does the Brazos/ Navasota around College Station. The lower Neches is another good one with two good shuttle services. The entire trip will be in the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Check the trip reports and you will find a wealth of information and the sources to ask.
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 2&t=201712" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[forager]

If you time it right, the lower brazos is an awesome place for multi day river trips. I've spent A LOT of time on the lower brazos lately including multiple kayak camping trips and never had any issues. Assuming the water levels are good the only "dangers" I would worry about are log jams. There are also a few rapids but most are very small and easy to avoid. There is a pretty serious set called "hildago falls" just north of the 290 bridge but even then you can go around them.

The fishing on the lower brazos is awesome if your into big cats and big gar. I've never had much luck on artificials but 30+ lb cats and 6+ ft gator gar are pretty common if your using bait.

[angryocotillo]

I went and looked at the bridge under 60 and I dont see anyway to get a kayak in there. One side is a sheer drop and the other side has a fence around it. Any other ideas for a put in and take out spots near College station?

[jdub81]

Here is a couple of catches on the Brazos right near 290. If you let me know when you are planning your trip I might be able to help you out as far as take out around the Chapel Hill area.

Justin

[angryocotillo]

We launched where the 105 bridge goes over the brazos at about 2 p.m.. Getting the kayaks down to the beach and into the water was pretty easy. There is a dirt road that goes to about 50 yards from the water before you have to carry your kayaks down a mildly steep and sandy hill to make it to the beach. The area looks heavily used and there were over a dozen people fishing there on the bank that Saturday afternoon.

The scenery was better than I had Imagined. Sixty foot red dirt cliffs intermittently impose upon the shoreline. Ancient massive hardwoods have crashed along the bank to become a sort of monument to their own lives. One of these, a mile or two up the Navasota, had a diameter greater than that of my Ford Ranger. The solitude was nice as well. After we had launched, we did not see another person for the entire trip. However, the solitude was not as pristine as say, west Texas. Once we got down by the state park people could be heard, and the sounds of the highway were constantly audible.

We slowly drifted down the river while I tried to catch sunfish for bait with a small hook and earthworm, and my friend threw a jig at sunken logs in hopes of hooking a largemouth. His bass fishing efforts went unrewarded, but we did manage to catch three small sunfish and a small minnow in what probably equated to two hours or more of fishing. If we had a cast net, we could have netted dozens in much less time. Tiny black flies pestered us constantly, especially when we stopped moving. A liberal dousing of off seemed to help, although it didnt completely ward off the flies. We made it down to the confluence of the Navasota and the Brazos after about three hours. In the first quarter mile of the Navasota we set about a dozen lines made of 50lb test monofilament and baited with shrimp, beef liver, nightcrawler, or one of the live bait fish mentioned earlier.

On our way back to the Brazos we checked our lines, and picked up a ~15 inch channel cat that had been caught on a hook baited with beef liver. We set up camp on a small beach about a quarter mile south of the state park. My cooking pot somehow didnt make it with us, so I cooked the fish on a stick. That didnt work out too well..., but it in the mean time my friend hooked into a fish with his rod and reel from the beach (beef liver again for the bait). It was ripping line off the spool fast. All of a sudden the line became slack and we were sure the fish had spit the hook, but apparently it just made a hard run straight at us because the line started ripping off the spool moment later. The fish made a roll on the surface so we thought it might have been a gar. When we finally got in the net, it was revealed to be a big blue cat. We rejoiced because of our catch and my friend kept making references to "Jeremy Wade". Whoever that is...

The next day we checked our lines we had set out in the Navasota. We caught a ~3lb blue cat on a hook baited with beef liver. My friend struggled to get the hook out of it's mouth, but as soon as the fish was unhooked it burst out of my friends grasp, hit the bow of my yak, and splashed into the water. Apparently my friend has never learned to hold a catfish correctly... Oh well, live and learn. That was the only fish we caught over night. All but one of the hooks had the bait taken. A few lines had snapped and one even had a hook that had been straightened out. Next time we will definitely use something bigger and badder than 50 lb mono.

My friend suggested that we just kayak back up the Brazos, but the water was flowing swiftly and it was going to be a ***** so we started our way up the Navasota. The water was much calmer there, but in some narrow spots, water was moderately swift for 20-30 yards where you had to kick paddling into high gear. The paddle back would have been nicer if we hadnt have been on a time limit. My friend needed to get back for a group project by 11 so we paddled hard the whole way. We saw a half dozen feral pigs about 75 yards up the bank from us. They slowly moved away from us when they heard us. We also had a ~150lb boar dash and splash his way across the river about 40 yards from us. That was pretty thrilling.

We made it to the 105 bridge but there were some pretty gnarly looking rapids directly underneath of it that, being as worn out as we were, we didnt really want to mess with them. My friend convinced me that the south east side of the bridge would be the best place to get the yaks out. The bank here was STEEP and about 40 yards high. My muddy flip flops made it almost impossible to climb to the top, much less pull a kayak up it. From there I noticed that the north west side of the bridge looked much more hospitable. After much adieu, we finally got our kayaks back up the bank. If we hadnt have been so exhausted, or had wasted our energy trying to get up the southeast bank, it would have been only mildly difficult.

The walk back to the truck was not bad at all. I was even able to drive down almost all the way to the Navasota to pick up our yaks. My friend missed his group meeting so after we got back we continued the long running Texas outdoorsman's tradition of feasting on Whataburger after our adventure. I'm exhausted and my lats, traps, biceps, and abs are throbbing. My shins are cut and I have a little bit of a sunburn, but all of that was definitely worth it for the experience. I can't imagine there is a much better adventure this close to College Station. Oh yeah and... Beef Liver FTW!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vzyt5m54eyb3j ... 20yaks.jpg

My friend with his 13lb blue cat

[larry long shadows]

Great post glad you had fun nothing like adventure ..

[jackh]

I would start out with an overnight trip on the Colorado from FM 969 to Fisherman's park in Bastrop. You can use Bastrop River Company for a shuttle. Its an easy overnight trip and there is a large island to camp on right at the 7 mile mark. Good fishing too.

http://southwestpaddler.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is an excellent resource

[aggiejon]

Sounds like an awesome trip. I am leaving in the morning for the Brazos between FM979 (jones prairie to calvert) halfway to the FM485 (Port Sullivan) bridge.

About an hour and a half from College Station to Marlin bridge, then could get picked up at FM485 bridge after a couple day float. The Brazos is a finicky beast, and has its moments of sheer solitude and grandeur, to unbridled fury. Right now, its very low. A good rain, and you get a red rise and the water comes down, you don't want to be anywhere near the thing, kayak, boat, or rolltop desk. Definitely not sleeping on a sandbar if its raining up river.

My kayak buddies and I are prepping to start a trip to cover the entire length of the Little River, which is formed by the confluence of the Leon and Lampasas rivers coming out of Lake Belton and Lake Stillhouse. It joins the Brazos just past Port Sullivan. ~110 miles of river.

For another place to get on near College Station, try the old Koppe Bridge (not the restaurant). We went down there fishing a lot in college. Excellent yellow cat hole. Of course there were people who went down there for lots of other activities. I'd heard rumor that it was closed off. May ask around. I could drive it in the dark but couldn't explain how to get there. Southwest of FM2818 and Wellborn. Hit some gravel and find it.