Three young anglers had a big time chasing largemouth bass from a small boat on the Nueces River.
On August 10, Diego Medina, 21, and Julian Ruiz, 24, of Sabinal, and 20-year-old Tyler Lee, of Thrall, arrived in the early morning to view crystal-clear water. They launched their three-seat Pelican Bass Raider equipped with raised seats, a trolling motor, sonar and some paddles.
“It’s gone back down a bit,” Ruiz said of the river.
A few weeks prior, the water rose in the Nueces and the Frio rivers from some much needed rain. Medina said the water had risen a couple of feet and the current had greatly increased. The weekend of their trip, the current had receded and the depth was almost back to prior levels. The deeper pockets of water weren’t completely stagnant, but not far off.
Once launched, it didn’t take the trio long to get on fish. After about 10 minutes, Medina hooked into the first and set the tone for the day. Next, Ruiz and Lee got on the board. But after the initial excitement, the boys were humbled.
“It was off and on every 30-45 minutes, then we’d get hit with three or four bites back-toback,” Lee said. “It seemed like they were hanging out in schools on the under cuts of the bank.”
The group had their best luck with fast retrieved square-bills and bouncing drop shots along the bank.
“Once we got on them, we would double and triple up, but we had to find them first,” Medina said.
After a day filled with 1- to 2-pound bass, Medina hooked into a better fish.
“I was bouncing my drop shot off the bottom when I felt a solid hit,” he said. “I reeled in my slack and set the hook.”
After a short fight, Medina brought the fish to the surface and Ruiz netted it.
“We put it on a scale and were pleasantly surprised to see it weigh right at 4 pounds,” Medina said. “There are big fish in this river — we’ve seen several 7-8 pounders. You just have to be patient and put in the time to find them.”
After fishing into the afternoon the boys decided to start making their way back to the truck and end their trip on a good note. On the way back they caught another few fish in the spots they had previously found the bass in schools. By the end of the trip Medina, Ruiz and Lee had caught and released 22 bass.
“Catching is obviously fun, but it was about enjoying some quality time with your buddies before school takes over again,” said Lee, who began his junior year at Sul Ross State University.
