Fishing the Devils River...A River of Beauty
Clint Taylor
While each river I fish in the state of Texas has something special or unique about it, the Devils River no doubt offers some of the most spectacular views, water clarity, fishing, and best overall experience you can find in the Lone Star State.
On this particular trip to the Devils River me and my dad would be testing out a new setup…but not one for the water - for land. I recently decided to build a DIY Overland Trailer to take with me on my trips (when possible), and this happened to be the first true outing for my trailer. I knew it would be a good test too, as the Devils River has rough gravel roads that was sure to test the integrity of my craftsmanship.
As we started off on the maiden voyage for my overland trailer, it was apparent that mother nature had some wind in store for us…and lots of it. The entire trip to the Devils River was filled with 20+ mph winds…but my 4Runner and trailer handled it beautifully. The gravel road to the headquarters of the Devils River State Natural Area was also a breeze, as nothing failed, broke, or caused issues of any sort…except the abundance of dust that was now covering my 4Runner and trailer.
I was very excited and eager to get out on the water, so I just unhooked the trailer at my basecamp location and headed directly to the water. I decided to wait to fully setup camp until I got back from the day.
The walk to the Devils River was same as it always has been - amazingly beautiful, yet extremely tiring, lots of hardwork, and very hot! It was well worth it though, as the Devils River was clear and amazing.
My dad got his Jackson Kayak Liska rigged up and ready to go while I was hopping on my Pau Hana Big EZ Angler - my somewhat new SUP designated for fishing.
The wind was brutal, and unfortunately this made fishing incredibly rough. Fishing from a SUP already adds a level of increased skill that is required, but fishing from a SUP in the wind can be near impossible. I had to really think about how I could fish successfully, and I eventually came up with a few different approaches:
Anchoring my SUP in some weeds
Finding areas that acted as wind breaks
Paddling to a fishing location, then getting of my SUP to fish
All of these methods where utilized to some extent, and luckily they paid off with some fish!
My dad was the first to land a fish…and a very nice fish at that! He caught a good sized Largemouth Bass with a Texas Rigged creature bait.
Something you will learn (or will want to know ahead of time) when you go to the Devils River is that the Largemouth Bass love the vegetation…particularly the edge of the vegetation where open water is. This bass was caught right on the edge of some submerged vegetation and my dad was quick to set the hook and make sure it didn’t get away.
It took me a little more time to land my first fish, but eventually I caught one in a little cove. The wind was brutal, so I used my Big EZ Angler to get me through some deep sections to a point where I could wade fish. A few casts into wade fishing and I hooked one! It was a little rascal, but it was a good one no doubt.
While not a large fish by any means, this bass did put up a good fight for its size. On the other hand, my dad was on a roll and soon landed a great bass with his creature bait. I couldn’t hear much in the wind, but I definitely heard, “I caught a big one!”. He certainly did…and right on the edge of some vegetation.
Something me and my dad immediately realized from these bass was how hard they were fighting. While this fish my dad caught was good size, he thought it fought twice as hard as his size. They were very feisty, and that always makes for a lot of fun.
Despite the wind, we were pretty successful early on. The Texas Rigged creature bait really did the trick. As a back up / follow up lure, I was also throwing a Fluke. I really like the Fluke and throw them when I can, but the wind was pretty harsh. From my experience, a Fluke is not something you want to throw in strong wind. A Fluke will move too much from the wind and you will not be able to control it like you should. This is why the Texas Rigged creature bait was the best lure for the day.
I searched in some vegetation with my creature bait as my dad explored some other areas that looked like they’d hold fish. The wind continued to be a nuisance, but I landed another bass! This one was slightly larger, but I still had my eyes set on catching something a little larger.
The sun began to set and the colors of the sky were changing quick. While it was tempting to continue fishing on into the night, it was already 9:00 PM, we hadn’t eaten, and we had to get back to camp. This first day showed that the fish were biting, and we had decent success landing a few fish in brutal conditions, but we knew we’d have to do better on day 2. So, with light fading we paddled back towards our take out point and headed to camp.
The scenery was amazing at sunset. The colors against the rock, the sky across the river. It was simply beautiful. It was almost hard to believe that we are in the middle of a pandemic while surrounded by so many beautiful things. It was a great sight to see anytime, but particularly among everything going on.
Back at camp, it was time to quickly setup my trailer, get to cooking, and eat some food! For this first night I would make “gourmet sausage” with potato chips and an ice cold refreshment courtesy of my ARB Elements 63 overland fridge freezer.
While I’ve had sausage and chips many times before, it certainly does taste a little extra good after a day out on the water and in the middle of the desert. I can’t tell you enough how important food and drinks are on the Devils River. Of course, water is most important and you should constantly be drinking water while outside in 100 degree weather, but I do think a soft drink at the end of the day is good for the mind. It truly was amazing to use this overland trailer I built and have everything working together - the ARB fridge, fold down table, Camp Everest stove, water system, Renogy solar system, and so much more. It was definitely a good way to end the night. At that, we were off to sleep in my Tepui Kukenam Sky 3 RTT.
Day 2
Day 2 started with filling up our Klean Kanteens and then realizing a hot Texas day wasn’t the only weather that would be affecting us today…the wind was probably 25+ mph and we both knew we were in for quite a rough day with such strong winds. This sure didn’t detour me and my dad from going out to catch some big bass. We were on a mission and determined to succeed.
Since wind was a strong factor, we both were throwing Texas Rigged creature baits with a 3/8 oz. bullet weight to help out. Luckily, it was the perfect ticket as we soon started reeling some in! I found a nice area of vegetation with some good underground structure. I casted my creature bait into the thick of it and soon felt the unmistakable feeling of a bass biting!
This wasn’t a giant, but it was a great bass to start the day off at over 2 pounds!
I was really excited to catch this bass because I honestly didn’t know how successful I’d be in such strong winds. Fishing from a SUP is awesome, but one downside is strong winds can really push you around. I need to get a stakeout pole for my Pau Hana Big EZ Angler to help out with this…I definitely will have one next time I make a trip to the Devils River. I’m not big on anchors and like to go as light as possible, but you almost need something in winds like this.
One tip I can give you is your paddle. I use Bending Branches (BB) paddles. BB paddles are made in the US, out of Wisconsin. While a paddles place of manufacturing doesn’t necessarily affect the paddle, I am for supporting US made products…luckily, BB makes unbelievable paddles and is manufactured right here in the US. My SUP paddle of choice is the BB Amp. With a carbon fiber shaft and large blade, this paddle can really propel you through the water. While this paddle is great, I recommend bringing a traditional kayak paddle to help out when needed. If winds are strong enough, I will sit down on my Big EZ Angler or on my Engel 19 QT dry box to reduce wind drag, and then I grab my BB Angler Pro Carbon and make ease of the situation at hand. The Angler Pro Carbon is one of the finest paddles you will find on the market, and it is a great paddle to bring with you when SUP fishing.
Most of the day I would be utilizing a traditional kayak paddle, and for good reason. As me and my dad paddled more of the Devils River we had moderate success. A few decent bass over the span of a few hours, but we really had to work for each one. One thing we didn’t have to work for though was the unbelievable scenery.
For anyone that has been to the Devils River, read about the Devils River, or just heard of the Devils River...you probably know that this river is something special. It really is just so impressive to see such clear, spring fed water, huge cliffs, and an abundance of wildlife in the middle of a desert. For some reason I am just overly amazed with the diversity that this river presents.
I’ve had the opportunity to make several trips to the Devils River over the past 5 years…and each time is just as amazing as the first. In fact, I’d even say each time has been slightly better because I’ve found new areas, better fishing tactics, different weather, different times of year…it is beautiful.
As beautiful as a place this might be, I came to the Devils River for more than just staring at the scenery. It was time to really form a strategy to find some fish in this strong wind!
The wind was simply too strong to fish effectively from a kayak and SUP. So, me and my dad scouted the areas nearby and found a stretch of river where there was somewhat of a windbreak from the cliffs. This area would require lots of portaging though, as several sections of shallow water waterfalls separated us and this area. We debated if the journey would be worth it, and ultimately we didn’t know. We were willing to take an adventure though, so we began making our way to the wind break.
All in all, the portaging process wasn’t terrible, but I will say that walking for a while through waterfalls and rapids is pretty tiring and dangerous. So, if you find yourself in a similar situation, just be cautious.
We finally made it into the clear, and it looked very promising. The water was much calmer, wind was subtle, and there were lots of areas that appeared to be good locations for big bass.
My dad was the first to catch a fish in this area, and a somewhat special fish at that…a Smallmouth Bass! For some people, Smallmouth Bass are nothing too unusual, but considering this is pretty much the southernmost area that you can catch Smallmouth Bass it was quite the surprise for us.
I was next to catch a fish. I landed a very nice Largemouth Bass with a Fluke. I saw a shadow moving underneath some tree limbs that were overhanging right above the water. I knew I’d have to skip my lure back in there underneath the limbs, so I grabbed my spinning setup, put on a Fluke, and skipped it far underneath the tree. Within seconds I felt something on my line. I set the hook and was reeling in a very nice bass!
Besides landing this nice bass, I noticed something very exciting when I was reeling him in…this wasn’t the only bass swimming in nearby waters because I saw several other bass in the excitement!
Me and my dad launched a strategic attack to catch these bass, and man we sure did have some success.
I landed a really nice Smallmouth Bass pretty soon after my last catch…and it was an extremely hard fighter. I tell you what, if you don’t have a medium-light spinning rod for bass fishing you need to get one. Reeling in this 2+ pound Smallmouth was a blast on this rod. Being a fisherman who fishes almost exclusively for Largemouth, I couldn’t help but take a second to look at the much darker color of this fish. It was pretty neat!
While this was a great Smallmouth for me, my dad would soon show me up with an even larger Smallmouth. Using a Rage Tail Rage Craw that was Texas Rigged, my dad hooked into the biggest Smallmouth either of us have ever caught.
Both me and my dad were pretty amazed with the Smallmouth Bass we had caught. We really haven’t caught that many Smallmouth in our entire lives, so this was definitely pretty neat.
After releasing this great catch, we continued on fishing. There was a slight lull in the action, so we changed up our lures a bit. I went to a weightless creature bait and so did my dad. This seemed to help out as my dad casted under some trees, twitched his lure a bit and then hooked a nice 4 lb. Largemouth Bass!
My dad was having great success on this trip, and specifically this day. This bass was definitely evidence too.
Man, these were some great fish. Me and my dad went on to catch several other bass within the next hour, but nothing too big. Catching these fish was a blast and simply showed that sometimes the effort required to get somewhere is well worth the struggle. Going through all the rapids and rocks to make it into this wind break area was a lot of work, but the results were well worth the work.
We started to slowly make our way back into the strong wind areas…but luckily the wind was at our back this time. With my dad paddling his Jackson Kayak Liska and me on my Pau Hana Big EZ Angler, we were able to make ease of paddling. Having our Bending Branches paddles definitely helped out a lot too.
The sun slowly dipped down towards the horizon as we made it to our take out location and began heading back towards our base camp. Despite the wind we had an unbelievable time fishing and enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Devils River. While this was the last time we’d see the Devils River on this particular trip, it was now time to enjoy the camping and scenery of the land surrounding the Devils River.
Once we had all of our fishing and paddling gear loaded up, we made the short drive down the rough gravel path to our overland trailer…and I have to say, it was a very nice site to see after a long day on the water.
I had to make a few minor adjustments to the trailer, such as adding a ratchet strap to help secure my Tepui Kukenam Sky 3 RTT and taking off the rain fly. Outside of this the tent was handling amazing. It was time to cook dinner, and on this final night we would be eating good - hamburgers.
I lowered my custom table, brought out the camp stove, pulled all the food out of my ARB Elements Fridge, and I was off to cooking!
I tell you what, this was a great meal to have to end the trip. Two good burgers each, cold drinks, and maybe best of yet, the amazing night sky. There is something neat about going through a really tiring day and then topping it off with some relaxation, good food, and beautiful sights. Believe it or not, nearly every time I’ve been to the Devils River prior to this trip I haven’t had a good view of the night sky due to clouds. This was the first time I could really see…and wow, it was well worth the wait!
The stars are truly incredible. Being able to see the Milky Way is almost humbling. Just to visually see how infinite of a world God has created is really neat. The fishing, paddling, food, and scenery were all great parts of this particular trip…but I think the sky might have been the overall winner. I can’t wait to go back and see these stars again.
While I wish I was at the Devils River right now, I am extremely thankful me and my dad had the opportunity to take a trip. I’ve never been disappointed with the Devils River, and I’m not so sure that I ever will be. The extreme heat, desert landscape, rough terrain in combination with the beautiful water and scenery, night sky, and overall experience makes for quite the adventure.
If you have any questions on the Devils River, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to help you enjoy some of the amazing places God has created! Until next time, stay safe and catch some big ones!