THE CLEAR-RUNNING NUECES RIVER at Chalk Bluff River Resort is a delightful venue for fishing, kayaking, playing in the water or just sitting in the shade and watching the river flow by at this southwestern Hill Country hideaway. (Photo by John Jefferson)
By John Jefferson
After my seventh-grade school-year, I was privileged to attend a unique boys camp on the Nueces River north of Uvalde, just south of Camp Wood. It was called Camp Nueces. The most unique things about it were that it had a small enrollment and was a working ranch.
Small enrollment meant we could pile in several station wagons and make short side trips. We visited Mexico once and bought gifts for our parents (with their money). I bought my mother perfume and a bottle of something with a bat on the label. We also went to another ranch that had the most beautiful swimming hole I have ever seen. It looked like a Hollywood set. We got to visit Devil’s Sink Hole and see real bats. And, it being a ranch, I learned to love fresh beef stew.
On the way to Mexico, we passed a place called “Camp Chalk Bluff”. The name came from a sheer limestone bluff extending hundreds of feet up a mountain. I yearned to go there. It was a resort-type camp – not one just for young boys.
To celebrate my birthday this past March, my kids let me pick the place. We usually go where we can fish. I chose Chalk Bluff, now known as Chalk Bluff River Resort.
The Nueces is crystal clear, shallow in many places, but with occasional riffles and deep holes. Eddies just downstream from the riffles, the deep holes, shaded areas along the bluff, and rare grass beds are where you find the fish.
The river is full of big, aggressive sunfish, and I caught plenty during the summers at Camp Nueces. I became a counselor after a couple of years and had time to fish after my duties with the kids were over. One evening after supper, I took my rod and reel and headed downstream, fishing every likely spot along the way. Mesmerized by the clear, running water, the solitude, and the prospect of catching a nice fish, I guess I lost track of time. I also hadn’t realized how far downstream I had trudged.
The sun had set behind the mountain when I made my “first last cast”. I was using my favorite lure, a Heddon River Runt Spook Sinker. A violent jerk on the end of the line declared “Fish On!” My heart was beating violently in response. I landed the largest bass that 14-year old had ever caught. It probably weighed three pounds — a trophy in that time before Texas had lakes, and was bigger than most river bass, which run small. It seems like just yesterday.
Finally getting to Chalk Bluff and back to the Nueces recently brought back memories of times on the river. My life had changed seeing that country, the river, and my first deer and turkeys. And catching that fish.
Chalk Bluff isn’t fancy, but I’ll be back. Aaron Riggins (830-486-5629) guides float trips on the Nueces and other Hill Country rivers.
Careful, though, that could change your life.
JJ