April 9, 2006

Corpus Christi Caller Times

A Hidden Treasure

Uvalde County's Upper Nueces River offers plentiful fish amidst pristine surroundings

By David Sikes

Copyright 2006 Corpus Christi Caller Times

http://www.caller.com/ccct/recreation_columnists/article/0,1641,CCCT_868_4608579,00.html

Fall 2005

Southwest Fly Fishing Magazine

Happily Marooned in the Hill Country

Nueces River, TX

By Ray Chapa

http://www.nwflyfishing.net/frame.php?st=sw

There isn't a direct link to the article but it will take you to the site

Copyright 2005 Southwest Fly Fishing Magazine

laughingbass.com Fishing Show

Laughing Bass came down and filmed as fishing show with me

http://www.laughingbass.com/riggins.asp

August 2005

Outdoor Life Magazine

Destinations

Hill Country Bass

By Chad Mason

Copyright 2005 Outdoor Life Magazine

http://www.outdoorlife.com/outdoor/destinations/article/0,19912,1029318,00.html

December 2004 Issue

Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine

Three days in the Field December 2004

A Hillcountry Doubleheader

By Dan Oko

Copyright 2004 Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2004/dec/threedays/

March 17, 2004, 10:35PM

Houston Chronical

Hidden Treasures

Trio of rivers in Hill Country has much to offer

By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

March 2004 Issue

Texas Outdoors Journal

Lake Roundup

Central Texas Report

By JOHN JEFFERSON

Copyright March 2004 Texas Outdoors Journal

     Another man who shares my passion for stream fishing is Aaron Riggins, of Uvalde. One cold but sunny day in early February, I called him and left a message saying I hoped he was out fishing. He was .

     "I was fishing today on the Sabinal," he told me when he called back. "It was absolutly fabulous!" There are some pretty good spots around Utopia. The best bet is any access point from Lost Maples State Park to County Road 364 in Uvalde County. I caught some warmouths and some longear sunfish on a fly rod."

     Riggins uses a  fly rod for the most part. That day, he was fishing using a five weight rod and five weight line with a streamer minnow. He also used a crawfish pattern. " I fished the Sabinal today because it was pretty warm and I wanted to get into the water. It should be to early and the fish are usually leader-shy. They don't feed as aggresively when the water is cold. I also used a crawfish pattern. Catching fish on a crawfish pattern is unheard of in February-its not crawfish season. But I hadn't any luck on anything else, so I decided to try it."

     The Sabinal and Nueces rivers are good all along the way, he reports. Riggins catches fish in six to eight inches of water on them. He also fishes the Frio River, but because there are so many people along the Frio, the fish are spookier. The Fish will go down into deep cuts in the rock and it's harder to induce a strike.

     To him, the mystique in this kind of fishing is the difficulty of catching fish on these shallow, swift-moving rivers. A pound or pound- and- a- half Guadelupe Bass, he says, is nice size. I agree. A Guadelupe Bass that size that has fought its way to maturity in swift water is a better athlete and can give a better account of himself than a comparable fish from a sluggish reservoir where schools of shad simply swim by to offer a moving buffet line. "This is a hidden treasure," he says.

     Aaron Riggins didn't know Bud Priddy, the late author of Fly Fishing the Texas Hill Country, to which I have often referred, but wished he had. He is certainly following Priddy's footsteps through the same shallow, swift waters, and doing so with the same respect for the precious streams of the Hill Country.... and the spunky fish that inhabit them.

     Riggins claims to not be a professional guide, but if you want to fish some pristine waters, you might make him an offer. He can be reached at home at (830)278-8829 or on his cell (830)486-5629. Just don't call him on March 4-7. He will be showing his fishing holes to some writers I know.