Reservation Number : 44451
Property Name : Deer Trail Ranch
Reservation Date : 08/30/2025 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 20
Lures Used : Bladed jigs / Weightless / Cranks

Watched the weather report all week and just knew it was gonna be an absolute slugfest with some solid bass.  Overcast, cooler temps and some wind, I just knew it would make the bite crazy... 

We arrived at Deer Trail just as daylight cracked and got the skiff unloaded.  The ramp area is absolutely awesome at this property and would be perfect for a weekend camping trip.  ( Watch the edges of the concrete ramp, the Lilly pads and weeds and make it tough to judge the angle and the edge).  As soon as we got on the water we knew it was gonna be tougher than expected. About half the lake is covered in what looks like hydrilla that is so thick you could walk on it.  The water is crystal clear, so clear you can watch your bait falling to the bottom 75' from the boat.  There is a really sold ring of pads around the lake, although I couldn't get a frog bite to save my life today.   We worked bladed jigs of various colors and sizes around the edges of the grass and picked up our first 3lb bass of the day.  After that, ol deer trail got real stingy. The bite was very intermittent and very soft, much softer than what we remembered from our last trip here.  When the rain moved in, we broke for lunch and at that point only had 1 over, and 7 unders in the boat.   Most of which we picked up on the dam end of the lake.  PSA: Check out Slaughter BBQ in Sulpher Springs. It was fantastic!  We went back to the hotel and napped away the rain.  We hit the lake again about 4:30 and fished till dark. Evening bite was better for size, and we boated 4 more overs and 8 more for the cooler.  Overall, the bite was still very sporadic, and we didn't get any bass grouped up in one particular section to call out.  Deer trail is an absolutely beautiful property with MEGA bass potential.  Though we did not catch a ton of overs, the lake is CHOCK FULL of small bass. If you wanted to stock a cooler, this would be a great spot to hit.  Total of 15 bass for 8 hours of fishing.