Great time fishing the Oklahoma lakes at Cody Ranch

Apr 27 2015

Jackson Bean

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2012
Number of Posts :
225

Cody Ranch turned out some better fish this year.  Paul Milwood had the big girl of the trip with a 7-11.  Chris Casner and I fished together and by the time I left on Sunday at 10 am we were up to 70 fish.  Our best results came on Peach Creek.  We had 29 fish on Saturday over a four hour period with the biggest just under 6 pounds.  The lily pad stems were absolutely loaded with fish.  We were throwing white chatter baits with Lake Fork Magic Shad swim bait trailers and catching two and three pounders with regularity and then a larger fish here and there.  South Twin had some really healthy fish in it….  These fish were thick and fought the hardest of any of them.  We managed two more right at five pounds and very few culls.  I think there are fewer fish in South Twin but would be my guess for the best chance for a double digit.  Crab Grass was where I spent Friday evening but the only fish I could get to bite were the smaller ones.  A chrome rattle trap did the best along with a weightless Senko.  Lower Hart was the toughest to fish because of the algae bloom occurring and a mix of American pond weed and some other type of grass that made it difficult to get your bait back without a side salad.  I think if Chris and I could of thrown weightless plastics we would have done better but the wind was blowing too hard while we were there to try. 

The lodge was top notch as always and the hospitality of Steve Cody is over the top.  We saw some large Osprey's that have made a nest near South Twin and were doing a nice job culling fish from the shallows.  We saw deer, wild hogs, turkeys and plenty of Canadian geese.  My advice to anyone wanting a great day on the water would be to get up to Peach Creek and head to the opposite side of the lake from the boat launch and throw Texas rigged flukes and white chatter baits into those pad stems.  Even after we left Zach and Paul went back and sore lipped even more than we did. 

Zach will surely get on and post a report or comment.  I know they caught more fish than we did.  I have a photo of Paul's big girl.

Here was my biggest fish which came from Peach Creek.  It was funny….  We watched her follow my chatter bait back to the boat and try to snatch the rod out of my hand in the final few feet.

A big thanks for Zach and Paul for the fajitas.  Saturday we were all too pooped so just made a Sonic run and watched the Klitchko fight.  Chris did another dynamite job on the margaritas and was great company on the boat.  It was another successful trip up there.

Tight Lines,

Jackson

Posted By: Jackson Bean

Apr 27 2015

Tom Dillon

Toad

Member Since :
2014
Number of Posts :
516

Great report, Jackson! Sounds like a great trip, and I'm sorry I couldn't have been there. Congrats on all the nice fish!

Apr 27 2015

Zach Milwood

Fingerling

Member Since :
2010
Number of Posts :
55

Dad definitely did much better than I did this trip!  We fished the South Twin Friday afternoon in the rain.  What Jackson's report left out was that we did most of our fishing from the bank between the two lakes!  Dad caught his 7-11 in 4' of water on a Carolina-rigged fluke - again, from the bank!  Then he followed that up with a 5-10 and a 4-11.  He joked that all he needed was a 6lber to have a small straight!

While he caught the largest fish of the weekend, he also has the honors for the smallest.  :-)

One other interesting fact we noticed on the lakes:  they were very monogamous to specific lures.  We used a Houdini Slop Hopper at Peach Tree, and they absolutely were killing them.  On the other lakes, they only wanted a shallow (0-6") crankbait.  There was no need to go through the entire tackle box.  Anyway, had a great time as always, enjoyed the company and watching the boxing match on Jackson's iPad!  We need about 4 more to go next year and we'll have our awesome fish fry.

Zach

Apr 28 2015

Phillip D. Chapin

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2005
Number of Posts :
227

Glad yall had another great trip, will make it next year (hoping).. hey Zach, i see your dad sitting in your boat like mine (the Pro 120) are you loving yours as much as i love mine??

Apr 28 2015

Zach Milwood

Fingerling

Member Since :
2010
Number of Posts :
55

Hey Phillip,

It's a remarkable upgrade from my previous Predator-style boat.  I LOVE having actual storage!  The livewell issue is still a sticky (stinky really) one with me - piss poor engineering.  I'm going to rig a pump for the livewell, mount it to the underside of the lid, wire it to a switch and the switch to the battery, and run tubing so that I can fill it when I need to and empty it as well.  As you well know if you use it, it doesn't fill up with enough water for the fish, and then draining it fully is virtually impossible.  With most of the lakes I fish having harvest rules, I need to have a good, functional livewell.  A bilge pump is going to be another project for another day, one that you've already tackled!

Apr 28 2015

Chris Casner

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2012
Number of Posts :
233

Great trip again with great people.  If you haven't been to Cody you need to see this place.  

Apr 28 2015

Phillip D. Chapin

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2005
Number of Posts :
227

Yep Zach, both the live well and the hull drain are way to high to totally drain either completelly.. i actually cut me a hole at the back of my boat in the floor big enough to lay me a very small bilge pump in there to pump all the water from the hull… you would be surprised how much water gets trapped in there… but i still have to do a little trick my dad taught me… take a take a 14"- 16" strip of cotton cloth (i cut a strip off bottom of a t shirt)  wet it then stick it in through the drain .. let couple of inches of the cloth lay in bottom of well with the water and let the remaining 10"+ hang down the out side… you will see the cloth start dripping water slowly but in time it will cause a siphon effect and draw every drop of water out of the well.. it really works… i do not know why they put the drain holes so high up.. when i researched my boat , that was the biggest complaint.. FYI.. another reason i cut the hole in the back floor and added a bilge in the hull is because i fished all day in a rain and the boat started feeling heavy.. when i got it out of water there was an amazing amount of water that ran between the floor and the hull, and when i took plug out it drained a bunch… with my hole i can now see if water gets in there plus i can turn on my bilge and pump out while on the water… so if you fish in rain, remember water will get between floor and hull… this is good idea for any of you guys that have a PRO 120.. great boat , i love mine , but it does need twicking

Apr 28 2015

Phillip D. Chapin

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2005
Number of Posts :
227

Hey Zach.. i just noticed you mentioned at the end of your post about the bilge pump i added.. i remember now that i had sent you photos.. try the length of cloth to get the rest of water out.. it must be cotton to work though

Apr 29 2015

Marty Newman

Fingerling

Member Since :
2000
Number of Posts :
73

I have the same boat.  Philip can you post pics of your modifications?  Or email them to me at martyn@cebridge.net?

Thanks, Marty

Apr 30 2015

Phillip D. Chapin

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2005
Number of Posts :
227

Hey Marty, i emailed you pictures and notes on my modifications,, i couldnt get my pictures to post correctly on here..  (computer illiterate) ,, if anyone else has the PRO 120 let me know,, these modifications really help the boat a lot… OH, and 1 last thing i missed!!!  a rudder is a must on this boat,, Dr Bean helped me with that, and i am ever gratefull ,, you Can Not imagine the difference the rudder makes.. it is a different boat with a rudder..Thanks Dr Bean!! i can send pix of my rudder if needed

May 04 2015

Zach Milwood

Fingerling

Member Since :
2010
Number of Posts :
55

Instead of a rudder I use a trolling motor on the back.  This not only acts as a rudimentary rudder (alliteration anyone?) but also facilitates getting the boat back on the trailer when it's time to go - especially in the wind!

Z