Reservation Number : 19882
Property Name : Hickory Creek Ranch Lakes
Reservation Date : 11/24/2018 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 76 bass / 33 harvested / most 13" - 16"
Lures Used : spinnerbait, chatterbait, shallow squarebill crankbait

Ron Dupree I fished Hickory Creek Ranch for most of the day (8AM - 4PM) on Saturday the 24th.  We started on the big lake and caught a few walking the bank but enjoyed much more success when we got in the boat and fished the outer edges of weed lines.  The lake's water is fairly clear despite all the recent rain and the submerged vegetation doesn't seem to have died back significantly yet while the water lillys in the cove are mostly gone.  Moving baits seemed to be the key with only a few caught on drop-shot.  We eventually ended up near the dam and enjoyed a 90-minute period of fast action using spinnerbaits and shallow squarebill crankbaits..  We probably caught 40 bass in that one spot without moving.  Most were 12" - 16".  It seems like the aggressive harvesting in this lake is having the desired impact as the bass were generally a little larger than when the property opened in the spring and now less than half were smaller than the 14" harvesting mark.  But all good things must come to an end!  This was Saturday, wedding day at Hickory Creek, so we had to leave the fast action in the big lake by noon as the wedding prep started.

(71 total bass with 33 harvested from big lake).

We were feeling pretty good as we slid through the muddy spots on the way to the smaller lake.  After all, our experience is that it offers fewer but significantly larger fish (a number a 6 pounders in the spring).  It looked beautiful when we arrived.  After 100 casts without a strike, puzzlement sets in.  After 200 casts, worry replaces puzzlement.  No visible activity and no strikes, what's going on?  After 3 hours, we eventually caught only 5 nice 2-3.5# bass (no harvesting). 

Just imagine if it hadn't been a Saturday and we could have stayed on the big lake into the afternoon.  Of course, then we might have bemoaned missing the chance for catching the larger bass in the little lake.  Such is the allure and frustration of our sport where adjacent  bodies of water can fish so differently on the same day.