Reservation Number : 24079
Property Name : Lake TCU
Reservation Date : 05/01/2020 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 14
Lures Used : Senko (Baby Bass), Strike King Ocho (RedBug), Zoom Trick work (MotorOil), Zoom Mag OL Monster 12" work (red bug), Strike King Rage Swimmer 4.75 inch (KVD Magic)

My second trip as a PWF member, and first post:

I looked and looked for an ideal family property and was pleased to find that Lake TCU delivered.  Between the short one hour drive from our home in Dallas, to the impeccably maintained property (grass is mowed in a roughly 20 yard stretch from the water, all the way around the 12 acre tank), to the generous, friendly, and grateful disposition of owner Dub Nix, who checked on us throughout the day, Lake TCU exceeded expectations.  

With five kids, two puppies, and my wife, I was just looking for a place that would allow us to enjoy time away from quarantined life at home and an opportunity to put the kids on fish.  Lake TCU delivered.  We set out a blanket on the nicely mowed lawn, brought folding chairs, coolers for snacks, bikes, baseballs and gloves, and plenty of fishing rods and tackle.   

The dock, which was being improved while we were there (looks like they are adding a metal roof), was a great place to fish throughout the day.  My 9 year old caught the first bass of the day there, on a senko (wacky style) within just a few minutes of our 8:30 am arrival.  We all caught fish, and although our numbers were not a high as recent fishing reports, we never caught anything under 17 inches and 2.5 lbs.  Almost every fish was 3 lbs + with plenty of 4's and a couple 5's.  

The reason for the low fish count is mainly the following: 

1) the wind was absolutely relentless.  Terrible day to fish from that standpoint.  It felt like 20-30 mile per hour winds with the only breaks coming in short periods of 5-10 mile an hour winds.  It just never stopped to give us a break. 

2) My wife and I were really catering to our five kids (4,6, 9, 11, and 12).  My 9 and 11 year old are pretty good and held their own with senko's and ocho's fished on a weighted EWG hook wacky style, but the two little ones needed us to all the casting.  My 12 year old, sadly, isn't too interested in fishing

3) No excuses, but my allergies were the worst they've been. The full-force wind had me fishing in short bouts between rubbing my eyes and blowing my nose. Between kids and sneeze attacks, I fished at 30% of what I normally would. 

4) We arrived too late and left too early for any fun top water action (8:30 am and 6:30 pm)

The reports about crawfish are true.  You see evidence of them all over.  As a result, I think the red colors in our soft plastics (red bug, motor oil) helped with bites.  The Rage Swimmers were used both with underspin and without, both catching fish (I think I dipped garlic/chartreuse on the tails of both if I recall).

I was prepared with a battery and trolling motor to take one of Dub's two jon boats out, but didn't even bother with the winds.   The three islands looked pretty awesome to fish, but sadly, we could only reach the side of just one from the bank.   I was looking forward to throwing frogs in the grass line around the islands, but it wasn't meant to be this trip. 

As previous reports note, all fish were caught within 10-15 feet of the shoreline, and at least two were caught one foot off.  

At one point in the mid-afternoon, when the wind was just howling, I walked around to fish a portion of bank that was just getting pounded by waves, very near the smallest of the three humps.  There's a small point and as a result, almost 'half-cove' like area that was taking a beating.  Having read a story years ago about big fish being caught on the windy side of the bank, I left the side where the wind was to my back and headed for the windward side, and sure enough, pulled two 4's right off the bank, in the dirty wind churned water, one off a senko and the other off the 12 inch red bug zoom worm on a shaky head.  I then yelled at my son to come over and he proceeded to catch a third. 

It is worth noting that there is a fair amount of grass on the bottom, and moss on the sides of some areas, which can serve as a challenge to fish through. 

All in all, this trip met my expectations and served my purposes at providing a memorable trip for our family.  

Thanks Cole Porter to talking to me about PWF on a plane ride back from Mexico, thanks PWF for 'doing what you do', and thanks Dub Nix for being so generous and kind with your property and the fisherman who rent it for the day. I'll be back one day.