Reservation Number : 24821
Property Name : Nix Ranch: Lake TCU
Reservation Date : 06/13/2020 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 68LMB 4.59; 2 GRN SF
Lures Used : Chatterbait

I fished Nix Ranch, Lake TCU on June 13, 2020, from dawn to 5:15pm.  It was a blast.  All the PWF lakes are great, but Lake TCU is on its own level.   First, Dub, his wife and granddaughter are incredible hosts, so welcoming, generous, friendly and hospitable.  I was not expecting to make a new friend(s) on this fishing trip, but once you meet Dub, you will realize that he may be the most interesting man in the world.  Second, this lake and the ranch are incredible.  Dub put a lot of thought, planning, engineering and work to create a wonderful bass lake.  Third, I caught a lot of fish.  I caught 68 LMB, with 6 culls removed, 62 LMB returned, plus two plate sized green sunfish returned.  Of the 62 LMB returned, the biggest was 4.59 (which Dub saw me catch), with seven others between 4.39-4.0, probably 15 at 2.5 - 3.4 and an astounding 39 at or around 3.5 - 3.7lbs.  The LMB population at 3-4 lbs is exactly as the description of this lake states, with a tremendous population of healthy, hard-fighting LMB.  I caught 95% of the LMB on a gold/purple jackhammer chatterbait with silver blade, which I think was a Tackle Warehouse limited edition color, with a 3.8 fat swing impact Keitech.  I brought six packs of Keitechs with me and used five.  The LMB at this lake are so aggressive and hard-fighting that soft plastics do not last long, about one for two fish.  

Out of habit, after I catch a fish, I remove the lure, throw the lure over the side of the boat, take a picture of the fish, and release the fish.  I have only had this happen to me once before with a hard lure, but it happened twice today:  I threw the lure over the side of the boat and while I was taking a picture, I had to grab my rod because another LMB had grabbed the lure. I guess you could say that I caught four LMB on two casts today.  Crazy!  I stopped throwing the lure over the side of the boat after the second time.

I had two items of luck go my way today, both of which I think were the biggest factors contributing to a great day of fishing.  First, I enjoyed partly cloudy conditions until about 10am.  The near shore bite stayed strong until 10:30 and I caught 30 LMB by 10:30, most in the ditches right next to the shoreline that Dub has masterfully created, with the others near the two islands furthest from the dock.  I had no luck in the morning near the dock or the closest island. As a general matter, the wind was about 5-7mph, and the wind-blown shores were the best producing.

From 10:30 to noon, I caught another four LMB, ending the morning session with 34 LMB, then I went to lunch in Celina at a nice cajun place.  

I got back to the lake around 1:15pm.  From 1:15 - 2:30pm, i caught another six LMB, however four of them were culls.  Dub and his family came down to visit again at 2:30 and I reported a fish catch of 40 LMB at that time, but the bite had clearly slowed down with the afternoon heat.  I was also targeting the mid-depth water column of about 5-8 feet parallel to shore.  Dub graciously asked me if it was ok if his lawn crew could weed whack the shoreline without bothering me.  I said sure, no problem, and I just fished the opposite side of the lake.  Eventually, the lawn crew caught up to me and passed me around 3:00pm.  So this may be a bit of an off-the-wall theory, but I think the weed whacking caused a lot of bugs to get blown in the water, attracting bait fish, which then brought the bass back closer to shore, which makes this the second factor contributing to a great day of fishing.  During the time period of 3-5pm, which normally would be one of the slowest parts of the fishing day during summer pattern, I ended up following the lawn crew along the shore, catching 28 LMB in two hours.  At one point, the lawn crew stopped to take a break and watched me pull bass after bass out of the water near the shore.  Maybe it was the weed whacking, maybe not, but the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that it played a positive role.  

 I fished for about 11 hours.  I caught one LMB every 9.7 minutes, however, in the last two hours of fishing during the weed whacking, the catch rate was one LMB every 4.28 minutes.  I really think the weed whacking had something to do with it.

Finally, the 68 LMB in one day was special.  I have previously caught 66 at Indian Hollow in October 2018 and 67 at Cash Signal Ranch in May 2019. I did intentionally stop at 68 to break my record.  I could have gone another two hours, theoretically, but not physically. I will tell you that catching 68 LMB averaging 3.5lbs every 9.7 minutes is an incredible experience, but it is also a lot of work in the heat.  I have never before hoped that a 3.5-4.0 fish would release or get off before the boat. My bass thumb is so bloody!  Stay hydrated my friends!