Reservation Number : 27187
Property Name : The Bigwood on the Trinity
Reservation Date : 03/06/2021 All Day - 03/07/2021 AM
Total Fish/Sizes : 19
Lures Used : Variety

We fished Saturday and Sunday for my busddies Zach’s birthday.  Bluebird skies after a front, and two weeks after the lake froze over – so I wasn’t expecting much, but we still did pretty ok.  The fish were either ‘on’ or ‘off’. 

The lake was a few feet high, and to my suprise, there was still alot of baitfish alive after the freeze.  The active bass and baitfish had settled into deep (relative to the lake) pockets of water on the northwest side of the lake and were feeding on these ridges between the pockets and/or hangin near flooded bushes/trees/shrubs.  There is a ton of hydrilla out there as well – so there are a lot of patterns that seemed to work to varying degrees.  

I caught my PB – 11.5 (formely 9.3) Saturday morning during the minor feeding time – didn’t take a great pic but wanted to get her back in the water ASAP.  The bass were lethargic if not actively feeding – suspending in the grass or neat the timber, then actively targeting shad intermittently.  My most successful lures were smoke colored flukes using a donkey rig, rattletrap ripped through the grass, and an underspin kaitech shad color swim bait 3.8/4.3”.  90% of the fish we caught were on the NW side.  We caught a couple off suspending jerkbaits near the dam, but the water was a few degrees colder there.  Zach used a Googan trench hog and caught fish on those with a ¼ pegged weight.  You can get away with ligther line away from the timber and the water is somewhat clear – the two rods I had braid on were largely ineffective (from fishing 10-10 last weekend where braid is an absolute must).   Long casts seemed to be better than pitching close.  Jigs, to my surprise, were ineffective.  I could have used a heavier weight to get through the bottom of the hydrilla or used a drop shot, but I didn’t want to mess with it. 

My primary tip for fishing this lake is to be quiet – the fish spooked easily.  If I had to do it over again, I’d walk the lake around the banks for an hour or two and then hit the deeper pockets on the boat with the trolling motor on low.  The motor will catch on the ridges (not sure if these are dry when the lake is normal fill.  Next weekend is forecast to be a good weekend (new moon/good temp), so I’d fish the same area with a spook/underspin/spinner/chatterbait/flatsided squarbill in the deep pockets and expect the buck bass to be guarding those spawning areas more heavily.   Fish were healthy and in good shape. 

Doc, the owner, is very hospitable and nice – and the facilities (we stayed overnight) were great.  I’d bring food to cook vs. trying to head into Palestine (good 25-30 min away/dark roads).  There is a charcoal grill handy and a full kitchen.