Reservation Number : 28895
Property Name : Butler Lake
Reservation Date : 06/13/2021 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 100 / most 3#-5# / 26 harvested
Lures Used : soft plastics and crank baits

Ron Dupree and I visited Butler Lake for the first time on Sunday. We launched Ron’s boat on the beautiful lake about 7 AM to find a mirror-smooth flat-calm surface with a heavy algal bloom that cut visibility to about 8 inches.  We started off fishing topwater in the shallow end of the lake with no success.  We began to circle the lake with Ron throwing a wacky worm toward the bank and me throwing a chatterbait away from shore.  I connected first but Ron started catching scattered 3 or 4# bass near shoreline vegetation.  On our second circle of the lake with both caught a few more but really didn’t establish much of a pattern except that only one bass came from the shallow end.  It was already getting warm and the trees lining the shoreline blocked any breeze from reaching us.  Then a good day fishing turned into a memorable one.

I threw a crankbait at a nondescript looking area that Ron had just unsuccessfully covered with a worm.  Bang – 3.5#.  Next cast 4#.  Another 4#. Over the next two hours we caught over 40 more bass with many coming from that same small area.  While not giants, these bass were impressively chunky, short and fat 3 – 5+ lbs, who were prone to aerial displays as well as deep rod-bending surges near the boat.  Jerk-baits, crankbaits, and stick-worms were the winning lures.  By noon we needed a break so we headed to air conditioning and Mexican food in Brenham.

We were back on the water at 3PM wishing that there were some clouds to even temporarily block the scorching sun as the temp approached 98 and the heat index exceeded 106 (the first Heat Advisory day of the year; reached 99-100 and the heat index 111). We were wary of heat exhaustion and pledged to quit if the fish weren’t biting or we started feeling bad.  Fishing was slow for a while.  Jerkbaits and dropshots started picking up harvest-size bass.  Then the bigger ones returned and we caught 20 more in the 3-5# range on dropshot and crankbaits.  Everything in the afternoon was caught in the northern (deeper) part of the lake. By 5PM even the lure of an evening bite couldn’t overcome our common sense and we got out of the heat.

We ended this memorable day having landed 100 bass and 1 bluegill (many 3-4.5#, a few 5-5.5#, 26 harvested).  We were impressed with the physical condition of the bass, short and stocky with broad shoulders, and their hard-fighting nature.  We also greatly appreciated the lake itself (probably 99% fishable) with its beautiful setting on an impressive property.  This is a great addition to the club and we would like to thank the property owners for allowing us on your property.