Reservation Number : 28808
Property Name : The Bigwood on the Trinity
Reservation Date : 06/24/2021 All Day - 06/24/2021 All Day
Total Fish/Sizes : 25 to 3 pounds
Lures Used : Various topwater lures, TR Senko, green/white JackHammer Chatterbait

Went to The Bigwoods on the Trinity with my son Michael for Father’s Day. Stayed in the very comfortable lodge on 6/23 – grilled burgers, enjoyed the sitting area, TV and kitchen, settled in – then fished early the next morning. Loaded up the nice provided boat in the boathouse. It is a 14 ft aluminum boat that has a powerful trolling motor with several batteries and pedistal seats. I don’t usually fish standing up but this boat was very large, wide and stable, so I was comfortable standing. 

Started fishing just before dawn and it’s FISH ON immediately. Topwater bite was ON big time! A loon colored (black and white) Whopper Plopper was their lure of choice. Probably 15 caught on that lure. Also caught a couple on a large Super Spook in silver. And a few on TR weightless pumpkinseed Senkos. Caught them everywhere except in the middle and along the dam. Caught 25 total, the largest being about 3 pounds. It was overcast with a light breeze until about 8:00 when the sun broke through and the fish basically turned off. Caught a few on Senkos after the sun came out. Caught a couple on green/white JackHammer Chatterbaits. There are lots of standing and submerged trees and limbs in the lake plus laydowns and a large island – very interesting place to fish!

We met the owner’s black labs, two are champions. Very friendly and energetic dogs. We discovered they love to swim and the owner Robert says to be aware they love to chase lures! Yelling NO will usually turn them away. They were not a problem for us at all. On the contrary, they were the greeting committee when we arrived – great dogs!

The lake was about 2.5 ft high according to the Robert. He plans to retain the water to help manage nearby marshes and as a reserve through drought times. All of the jetties and shoreline planted trees were inundated with water as was the duck blind. Clear visibility to about 3 ft. hydrilla everywhere but no trouble navigating. The lake is fairly shallow overall, but there are plenty of healthy aggressive bass there. Fishing reports from last year mention a 7# and an 8.5# caught there, and Robert said a member caught a 10 pounder there earlier this spring. (Too bad no-one reported that here. Please report your trips, great trip or not. It helps all of us particularly novice anglers who appreciate the info.)

Robert gave me a 4-wheeler tour of his fabulous property. He’s a retired cardiologist who loves to duck hunt. He started buying land so he could encourage wildlife. He’s thouroughly entrenced in the wildlife comminuty and is extremely knowledgeable on marshland development. The Bigwoods on the Trinity is now 7000 acres with a network of lakes, ponds, and marshes mainly built for ducks and other migratory birds. The soil, the waters and the tree and plant and animal life are all very diverse. Any naturalist or nature lover will appreciate what Robert has developed here over many years. Here is a Texas Parks and Wildlife video about this amazing property: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpIl71X1jGk