Reservation Number : 29333
Property Name : Salt Lick Lake
Reservation Date : 07/31/2021 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : A ton up to 3lbs
Lures Used : Spook/Jerkbait/Crankbait

I had the opportunity to be one of the first PWF members to fish Salt Lick in Wills Point on this hot, sunny day.  One of the rare lakes that offers almost every type of bass fishing for any angler’s preference – you can fish weedlines, you can fish rock, you can fish trees, you can crank deep, you can fish shallow, you can fish structure – and probably have good success.  You can find my report below along with a map detailed out with locations and some pictures of the fishing ‘lanes’ I threw:

Water was coolish (at least compared to other lakes this time of year – 87 or so) – light breeze that shifted from south to southeast throughout the day.  Nice green stain in the water, but high visibility.  Fish were all between 1.5-3lbs – no dink dinks but no monsters – best 5 bag was close to 15lbs.  Fish were schooled up and suspended for the most part around key structure elements.  You can catch a bunch in a hurry when you find them. 

Words of caution – the club boat is not large and has a 250lb limit – between my gear and anchor, I could not have had another person with me.  Glad my daughter passed on going this morning. There is a really steep dropoff on some really soft/silty ground (dry, just soft) to get into the lake so small craft/kayaks for the most part I would imagine. 

The lake design is savvy – shows a real commitment to the craft and thoughtfulness.  Some shallow spawning areas, lots of depth changes, lot of deep water.  Could handle a drought (e.g. 2010-2014 prior to the monsoon of 2015). Very high ridges and bluffs on both sides.  

Fish spawned well as I saw several groups of fingerlings in different parts of the lake.  

Joe (AA) indicated he had put some of his culls in Eric’s lake, and the fish fought like it.  There were several 3lbers that pulled drag off my jerkbait setup (14lb test) – I don’t have it set particularly light – the fish just run with it and run hard. 

I had two sessions – 7am-11am, then 12pm-2:30pmn – the sun definitely repositions the fish, but not drastically from where they are from morning to afternoon – maybe 4 feet depth difference.  

Top water early near the weedlines and timber in the North part of the lake – moderate success with a bone colored spook, but they seemed to relate better to the smaller chrome version, especially after the sun cracked the horizon. If you want to topwater, fish, the north end stays shaded for a relatively long time. I didn’t use a Pop-R which would have worked well with a well positioned cast adjacent to the duck weed, but I didn’t really topwater fish that long.

When I got to the North end, I worked the timber line with a squarbill, knick the top of the trees, and you would likely get a bite. I caught so many there that I got tired of the pattern and looked to work other areas.  I flipped a senko and a fluke in there for a bit and would get a slap, but the fish wanted a reaction bait and didn’t use much in the way of soft plastics after that, but there are some weedbeds on the west side that you could use a senko, worm, brushhog, etc. 

I worked my way across the east part the lake and found my first school south of the timber line over some rock on a where some deep water meets the shallows.  I threw some different stuff but a megabass jerkbait with a 3x twitch pause was the technique of choice.  The school would break when 15 fish would follow the caught fish to the boat and they would reposition. Very aggressive. 

I worked the west side of the lake next and found two schools, one on each end. Same pattern – catch 4 or so, then they would follow and see the boat and move. 

I broke for lunch at 11am having failed to stop for breakfast and came back at 12, back on the water by 12:20 and then left around 2:30. 

I proceeded to fish the south part of the lake near some rocks and a large bluff.  This is where I found the best fish – jerkbait didn’t produce here, they were deeper and I switched to a crankbait and caught 3’s here  at about 12-15 feet down (so they were probably at 12-18 feet).  I threw the 8xd a couple of times but it was hot and I was tired so I didn’t really give it a go, but I was able to hit some rock with it. 

Went back to the timber line to see if I could stroke a jig deeper in the trees – no luck.  I moved back to the west side and managed to clip the wrong end of the tag line on my line and saw my jerkbait sink into oblivion.  Took it as a sign from God that I had caught enough and I certainly had. 

Hopefully the map and my points of reference help you on your trip.