Reservation Number : 31251
Property Name : Deer Trail Ranch
Reservation Date : 02/19/2022 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 30+
Lures Used : Lipless and TRIG

Felt great to return to Deer Trail for the 3rd time and felt even better to put up some numbers. Sometimes you need those high count days and deer trail didn't disappoint in both quality and quantity.  Started out the morning in the low 30s with ice forming on the rod tip. Temps heated up to 60 by 2 o’clock and bluebird skies all day. It was such a relief to finally fish with winds in the 2 – 7 mph range.  (I am still freezer burned from last week.)

Caught a total of 30+ fish with only 4 culls.  I caught 3 and lost 1 on a TRIG even before I launched the boat. The majority of the bass were in the 2 to 2 ½ lbs range and a couple 3 pounders and a nice 4lb super chunk. This bass was wider than it was long and the belly about to burst. A beautiful fish and when compared to others it had an extremely dark lateral line. I caught it in 8ft of water on a TRIG in submerged timber and lucky for me it swam up and not down. 

From the dock and moving towards the dam I consistently caught bass at most of the lay downs, sometimes 3 to 5 in one spot.  Hit the dam area around 10:30 and sat there for a solid 2 hours throwing a lipless in deeper water.  The action was non-stop, sometimes catching or getting a hit on nearly every cast. I tried mixing up the retrieve and bottom bouncing was the clear winner, with many hits on the bottom.  I started with a red colored lipless and lost it on a fish after the first hour.  (I was complacent and knew I should have re-tied sooner as my 10lb line snapped as I set the hook on slack line.). I switched to a chartreuse and orange color and had similar success.  I did hit the shallower bays before I left and caught a couple more on a white spinner in 6ft of water. 

Not sure if you can tell by the picture but an otter chilling and he is definitely comfortable in its surroundings.  I was maybe 40 yards from it from 1 to 2 pm and it just chilled on the last cedar nearest to the dam catching fish left and right.  After eating a fish it would swim right down into the laydowns and bring up another. Its very efficient and would only take 10 seconds to catch a fish. I watched it catch 5 fish and I eventually had to move because the sound of skulls being crunched was annoying.  It later swam back towards the dock and perched itself on the other lay downs and ate a few more. 
 

Such a great property and one of my favorites! Next time I need to take advantage of being able to camp out onsite and do a back-to back trip before it gets too hot.   May have to bring the kayak though as I am not sure if my trolling motor battery can handle two days in a row.  Thanks again to the owner and PWC.