Reservation Number : 34958
Property Name : Hickory Creek Ranch Lakes
Reservation Date : 02/05/2023 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 18 bass (1.5-4# mostly 2.5#) ; 2 crappie
Lures Used : stick worms, crankbait

The big lake at Hickory Creek Ranch is full; really full.  Ron Dupree and I arrived Sunday morning to find that the 5.5” of rain the area received in a 10-day period filled the lake and flooded adjacent low areas around the lake margins with a few inches of water.  Water was lapping at the decking of the pier. We fully expected to find the bass taking advantage of the flooded pasture vegetation but that didn’t happen (at least not while we were there).  Instead, we found that the bass were very scattered and none came from very shallow water.  Most came from slightly deeper water (3 feet or so) about 10 feet outboard of the “normal” lake edge.  Carolina or wacky rigged stick worms were the only lures that attracted bites for most of the day.  Moving lures (spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and chatterbaits) even if slowly rolled were ignored. The exception was a 10 minute period around 2PM when I caught 2 bass and a crappie with a silver crankbait in the middle of the lake about halfway between the pier and the dam.  The water was colder than in recent weeks (45 degrees in the morning and warming up to 47.5 degrees mid afternoon) and stained but not muddy.  We ended up with 18 bass and 2 crappie.  Ron caught the big one of the day, about 4 pounds.  Most of the bass were about 2.5 pounds with a few of 3 pounds thrown in. Only two bass were harvested.

Another good day at a beautiful lake where good management is showing nice results.