Hat & Star, Gilmer, 03/04/23

Mar 06 2023

Greg Zimmerman

Fingerling

Member Since :
2018
Number of Posts :
98

Reservation Number : 35271
Property Name : Hat and Star Ranch
Reservation Date : 03/04/2023 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 45 +/-
Lures Used : Jerkbait, underspin, A-rig, tail spinner

I fished Hat & Star on March 4th, arriving at 8:30am and fished until about 4:30.  I caught about 45 +/- LMB.  Four LMB were over the cull limit and returned, while 40 +/- were culled, ranging in size from 6 inches – 15.5 inches.  The four returned were 17 – 22 inches, with the big one at 6.04 lbs, perhaps slightly underweight for that length at this time of year.  I tried the entire lake but 90% of the fish were caught while they were schooled up and busting shad near the entrance to the northern most creek arm, while the other 10% were caught near the club boat launch area.  I primarily used a Jr. size jerkbait and a small tail spinner, both with very small treble hooks, and I probably could have pulled out another 20 culls if I had wanted to stay longer.  

Mar 06 2023

Alex Elrod

Fingerling

Member Since :
2021
Number of Posts :
63

Ohhh Greg is that a Metanium DC on a Sierra Dobyn’s I see there? If so, I have the exact same set up and absolutely love it. Love Dobyn’s rods and it’s hard to go wrong with the Metanium – absolutely bullet proof.

It definitely seems the recent addition of all the shad over the last couple years has really brought the lake to life. It’s almost like the hard part is weeding through the culls to find the big beasts lurking around. But hey, if that’s all we have to complain about then we know we’re having a good day out on the water!

Mar 06 2023

Steve Alexander

Admin

Member Since :
2002
Number of Posts :
1171

Originaly Posted By Alex Elrod

Ohhh Greg is that a Metanium DC on a Sierra Dobyn’s I see there? If so, I have the exact same set up and absolutely love it. Love Dobyn’s rods and it’s hard to go wrong with the Metanium – absolutely bullet proof.

It definitely seems the recent addition of all the shad over the last couple years has really brought the lake to life. It’s almost like the hard part is weeding through the culls to find the big beasts lurking around. But hey, if that’s all we have to complain about then we know we’re having a good day out on the water!

Alex,

Over the past two-three years the owners have renewed their committment to managing the lake. They are adding threadfin, fertilizing and managing the aquatic vegetation. To the tune of 10’s of thousand of dollars each year. We are grateful to owners like Hat Star who go to heroic efforts to make their lakes great and allow us to fish on them. The lake will continue to thrive and catching double digits with greater frequency will happen over the next couple of years. Don’t sleep on this place. IMO, it has the best layout of any of our east Texas lakes. 

Mar 06 2023

Greg Zimmerman

Fingerling

Member Since :
2018
Number of Posts :
98

Originaly Posted By Alex Elrod

Ohhh Greg is that a Metanium DC on a Sierra Dobyn’s I see there? If so, I have the exact same set up and absolutely love it. Love Dobyn’s rods and it’s hard to go wrong with the Metanium – absolutely bullet proof.

It definitely seems the recent addition of all the shad over the last couple years has really brought the lake to life. It’s almost like the hard part is weeding through the culls to find the big beasts lurking around. But hey, if that’s all we have to complain about then we know we’re having a good day out on the water!

Hi Alex, that is a metanium DC and the rod is a Dobyns Xtasy.  I use Shimano reels and am very happy with them.  For rods, I have tried a lot of them.  Also in that picture are a Megabass Orochi, Megabass Destroyer Warhammer, Megabass Destroyer Javelin, Shimano Expride and St. Croix Legend Xtreme.  I really like the Megabass rods, but I have broken three of them, with two being user error and the third being an unacceptable break while fighting a snag.  The next time that I capsize a club boat and lose all my gear, I will likely replace with a combination of Dobyns and St. Croix.