I made a last minute reservation for Cody Ranch and drove up there to find the area too muddy to navigate to Twin Lakes.  One of the ranch hands met me by the barn area and expressed enough doubt I would make it to make me nervous. When I asked what to do if I got stuck he gave me his cell number and told me it might be a couple of hours before he could get to me as he had cows to tend to. A bit nervous I head down the road to Twin Lakes. Upon finding the crossing at the creek bed has running water in it and soft mud that's been worked over by cattle I determine I've seen enough and head back. As I'm leaving I see the ranch hand following me. I stop to see if he wants to say anything and he drives past.  At the gate I explained my situation and he makes it pretty clear I probably can't make it to the other lakes either. As we are talking he mentions he doesn't know much about the club and I realize I don't need to continue with questions about other lakes, reservations, etc…......

..I call Seth and leave a voicemail. He calls within 3 minutes and asks if I want him to call Mr Cody to inquire about the other lakes. With the look of skepticism on the ranch hands face burned into my mind I explain I will just hit Davy Crockett or some other public lake if another club lake isn't available. For the first time in weeks my schedule, wind speeds and weather patterns have come together in symphony and I'm determined to fish somewhere.  Seth says he will have Mrs Alexander call me and let me know if Tom Bean is available as I've been there and am not concerned about mud. As I'm at the local convenience store getting quarters to wash the mud off my truck, boat and trailer Mrs Alexander calls me and assures me 9G is available for the day….SUCCESS! I know I have a lake to fish with a good population of fish and am headed to Tom Bean. It's on the way home and off I go. The club and staff worked together to save a day and I was so appreciative. The way the fishing turned out was just the icing on the cake, so with that I will get to the report….

...in the north east corner along the north bank I start to catch fish. I've worked my way down the northern shore, and am throwing a chatterbait with a lake fork live magic shad. I'm using sun perch for the trailer color and a bluegill skirt color. The first fish about rips the rod from my hands  and I work him to the boat. He's so healthy I decide to weigh him for info purposes. He weighs 3 lbs 11 ounces and is all fight. In this same corner near where the fence row enters the water I catch another 5 fish I the next 30 minutes. I've always loved fence rows because I know they catch debris and are Great locations for various forms of cover to stack up.  As I'm moving around I notice wads of fry in the water and quickly surmise the lake is post spawn. I then decide to stay with the chatterbait even though the grass is prolific and each cast without a bite I have to clear the bait of grass.  For those that struggle in post spawn, remember as long as these wads of fry are present their is a bass guarding them. A jerkbait or shallow crank ran thru the wad will often get bit but due to the grass I have a gameplan and plan to stick with the chatterbait. I make a lap around the lake and catch somewhere around 15-16 fish. One is 4-08, one is 16 inches but there stare solid 2 and 3 lb fish and make for a great time

.....about 2:30 (after a 10:30 start time) I decide to go ashore and have lunch. As I'm crossing the shallow flat to get back to the ramp something swirls in the grass and makes a massive boil and pushes water as it quickly leaves. I think that it's either a gator or a huge carp and continue to the ramp….....after lunch I've got a gameplan for the afternoon. The overcast skies have cleared and it's mostly sunny rather than mostly cloudy. Realizing it's still spring and most bass will be shallow and my preference for shallow water fishing I decide to spend the afternoon throwing a frog. I rig one up as I'm crossing this shallow flat. To my right another of these huge boils happen and this time I realize the lake has some massive carp in it. I cast to my left after making sure my drag is locked down and my braided frog set up is good. I want to make sure the ribbitt is running correctly and a small fish blows up on the frog. I've got the right bait but a fouled bait and I rerig it and make another trial cast. This time it seems like someone dropped a bowling ball in the water and the rod doubles over. I'm astounded at how fast this fish is moving,the size of the wake it's pushing and am scared I just hooked an alligator. The water isn't 3 feet deep and is covered in muddy, grassy black blobs and this thing is having its way with me. Once I get it tired a bit I slowly raise the rod with my left hand and have the scissors (not net!) in the right in case I have to cut the line and let this alligator go. As I get it up to the surface I see its a massive bass and I'm thinking I've got a double digit fish. I grabbed my net and got the fish aboard. This one weighs 7-11 and is the biggest fish I've caught in the club. Thinking of the big fish contest I realize I forgot my ruler and have no way to measure length. I think I take a few photos of the scale and later find they didn't show. My phone isn't very visible in sunlight and coupled with the polarized sunglasses I just didn't get my shot. I was also anxious to get him back in the water and only one picture turned out which only shows a portion of the fish….....

I spend the next 3 hours fishing the frog exclusively and call it a day when my arms are too tired to cast. I've caught a ton more fish, missed a few and generally had the type of day I was hoping for. I would put the total fish count just north of 25 with only  3 or 4 fish under 17 inches…...so if you're on one of the club lakes and see the fry, if you're not getting bit back off and throw the chatterbait or frog. You can't fan cast too close as you never know where the random wad of bass fry will be…...sorry for the book but wanted to share one of my better days on the water. 

Posted By: Kelly Denham