It 'Aint Over Till The Fat Lady Sings

Mar 15 2020

Al Burns

Fry

Member Since :
2018
Number of Posts :
47

Reservation Number : 23041
Property Name : Bennett Lake
Reservation Date : 03/10/2020 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 26 up to 8.6 lbs
Lures Used : orange green pumpkin finesse TRD on a Ned Rig

My boys Joe and Cleve joined me for a trip to Grapeland Bennett after a fantastic experience the day prior at Hickory Creek. Unlike the day before with all the rain, it was a nice day with a bit of fog. When we arrived at the gate there was an additional combination lock secured by a cable keeping us from being able to enter. Thanks to the quick work of Steve Alexander the owner provided the combination for the extra lock and we were in. The lake was looking as good as it gets and we raced to get our three different watercraft loaded and on the water.

March 2020 update For those members who are reading the fishing reports and seeing things about the lock. Please note that there is just one lock and ALL RESERVATIONS have the correct combination of them. No need to call or email the office for any additional gate codes. Your reservation has the right gate code. 

The lake has quite a Hydrilla Weed forest coming from the bottom to within a few feet of the surface throughout a lot of the lake. The water was very clear and visibility was every bit 10 to 14 feet. After only a couple of fish by 2:00pm and having thrown spinner baits, chatterbaits, larger plastic worms and senkos, as well as underspins, crankbaits, and jerkbaits, we decided it was time for a conference. My son Cleve suggested we had done everything but tried Ned Rig finesse fishing. We all went to a crawfish colored Z Man TRD that was Ned Rigged on a 1/4 ounce red jig head. We found that the light jig head kept the bait slowly moving above the top of the Hydrilla Weed. It wasn't long before Cleve laid into a very good fish that kept him challenged for a few good minutes. The Ned Rigs work much better with light line...8 pound test. He was careful not to horse the fish in. He proudly displayed the good looking bass that what weighed in at 7.3 pounds. The pace picked up for all of us as we caught 24 more fish on the day after the dismal morning of only two. All three of us were down by the dam when we decided to call it quits and head in. About 150 feet from where we put in I decided to make last cast with my tiny little jig.

I felt a very subtle tap and let my rod tip load up. At first I figured I had on what seemed to be a small crappie. Suddenly my line took off in a sideways direction and my medium light action rod doubled over. I had no idea what a good fish I had on until that big ole gal broke the surface shaking her head. I was hollering a laughing just to make sure the boys would witness their old man having a great time. After a number of surface acts and a scary dive deep I managed to get the bass into the net. She weighed in at 8.6 pounds. It was a storybook scenario...one last cast. And it wasn't over till that Fat Lady Sang.

The best part was outdoing my son who thought his 7 pounder was king of the day. Dad got in the last word. Its kind of funny but Steve Alexander told me on the phone that he thought we were hitting Bennett Lake at just the right time. The man is a prophet! I'm sure there will never be another day we boat a 7 and an 8 pound bass on the same day.

Al Burns

Mar 16 2020

Mark Daugherty

Keeper

Member Since :
2015
Number of Posts :
334

Thanks for sharing Al - awesome how you guys adapted to the conditions to get the bite.  Landing a 7+ and an 8+ on light line and tiny hooks - that's a day to remember!  We're blessed to have such great opportunities.

Mark

Mar 16 2020

John Shepard

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2015
Number of Posts :
190

Congratulations on a great day with two big ones!  I have caught two of my four largest bass from Bennett but never saw two on one day.  Both of mine also came on trick worms and 1/0 hooks. Now I'll have to find some courage and spool some lighter line.

John 

Mar 17 2020

Al Burns

Fry

Member Since :
2018
Number of Posts :
47

Thanks for the kind words. We are truly blessed to have the opportunities the club provides. I will say that I have learned a lot from the reports of others such as yourself and feel like my pursuit of Mr. Bass is a little more fine tuned thanks to all of you!

Mar 17 2020

Wayne Pruitt

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2017
Number of Posts :
114

Al, 

Tell me more about those watercraft donuts you are floating on…..............I have seen them before a year or so ago on a infomercial as seen on tv. Are you happy with them? Pretty stable. Cost? Etc. Enjoyed your Raining Fish post as well….................

Mar 17 2020

Al Burns

Fry

Member Since :
2018
Number of Posts :
47

Wayne, As everyone else, it is a lot of fun watching for your reports. You guys have renewed my love for bacon! So if you notice from the pictures at Hickory Creek and Bennett Lake my boys and I are on the hefty side. I honestly have fished out of a number of watercraft on the PWF lakes. First I tried getting my 21 ft Champion Bay Boat out on a couple of lakes. The owners of the place at Hidden Springs thought I was nuts for electric motoring around on their lake in such a big rig. To say the least it was difficult to launch and re trailer at the end of the day. Then I tried a kayak and to be honest I would much rather fish from an elevated pedestal seat when I bass fish. Then I bought a Pelican Bass Raider and a couple of the other brands of similar watercraft. I've fished out of the jon boats provided at the lakes. They work, but again I much prefer casting and setting the hook from an elevated position. Besides they give me a back ache. The only jon I enjoy fishing from are the larger Tracker Jons or Alumacraft Jons that have the elevated decks.

I watched numerous You Tube videos on the Ultraskiff and figured they might be perfect for me and my big boys. You will notice from the pictures I have one son that pushes 300Lbs. He can literally stand on the corner of the Ultraskiff and it won't begin to tip over. What I love about these things is that they are self draining if it rains…they have a perfect elevated pedestal seat that allows you to turn 360 degrees when you've hooked a good fish. Over the past two weeks my boys have had on fish they didn't want to lose. My son Pete at Leinweber caught an 8 pounder that ran circles around his craft but he was always facing the fish. My son Cleve caught the 7 pound bass at Bennett that circled the craft and jumped repeatedly. Again he was always facing the fish. My son Joe caught the 5 lb bass at Hickory Creek that did the same. I will say that I was stuck with the Pelican Bass Raider at Bennett when I caught the 8.6 and I missed being able to fight the fish from the elevated position.

We took the Ultraskiffs out on Lake Tawakoni in high winds and white caps. No problem at all. We never had water coming over the bow. They track very well and I definitely prefer them in a high wind on the PWF lakes. If you watch the You Tube Videos you will see how they are equipped to fish and hold your position in a wind. I love the two Ultraskiffs I have and plan to get a couple more. My bass fishing sons love them and if I don't get more, I'll be stuck fishing out of another water craft. They are so easy to launch and take out of the lake. They utilize an anchor pole that makes things a joy fishing an area less than eight feet deep. I beleive they eat up much less battery power over the course of a day.

The manufacturer is in Gainesville Texas. If they are picked up at their facility you are given a discount off the internet price. To buy one that is picked up at their facility, equipped with their adjustable pedestal seat and 55 pound thrust Minn Kota with a 42 inch shaft cost me $1600. All the info is on the Ultraskiff site online. All I can say is that I love these things but it is my personal opinion. I plan to buy one for my wife rigged with an office chair that can recline as well as an umbrella so she can be out on the water with me and can fish or read whichever she chooses. Best of all when I fish with the boys we can split up and take a divide and conquer approach. It really helped at Grapeland Bennett to be able to all be at different locations trying to figure out what the fish wanted.