First Trip to Hidden Springs Ranch

Jul 10 2021

Dale Stagg

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2021
Number of Posts :
126

Reservation Number : 29156
Property Name : Hidden Springs Ranch
Reservation Date : 07/09/2021 PM -
Total Fish/Sizes : 7 / All over 14" and most were between 2lb and 3lb
Lures Used : 1/8 oz weighted Epic Baits Salt&Pepper Worm, Skirted Jig with blades, Swimbait, Squarebill, Weightless Texas Rigged Epic Baits Watermelon/Moondust worm, Skirted Swimjig with Creature Trailer, .

I made an afternoon fishing trip to Hidden Springs Ranch since it is a 3 hour drive to get there and then again back home. I got to Hidden Springs Ranch boatramp and was a great ramp with concrete. I must warn you though to stay on the concrete as much as possible when getting out of your vehicle though as there are multiple fire ant beds to get into expecially after the rains we have had lately. I launched my Hobie PA14 kayak and got started fishing pretty quick.

I started with a 1/8 oz weighted Epic Baits Watermelon/Junebug worm which is my normal go to worm but didn’t get a hit and there is a lot of grass under the water to clog up the worm. I switched to a skirted swim jig with two blades on it and caught a nice bass on the first cast that was right at 15 inches. I fished more using that bait but never got anything else so I switched to several more baits since I have 7 rod and reel setups to switch back and forth to find what it takes to catch fish.

After multiple baits, I went to a Epic Baits Salt and Pepper Worm and caught a few doing that but was a lot of fishing between each catch. I ended up going all through the lake and never found a sweet spot but caught every fish along the bank grasses and although I only caught 7 fish for the day, every one was over 14 inches and most were between 2lbs and 3 lbs. 

The water was not near as clear as described, but with the amount of rain Texas has had in the last few weeks, it mudded up the water somewhat.throughout the lake with a dark tea colored tint and visibility was pretty low.

When I finished my trip and left the locked gate, a truck pulled up and was a worker at the ranch and the nice man showed me a photo of an eight pounder he just recently caught in the lake and told me they have some really nice bass in the lake and I can see that is would. The houses overlooking the lake make a beautiful property and the lake is a beautiful outline of nature there. The homes are beautiful. I never saw anyone other than someone cutting a field with the tractor and a large motorhome leaving the property as I was fishing. I would love to go back and try to catch bigger numbers. 

According to the Bass Forcast App on my phone, it was supposed to be an “Epic” day with a high score of 9.2 for this day only. So far, out of several trips using the app, it has not been very accurate for actuall fishing conditions forcast.

I will be posting my video review in the next few days, so keep following this review.

Jul 10 2021

Dale Stagg

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2021
Number of Posts :
126

Oh, water was a bit over 86 degrees. I found multiple brush piles and downed timber in the deeper waters with my Garmin Livescope but never really saw anything other than crappie in the deeper waters. All of the fish I did catch was on a slow bite. They were not found to be very agressive and took a good while for them to take the bait and seemed much longer than normal on a worm before I could actually set the hook on any. The fish fight was great and they did have fight in them, but were slow to bite.

Jul 11 2021

Dale Stagg

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2021
Number of Posts :
126

Originaly Posted By Dale Stagg

Oh, water was a bit over 86 degrees. I found multiple brush piles and downed timber in the deeper waters with my Garmin Livescope but never really saw anything other than crappie in the deeper waters. All of the fish I did catch was on a slow bite. They were not found to be very agressive and took a good while for them to take the bait and seemed much longer than normal on a worm before I could actually set the hook on any. The fish fight was great and they did have fight in them, but were slow to bite.

See video

Jul 12 2021

Bob Scheidemann

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2016
Number of Posts :
225

Originaly Posted By Dale Stagg

See video

Nice video Dale! 

Jul 13 2021

Dale Stagg

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2021
Number of Posts :
126

Originaly Posted By Bob Scheidemann

Nice video Dale! 

Thank you so much.

Jul 13 2021

Joshua Massoud

Keeper

Member Since :
2021
Number of Posts :
483

Originaly Posted By Dale Stagg

Thank you so much.

You are my inspiration Dale! Ima get video capability by fall once my ultraskiff is ready. 

Jul 15 2021

Wayne Pruitt

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2017
Number of Posts :
114

Originaly Posted By Dale Stagg

See video

Dale,

I like the videos. Keep them coming.

I have the same Hobie 360 and love kayak fishing. The Hobie is the cadillac of kayaks with that mirage system and you can literally turn on a dime. I am hooked. 

My brother and I love Hidden Springs Ranch and we have had I believe about 3 trips there. Always fun and beautiful property for sure. 

Jul 18 2021

Dale Stagg

Slot Fish

Member Since :
2021
Number of Posts :
126

Originaly Posted By Wayne Pruitt

Dale,

I like the videos. Keep them coming.

I have the same Hobie 360 and love kayak fishing. The Hobie is the cadillac of kayaks with that mirage system and you can literally turn on a dime. I am hooked. 

My brother and I love Hidden Springs Ranch and we have had I believe about 3 trips there. Always fun and beautiful property for sure. 

Yes Wayne, I had the PA360 with180 and when they came out with the 360, I had to upgrade. I love it for fishing. Love the rod storage since I usually fish with seven rods available. I did love thelake but fishing afternoon in the heat of yhe day, fishing was some slow there that day anyway. Morning likely would be better, but it takes three hours to get there for me. I grew up boatfishing but at 63 years old, I now prefer the kayak myself. Being there at water level is calming. Thanks for the video viewing. Love recording my trips and awaiting to get video of that big one.