Reservation Number : 29764
Property Name : Hat and Star Ranch
Reservation Date : 09/17/2021 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 7 (not including Owner's 3 or 4 for the 2.5 hours he fished)
Lures Used : 10XD-MagSqBill-TRIG-CRIG-magdraft

I’ve been venturing a little further out the last month or so to hit lakes that don’t have as many reports and to maximize why I joined PWF in the first place (fish new water).  Went to Hat & Star on 9/17.  The owner Robbie asked if he could put his boat in the water and fish with me. So, I had the rare opportunity to fish with him as he took me around the lake and showed me what he’s doing and planning for the lake, and where his ‘spots’ are, which I was absolutely appreciative of.  Dude even went into town and brought us back lunch – THANK YOU AGAIN!  And thank you to Bill, the ranch manager, who also gave me some tips/locations and helped me unload – man that dude works hard. 

1. Water is clearish – up to 4 foot in spots but mostly 2-3.5 feet, 82 degrees, partly cloudy, wind when it arrived in late afternoon was N/NE/E around 8mph.  Was 75 degree water when I got there, warming to 80 during the day.  Heavy green, fertile stain to the water. 
2. Property is manicured – you can bank fish alot of the good areas of the lake as there is no grass, but there are also two boats, one newer jon and one older but outfitted jon with seats and carpeted bottom.  Owner recently sprayed the grass, and there is very little grass left in the lake. 
3. There is alot of timber in the lake and it is deep (up to 35 feet or so) and the main breakline is from 5-6 feet to 15 feet on most of the lake.
4. There are a few creekbeds that run through the southeat section of the lake wiht good transition zones – alot of structure where the depth changes rapidly from 5 to 15, 15 to 25, etc.  I would highly recommend bringing a depth finder to this lake to see where the fish are sitting depthwise and where the changes are. 
5. Bite was sluggish and bigger fish were suspending and not actively feeding– first north wind I can recall since spring and I knew that going in, but with Friday off and corporate tax season over, I’m not wasting a Friday. 
6. There were plenty of 1-3lbers to be caught in the upper water column feeding on shad, saw some light schooling activity on the Northeast bank by a laydown and caught a few off that with a fluke.
7. BUT – I was not in search of small fish – I wanted Walter, the fish famed 15lber  the owner named when he saw it eat a 1-2lb bass.  I mostly swung large presentations. I did not get Walter, but I was prepared for that after last weekened where I caught all the fish that Walter eats. 
8. I got two really big bites, one on a TRIG, the other on a CRIG.  I set both as they were swimming to me and didn’t get the best hookset.  Robbie can attest that my MHvy rod was nearly completely parabolic. I didn’t see the first one, the second she shook out of the water – I’m not going to guess as I could only see her mouth and not the full length, but she was massive.  It happens – as I told Robbie, I’m an exceptionally average fisherman. 
9. Redshad color worms are the standard color out here for reference, that or green with redlfake (per the owner).  The big fish eat craws and sunfish based on the autopsy they performed one time on an 8lber. The crawfish he says was a redblood color. 
10. In the late afternoon/early eve – I was able to pick up some fish on a 10XD/MagSqBill in deeper water.  The fish hit it on the drop at around 15 feet.  I need to work a bit on deeper suspended bass – I couldn’t quite get the depth right. 
11. Lake has been recently limed, grass culled, and a gravity syphon put in to draw the lake down some.  Added shad (fyi, the shad are relatively large, he said threadfin, but they were big), large population of bluegill, redear, and I saw several crappie stacks in deeper timber.  I think he wants to add tilapia next year.   I felt like based on our conversation, they couldn’t manage the lake as well the past 5 years or so and really taking the time to get back to actively managing it moving forward.  
12. They are adding an outhouse to the cabin and hope to have people stay the night so you don’t have to eat the 2 hour drive in the AM to fish and then leave to drive another 2 hours (admittedly, I was dead tired). 
13. I look forward to going back!