Melody Acres - February 5, 2012

Feb 06 2012

Brian Norman

Fry

Member Since :
2012
Number of Posts :
5

My 8 year old son and I drove down to Melody Acres, just north of Crockett, Texas, on February 5, 2012, for an afternoon trip. 

We fished under difficult conditions and could only take about 3 hours on the water.  A cold front had moved through the night of February 3-4.  The temperature was around 48 degrees and there was a north wind of 10 to 15 mph.  We brought a canoe.  The on-site boat is well-maintained and there is a nice boathouse.

My son mostly fished, when he wasn’t tangled, a spincast with a jig and crawfish trailer.  He switched to a crankbait, not because I expected him to catch anything with it, but because he thought it “looked cool.”  I fished (as I could casting into a headwind while seated in a canoe - a new one for me) a 6 wt. fly rod with wooly buggers, streamers, deer hair poppers (between number 6 and 10 mostly).  I really should have brought an 8 wt.  My fine gut was really too light to get a good cast on the larger flies.  Lesson learned.  We intended to stay deep since we are early February but even with an anchor, were getting blown all over the lake.  So, we headed to “cover,” a weedy area on one side of the pond, more to get out of the wind than to look for fish.  We spent a couple of hours working the weeds.

My son looked like he got a couple of nibbles.  I didn’t get a sniff.

The pond looks “fishy” and I would wager that there is superior fishing when it is warmer and when the bass start moving up (which may be shortly here).  There is good structure underwater and good bank weeds.

The property is great for kids.  There are a variety of farm animals (baby donkey, baby sheep, goats, alpacas) and the landowner and hand are very friendly.

If you have any questions, please give me a ring.  Tight lines.

Brian Norman
214-987-1745

Posted By: Brian Norman

Feb 06 2012

Brian Hughes

Fry

Member Since :
2010
Number of Posts :
13

Sorry you had such a slow day out there Brian.  I do think the cold front and an additional 3 inches of rain they received Friday night, effected the fishing out there.  We had a couple members fish there Friday afternoon and did very well.  They fished Saturday morning (after the rain and cold front) and didn’t catch much.

The good news is that Melody Acres is in great shape for the coming spring.  Brian, I would give that site another try when conditions are better.  This site tends to produce pretty good fishing.

Feb 06 2012

Frank James

Fingerling

Member Since :
2005
Number of Posts :
86

Brian, my buddy and I fished at Melody Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, and I can tell you that the big rain changed everything.  Friday afternoon we caught probably 25 fish, almost all bass, in about 3 hours.  Nothing huge, but good fighters.  After the thunderstorms rolled through that night, the lake went dead.  Fished all day Saturday but only caught a handful, VERY tough, even for Melody veterans like us who know the lake well.  Water was cold, murky, and rising fast, a bad combination.  I believe you ran into exactly the same conditions Sunday.

Try it again when it gets warmer, you will have a much better experience.  Now that the lake is full and the hyacinths have been beaten back, it is a great spot to bring a kid.  In a month or two a small or medium size RattleTrap retrieved close to the stob sticking out near the dam should result in some great big crappie, loads of fun for you & your son.  Similar results can sometimes be had between the old fence posts in the back of the pond, though it can be tricky to get the fish out before they hang you up.  The shallow water on top of the old dam holds big bluegill at times, along with bass that try to eat them—a good spot for topwaters, flies, weedless or very shallow running lures.  On warm, reasonably calm evenings, there is a good mayfly hatch, too, so you definitely want to bring your mayfly imitations along with your flyrod. 

Good luck!