Reservation Number : 34670
Property Name : Hat and Star Ranch
Reservation Date : 01/01/2023 PM -
Total Fish/Sizes : 6 total, missed 3 at the boat
Lures Used : White/Chartreuse Chatterbait

Second time visitng Hat & Star and much more productive time this go around. Went out last second from 1pm til 6pm right at dark. Water temps were mostly 57-59 degrees throughout the water. Caught a total of 6 but 3 of them were dinks that thrashed off right at the boat before I could cull them. Two of the fish returned were 21” and 6 pounds – both had good bellies on them and were vigorous fighters! The other fish I caught were just over the 16” mark and were super fat – very healthy fish. Nice fights that made for a great start to the New Year. I dropped a photo of the lake and where I caught them. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the recent cold temps but saw some fish blowing up shad in 3-5’ of water so I targeted those areas since I had a limited afternoon to be on the water. Those areas are circled in red which also coincided with some of the submerged timber. I couldn’t get any other bait to work – swimbaits, worms, craws, jigs, lipless crankbaits, deep and shallow diving crankbaits, etc.

I also graphed tons and tons of fish in 14-25’ of water that were absolutely stacked but I couldn’t get them to bite anything at all. Definitely made me excited for the late winter / early spring bite and returning and truly hunt for the beasts lurking in this water!

The boat was in great condition and as always the property is so well manicured and enjoyable to be on. What a treat!

Happy New Year PWF!