Hello all!

I hope you're well. This is my first fishing report in a while. I've been fishing a lot since the last one, but I've been less than faithful to chronicling the journey. Today needs to be different, though...

The reason is that I settled a score with Brandy Branch Reservoir. This past summer I travelled to Brandy as I was trying out new lakes. I got skunked. I got skunked bad... I didn't even get a bite. I chalked it up to going in the summer and not knowing where to go (I went on a whim). I went home not happy. You see, I don't get skunked. In the last ten years at least, the only place I've been skunked is Brandy. I may not always have prolific days, but I don't get skunked. Well, all streaks come to an end, and I left Brandy that day with an intention to research the lake and come back.

I researched the lake during the next week and decided to come back with a plan to go deeper for fish... again, still in the summer. I talked with some friends who fish Brandy regularly. I looked on the TFF forums for insights. I went a second time, and I got skunked again. Again, with no bites.

I don't know about you, but being skunked eats at me. The summer had ended by the time I was ready to go to Brandy again, and fall fishing had picked up at the lake I live by, so I stayed there mostly. However, now that Christmas break had set in, I decided I needed to get redemption. I needed to go back to Brandy and get the stink off.

So, this morning I got there at 10:30am. The weather was good, but the reports of people already coming off the water was not. I paddled off with this as my view...



I had decided since the water was ranging between 64 and 66 degrees near the boat ramp that I'd try fishing the non-discharge side before paddling to the other side of the lake to the discharge. I had just traded messages with Iconn4 saying the bite was slow, and I was going to head to the warmer side. Instead, I started throwing a baby brush hog at the tall grass along the bank as I moved down the lake, and sure enough redemption was mine!



This fish won't break any records for size, but my picture here didn't do it justice. However, I was so excited that I took the next ten minutes texting my wife and a fishing buddy who had been listening to me for months whine about being skunked at Brandy. The stink was OFF!

I continued down the boat ramp side of the lake, and a pattern quickly emerged. Throwing to tall grass that had clear bottom (not covered with massive vegetation) in a manner that allowed my lure to travel over a dropoff in the contour of the lake was the ticket. If I threw to non-grass, no takers. If I threw to grass with the massive vegetation in front of it (I think coontail, but I'm not great with my vegetation types), no takers. If I let the yak get too close to the drop off, no takers. However, whenever I found locations that matched what I just described, I could throw whatever lure I wanted, and I could catch at least one bass. I caught them on plastic lizards, plastic shad, and chatterbaits.

I continued this pattern all the way down the boat ramp side of the lake's shoreline until the bank became devoid of grass. I then had a decision to make. I had caught a lot of bass (around 15) in less than three hours. I could head for the warm water discharge, and see what my fortunes would be there. However, I told my wife we could go to Shreveport for dinner, and I wanted to go to Bass Pro to pick up a couple things. Also, I was catching fish where I was. I took a couple minutes to think it through, and I decided to work my way back up to the boat ramp throwing to the grass using the same pattern to see if I could pick up some stragglers.

As I began working my way back up the lake, I noticed now there were several other boats working the grass too. When I came down the grass the first time, I was alone. My way back was rewarded with several more fish, but far less than I caught on the way down. I did see some of the boats pick off some fish throwing to the grass as well in places I had pulled fish from in my first pass.

For the day, I caught over 20 fish. No giants... They almost all looked liked this...



In retrospect, I can't wait to go back there and try my luck at the warmer side of the lake near the discharge. However, as vain as it may be, I'M MOST GLAD THAT THE STINK IS OFF!

Great job getting rid of the skunk Nissley.

From what I understand this is the best time of the year for that lake. I've never fished it during the warm months but I hear it can be difficult with the clear water and the fish staying deep to escape the hot shallows when the sun is up. So your two tough trips earlier in the year aren't uncommon. I've fished BB three times. All three were in January and fish were either spawning or at the very least up shallow getting ready. Relatively speaking, catching fish has seemed kind of easy there, I think in part because at this time of year we're dealing with such difficult conditions in these metro area lakes with stained water, no vegetation and water temps in the low to mid forties. Fishing shoreline cover and getting bites just doesn't happen much on our lakes right now. Getting out there and looking down into that hydrilla in six feet of water with temps in the 60s and 70s is not something you get very often around here. That said, the very things that make it such a great fishery in January/February are probably what can make it difficult at other times.

So do you think those are buck bass you're catching? If I had to guess I'd say so. I wonder how quickly the big females will be following? Last year a few of us went out there a few weeks into January and there were fish on beds everywhere. I'm thinking I may try it later this week, maybe Thursday or Friday. Only reason I won't go is if the wind looks unruly. It's a 130 mile drive so it's not worth it if I have to fight the wind.

Anyways congrats again on the de-mystification of a lake. Saturday I was on the Brazos catching fish in 40 degree water, so I returned to Grapevine today to prefish for the tourney there on the 25th with a little confidence. It didn't help. That makes three trips and close to 20 hours of fishing there in the last month without a bite. It's a good lake March-November but it's got me and several others stumped right now. It really shouldn't come as a surprise. When I look at my trip histories over the last several winters, I realize there was a good reason I stayed away from certain lakes this time of year LOL...

Tom, it was good to see you and Shaun yesterday and yes the Vine is tough this time of year.
I hear some people just give up on the bass and lower their standards and fish for other species

With those water temps at Brady Branch I might have to run out there and get a winter time frog fix.

Tom,

I hope you're well. I do think they were almost exclusively males I was catching. As you know the water is very clear there, so you can sight fish well. I saw what appeared to be males finding a suitable spawning place. I didn't see fish on beds. The males still seemed to be in the stage of picking a spot. I caught fish pretty much exclusively in good spawning spots, though. I think you're right... It shouldn't be long before the females come in. From the intel I gathered, last week the fish weren't shallow at all.

I'm probably going to try to get back there sometime next week, but I'm also tempted to try out Welch lake, which is another power plant lake that a buddy of mine raves about.

I think I've been spoiled in my Texas journey. When I moved to Texas, I lived near a power plant lake called Coleto Creek Reservoir that made for excellent fishing year round. Of course, that was in South Texas, so almost any lake could be fished year round. Now, living in a East Texas, we are so blessed with a number of power plant lakes to help get the fix on during the winter months.

Good luck in the tourney!

I may have to try the one stack running lakes (Perky or Monti) before easing my way back to cold water lakes.

Since I didn't get there Sunday, I have to figure out how to fit in a trip to Martin before the new semester starts...