Lake Barrett

[fishinkid2010]

I know it’s a little different from the typical “bass” reports that seem to be all the rage right now. Since I’m good at breaking off WSB and not actually landing them haha, I thought I’d go after something a little more different today.
Today “fishinfreak” and I went fishing in the middle of nowhere aka Lake Barrett. For those of you unfamiliar with Lake Barrett and its green bass let me tell you… it is definitely somewhere you want to fish at least once in your life! First off, the lake contains Northern Strain Largemouth bass, not the Florida Strain common in most city lakes. They are smaller, but are quite a bit more aggressive.
The lake is only fishable by reservations through Ticketmaster only… well sorta
They only allow 25 boats (100 anglers) on the lake per day. Today, there were only 5 parties, and of the people there I only saw 4 people all day. It was like having our own private lake to ourselves!

The water level was up very high, and has resulted in a lot of flooded timber, and submerged trees. This ended up being the key to catching fish today. Basically, you had to throw your lure wherever it looked like you were guaranteed to loose it. Haha
If you could pitch a Senko into the middle of a brush pile, you’d get a hit at least half the time. Every brush pile contains fish, you just have to be willing to put in the effort.
The best bait today, proved to be a Wacky rigged Yamamoto Senko; purple and watermelon were the best colors. In the morning though, spinnerbaits proved to be deadly, running them through the brush and weed flats resulted in a lot of fish. Drop shot also proved affective, but not so much as the other techniques.
Having a kayak also proved to be very affective. I was able to fish behind the brush piles in the shallow water that the boats couldn’t access. Exploring the new flooded areas FULL of fish was very fun.

Today I set my personal best record for most Largemouth Bass in a single day… 51! I caught fifty-one bass today, and that is only counting the ones that made it into the net, or were lip gripped. Without exaggeration, I probably hooked 150+ fish and lost them due to the barbless hook requirement at Barrett.
Fishinfreak also lost a bunch… but still managed to catch a few. Haha
Big fish for the day was around 4ish lbs. Many fish were small, but they all fight well!


Check out the pictures... they are a bunch, but this lake is so cool that you can't help but take pictures!































Lastly, here is the latest rod I finished up for fishinfreak to be used to slay some Barrett bass... needless to say, it did its job.

[j mo]

You sold me Tyler Barret looks awesome, great scenery, tons of fish and sun too.... way to slay em! Are you honing your bass skills in preperation for your move to the "big state"?

Lets try to fish before you head out....

- If anyone wants a custom rod Tyler does great work and at reasonable prices- hit him up you wont be dissapointed!

-Josh

ps you didnt miss much, it was slow and bait was tuff to make. Highlight was bycatch- a monster calico it had to be 7lbs or more no joke. Definately the only time ive been stoked on a calico

[driftwood]

Ya know, For years kayak fishing was a middle age and older guy sport. rarely would ya see a young person kayak fishing. Its good see so many many young guy's take up the sport.

your pictures provided a momentary escape from the daily grind. Thank you for that!

[cowboybill]

I have never been to Barret, only near it!

Nice post, great pics, definately got my interest up!

Cowboybill

[steveooo]

Awesome report T! That lake looks super fishy-I'm going to have to try it out...

[Geoffkoop]

Looks like a great time. I have yet to fish for Large Mouths from a kayak. Nice looking rods too!

[fishinfreak]

i suck at bass fishing but still managed to get 7 fish, twice as many lost due to headshakes, jumps, and barbless hooks. great fun on the water, nice to pull on something in comparison to being skunked by the twice at la jolla last week haha

[young mola]

nice! ive got tickets for saturday. was wondering about the yak situation. no waders needed apparently. do you need scupper plugs or anything?

[fishinkid2010]

Originally Posted by j mo

Are you honing your bass skills in preperation for your move to the "big state"?

Absolutely!!! I've got to be on my A game. Not to mention be in top shape both physically and mentally for the strenuous sport of Collegiate Bass Fishing! hahahaha (I plan to be on Baylor's bass fishing club/team)

Originally Posted by driftwood

Ya know, For years kayak fishing was a middle age and older guy sport. rarely would ya see a young person kayak fishing. Its good see so many many young guy's take up the sport.

To be honest, I've only met one other kid my age out there aside from 'fishinfreak'... I wish there were more young guns out there fishing!
Maybe some huge companies like Shimano and Hobie should throw tons of free gear my way and I'll advertise to the "younger"market! Ahahaha Wishful thinking I guess!

Originally Posted by fishinfreak

i suck at bass fishing but still managed to get 7 fish, twice as many lost due to headshakes, jumps, and barbless hooks. great fun on the water, nice to pull on something in comparison to being skunked by the twice at la jolla last week haha

You don't suck, you just haven't "honed your skills".
(now will you finally buy a hobie of your own?)

Originally Posted by young mola

nice! ive got tickets for saturday. was wondering about the yak situation. no waders needed apparently. do you need scupper plugs or anything?

PM sent

[Hobie-Pedaller]

great report a terrific collection of pics !!

[fishinfreak]

you may catch 51 bass for every seven of mine, but i'll catch 100 waves for every 1 of yours when we're surfing haha