Toledo Bend reservoir TX (FH)

[Mikey]

Hello, Anglers. I'm looking forward to another great time at
this weekend's annual Central Gulf Coast Boat, Sport and RV Show which
is scheduled for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Lake Charles
Civic Center . If you love the outdoors you will certainly find multiple
items of great interest at this year's show. There will be the latest
bass boats, pontoons, bay boats, ski boats and duck boats plus check out
the newest tackle innovations that will be shown at multiple tackle
outlets. In addition, you will see booths of almost every description
with a link to the outdoors. Check out the trout fishing pool for the
kids plus a huge bass aquarium and a pro angler giving how-to on fishing
lures and casting techniques. Friday hours are 1 to 8 p.m., Saturday 10
a.m. till 8 p.m. and Sunday hours are 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. I will be in
the Lake Charles Tackle booth located near the aquarium on Friday and
Sunday afternoon. Stop by for a visit and we can swap some fishing
stories.
LAKE CONDITIONS: The lake level
early this week was 168.90 feet with both generators shut down as they
have been for 2-3 weeks. However, that could change this week with
recent rains and the level rising rapidly. Water temps last week climb
were 54 to 58 with even water at 60 degrees in coves during the late
afternoon but this minor cool front cooled things just a bit as low 50s
will be common by the weekend. The lake is in great shape with north
Toledo stained, mid lake is slightly stained while south Toledo is
clear. As normal this time of the year, there are stained and even muddy
conditions in the upper portions of all major feeder creeks especially
since the rain over the weekend.
FISHING
REPORTS/BASS: Early February is always a transitional month on Toledo
and especially on south Toledo . Last week we caught a lot of bass
shallow but this week could be different. Looking at weather patterns
into the weekend the temperatures will be 10 or more degrees cooler than
last week plus high barometric pressure will be another issue. Yes, I
expect to catch a lot of bass this week but we may have to fish deeper
and tweak our patterns from what we did last week. Also, throw in
another factor that the lake is rising and may rise 6 to 9 inches by the
end of the week. Sometimes, rising water can be a good thing in the
spring so we’ll have to see what the fish think about it. It is gonna be
a fun week!
Current successful
patterns include both aggressive and finesse approaches with Bill
Lewis’s Rat -L-Traps and Stanley Spinnerbaits getting more and more
attention. It has depended on how the grass is growing in a particular
area as to whether we throw a Trap or a spinnerbait. We are, for the
most part, using double willows on our spinnerbaits with at least one of
the blades gold/copper. Our Trap has been both a ½ as well as a ¾ oz
version in the new “Red Hot” cherry bomb color. This color is almost
impossible to find. Last week I had only one left and caught a 6 pounder
on it and about three casts later had a hang-up and lost it. I
considered going swimming for it but water temp was in 50s. We were able
to come up with a source where we got our hands on 3 or 4 more of them.
Don’t worry, I will re-tie often and will use a slightly heavier line.
Wes Higgings, Bill Lewis Sales Manager, says they are shipping all they
can make and have a back-log of orders for this color.
On
the more subtle approach, weightless and light-weighted soft plastics
will continue to play a huge part in how we catch fish for the next 3-4
months. On the south end of Toledo and Rayburn the water is clear, for
the most part, which many times warrants a slower, more deliberate
approach. Such lends itself well to weightless Texas rigs, very
light-weighted Texas rigs and wacky rigs. Of course on the deeper
patterns, we will rely on a drop shot, Stanley Bug Eye jig, Norman
crankbaits and spoons.

CRAPPIE/YELLOW
BASS: Some of the bigger female yellow bass are showing up on some of
the humps and deep ridges near main creeks and the river. Jigging spoons
and tailspinners (Knock-off by Norman and Little George by Mann) are
great choices for yellows and white bass. The crappie bite this week
will be determined by water quality and how the rains impacted the color
of the water. Rising water levels is usually not a good thing for late
winter crappie. Before the recent heavy rain, they were still catching a
few nice crappie off deep structure.
AUTHOR INFO:
Joe Joslin is a syndicated outdoor columnist, tournament angler and pro
guide on Toledo and Sam Rayburn. Contact him at
337-463-3848 or e-mail at joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com or website
www.joejoslinoutdoors.com.