Hello, Anglers. Boat traffic continues strong on the lake with decent traffic even during the week. To many, April is one of the prime spawning months for bass fishing with lots of fish in shallow water as numerous serious bass anglers plan ahead of time to be on the lake as much as possible during this time of the year. On the weekends in the spring there are always lots of boats but as mentioned the spawning season brings them out all week long. The week-day angler (generally speaking) currently is made up from three groups of fishermen.
One group is those who work shift work or petroleum related jobs where they work one week and then off work the next. The second is a group who have retired/semi-retired and have a lake house on or near the lake while the third are those who are taking leave from work and have vacation days that they have saved for this season.
Others find creative ways to get out of the office or work place and on the lake in the spring to find a cure for fishing fever. It is a tough disease to completely cure as you think you are over it and then a beautiful, warm day brings on a relapse. I have noticed that multiple days of 'on the water' treatment seems to be more affective than a single outing.
LAKE CONDITIONS: The recent cool front slowed the rapid water warm-up and at mid week the surface temps were running from 69 to 73 degrees which is close to ideal. The generators ran a few hours the early part of the week but were both silent during mid-week with the lake level at 170.70'. North Toledo is slightly stained, mid-lake is mostly clear except in feeder creeks and south Toledo is clear.
FISHING REPORTS/BASS: Last week we had some of the best trips we have had all spring catching bass on several patterns as well as depths and some quality bass as well. Most of the bass we are catching have already spawned but there are still a good number of bass that are still pre-spawn on the south part of The Bend. One of our productive patterns in shallow depths (1 to 6') have been (you guessed it) a Stanley VibraSpin or WedgePlus in 3/8 oz. spinnerbait with double willow blades. Skirt colors on our spinnerbaits have been white/chartreuse and golden bream.
We also are fishing top water patterns more and more with Berkley's Frenzy Popper, Chug Bug, Yellow Magic and Pop R all excellent choices with shad patterns and bream patterns top colors. Fish'em pretty slow. It is also frog season with Ribbit frog always in my boat now for the next several months. I like pumpkin red pearl and watermelon (with tail dyed chartreuse) and I always fish these on 50 lb test Spider Braid.
Our other top producers are Texas/weightless rigs, Texas rigs and Carolina rigs fished from 1 to 25' depending on conditions. We are fishing the weightless Texas rigs on grassy points mostly in low light conditions but there are days when they will hit it all day, especially with a ripple or light chop on the surface and there's been no shortage of wave action. Multiple soft plastics are working on these including Berkley's Sinking Minnows, Senkos as well as Jerk Shad and Flukes. This is a very productive method but don't rush the presentation and we are mostly fishing these with Berkley(Professional Grade) or Stren's 100% Fluorocarbon. If you want bait to float then do not use fluorocarbon.
On our TX rigs we are mostly using 1/8 to 1/4 oz weights on normal days but during windy conditions we may use as heavy as 3/8 oz. especially on a Carolina rig. Our best producing plastics have been Berkley Power Worms, Trick Worms, Shaky Worms(Berkley) and baby brush hogs. As far as hooks I demand a high carbon hook (80 minimum) as XPoint, which I mainly use for worm hooks, has a 110 count.
High carbon hooks are not only sharper but they will stay sharp longer plus they do not have to be as thick to have strength and a slim hook will penetrate quicker and easier. The crankbait bite is also improving with mid-divers (Deep Little N) and DD14s both catching bass and DD22s have worked well behind cold fronts. Speaking of hooks, I put one set of Daiichi's Bleeding Bait hooks on the front of my crankbaits using either a #6, #4 or #2 depending on how big the bait. With treble hooks, the larger the number the smaller the hook. On worm hooks it is the opposite with say a 1/0 smaller than a 2/0. Why? Dunno. Maybe a reader can shed some light.
CRAPPIE: The cold front, which by the way for this late in the season is unusual, shut down the crappie for a few days. They should rebound by late this week with jigs/Road Runners and shiners worked over the grass in 6 to 12 feet as well as along the outside grassline in 12 to 18' areas to target. They will be more shallow in low light conditions.
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 joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com. and WEBSITE www.joejoslinoutdoors.com.
MCDONALDS BIG BASS SPLASH TOURNAMENT MAKES WAVES
FISHERS FIND FUN AND PAYOUTS
The McDonalds’s Big Bass Splash Fishing Tournament was held at Cypress Bend Park on June 12-14. Tournament operations manager Nicole Sealy said 2,100 people fished the tournament on this warm June weekend in hopes of hooking a prizewinner.
The tournament is one of the largest amateur fishing circuits in the United States. Sealy Outdoors has sponsored these events in Louisiana, Texas and Alabama for 25 years.
“This year’s turnout was successful,” Sealy said. “It’s the biggest it’s been in the past 10 years, and we hope to see it grow even more next year.”
Participants flocked from 18 states and one foreign country. Represented were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Sweden.
The biggest fish of the tournament was caught in the very first hour by Richard Stephens of Glenmora, La. Mr. Stevens was awarded a Dodge Truck and Triton Boat powered by Mercury (about a $65,000 value) for his 11.07 pound bass.
“I’ve been fishing since I could walk, but never won this big,” said Stephens. “It was my wife’s and my anniversary weekend, so I gave her the truck—she loves Dodges.”
Stevens caught his bass on a 12-inch, redbug color V&M worm in 24 feet of water in Tennessee Bay.
Dale Henderson of Orange, Texas, came in second. His Sunday, 10.13-pounder landed him a new Dodge truck. Brett Wellman of Leesville, Ala., placed third at 9.97 pounds, winning a Layton Travel Trailer.
Billy Gatwood of Hattiesburg, Miss., caught a 9.71 pound bass in the second hour of the tournament to qualify for the 4th place Stealth ATV. He also won $1,000 in hourly payouts on Sunday afternoon.
Alexandria’s Jason Thomasee rounded off the top five with a 9.55 pound catch he hooked Saturday morning. He also accepted a Stealth ATV.
The Big Bass Splash gave away $375,000 in cash and prizes at its Cypress Bend event. Hourly payouts accounted for $154,800 worth of handouts.
More than 50 kids cast their lines in the Little Angler’s Division, which was made up of four branches: bass, perch, catfish and crappie. Winners received gift certificates to Academy Sports & Outdoors.
Nathaniel Reno from New Llano, La., hooked the biggest bass of the children’s division, weighing 5.28 pounds. He was closely followed by Anacoco’s Cole Moore who caught a 4.07 pound bass.
The perch division was led by William Dewil of Florien, La, and Devin Vanwinkle of Mansfield, La, who both caught 0.5-pounders.
Zachary Fausett from Center, Texas, took home the largest catfish at 4.54 pounds. Counterpart Mallory Fausett placed second in the division at 3.18 pounds.
Logan Ferguson of Florien, La, was the winner of the crappie division at 1.38 pounds, followed by Trevor McKinney from Katy, Texas, with his 1.25 pound catch.
The closing ceremony recognized tournament winners and the qualifiers for the Toledo Bend Lake Association’s Lunker Bass Program that handed out 43 lunkers for the 2008-09 season.
Dates for next year’s tournament have been changed to May 21, 22 and 23 in hopes of capitalizing on cooler weather.
Sabine Parish Tourist Commission
Linda Curtis-Sparks
1-800-358-7802 or
(318) 256-5880
Fax: (318) 256- 4137
Email: director@toledobendlakecountry.com
