tigerdh

I haven't posted in quite some time, but I recently had an extended trip up to The Bend. My stay was from 8/11 through 8/18. I'm not that great on Toledo Bend as I am used to fishing the shallows of the Atchafalaya basin, but I still give it hell and I'm learning. Overall, it was tough, tough fishing. A thermocline has developed and fish are holding on main lake points and humps anywhere from 15-25 FOW. No deeper than 25' (due to the thermocline). I believe the fish are primarily feeding at night and go dormant (for the most part) during the day. I had some success in the early mornings in the Six Mile area on buzz baits and frogs close to shoreline grass, and over submerged grass. Later in the day, I moved out and started graphing, finding sizable schools of fish, but they didn't want to play much. I had limited success after throwing everything but the kitchen sink at em. Catches came on watermelon/red C-rigs and 1/4 tx rig trick worms... nothing else. I know somewhere on the lake, there are more active fish. But finding them may be like finding a needle in a haystack. Night time tournaments out of the place I was staying are weighing 20-25 lbs to win. My advice is to fish at night until we are blessed with some cooler weather.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place to stay on the bend? Preferably on the south end. I'd like to spend more time on the lake, but its often hard to get a few guys together to help ease the cost of cabin rentals. I'm not wanting to spend $120 a night just for myself, that gets expensive quick. Anyway, any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks guys.

While at The Bend, i was also trying my hand at some deep water action. I'm having a lot of trouble identifying fish on my graphs where there is a lot of timber or other types of cover on the bottom. But I did find this submerged bridge that appeared to be holding a good number of fish. I couldn't get them to bite to save my life... Whats the likelihood that these were bass, and how would you fish it? Also, how do you identify fish when there is a lot of cover on the bottom? laydowns/grass beds/standing timber etc...

Went on a guys trip... arrived at 8am on 4-30-17 right behind the front. 8 guys, 4 boats. Only caught 4 fish on the first day. 2 dinks and 2 in the keeper range. One of which was caught off a bed in Buck creek. Day two (5-1-17) was tough again. Blue bird skies and high barometric pressure. Only managed 3 more keepers. Day three (5-2-17) things changed. Fished from sun up till 2pm and caught 8 or 9 total with 6 of them being keepers. Biggest was 3.5 lbs (released). Took lunch for two hours and went back at em from 4pm till dark. With the pressure dropping throughout the afternoon, we hammered em! We probably caught 15-20 fish in 4 hours. Nothing huge but 5 were over the three pound mark, biggest was 5.49lbs. The rest were 14-16 inches in length. Main lake points in less than 10ft of water with deep water close by; tx rigged worm in the hay grass or as close to it as you could get. Mills creek and Buck creek areas. All fish over three pounds were released.

Looks like me and the Mrs. picked the wrong weekend to visit The Bend lol. Rain and high winds are in the forecast. But we're gonna give it our best shot. Staying in the south end and gonna try to find the best protected water to fish. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

What's up guys? I have a trip coming up on the 24th-26th of march and have a couple questions. First: I've heard there isn't as much aquatic grass this year, but then recently saw a video of chemicals being sprayed in the housen and six mile areas; what's going on with this? Second: With the warm winter we've had, what stage of the spawn are we in on the bend, and what can I most likely expect when we go next weekend? Thanks in advance, guys??

Does anyone use the boatlanes download on lowrance for Toledo Bend? Is it accurate?

I do the same thing.

That was a great read for me, Catt. Thanks. But I don't understand how you and june-bug can agree that this is "something that doesn't really matter". In one of our first conversations, you explained to me how i needed to "understand thermocline and stratification" if I were going to fish deep water. That's the whole reason I researched it to begin with. The article I just read also stressed the importance of understanding it. Hopefully you can understand my confusion here...?

june-bug, I appreciate your opinion. However, my mind requires more info to be satisfied. Of course there is always the obvious. But that does'nt always work, and it's why in many cases, someone is catching them and someone is not. If you have a bad tournament and the winner weighs in 18lbs, you're left scratching your head thinking; "what does he know that I don't?" I like to be prepared and successful in anything I do. In order for me to do that, I learn as much as I can about the subject. But to each their own, brother. I'll just "keep fishing"

Ahhh.... it's the gray area. I gotcha. Would you be willing to elaborate on your knowledge and understanding of it? I like to learn things the hard way most of the time, but I'm also open to other views and interpretations. Especially from someone with wisdom such as yours. Sometimes, this helps me get around the road blocks in my own brain.

Ok, so based off what I've read about lake turnover, I'm going to assume that Toledo Bend has only a fall turnover (monomictic). No spring turnover. Even though the stratification levels will change, and the thermocline will sink during the winter, she just does'nt get cold enough for a spring turnover. As spring rolls in and turns to summer, the thermocline will rise again and stabilize until the fall turnover. Would this be correct? Also, I'm having trouble finding this answer and hope you'll grant me a shortcut to it. During stabilized stratification in any season, is it a given that the water below the thermocline be devoid of oxygen?

Catt, I've been doing a little research... I've always heard the term "thermocline" before, and just thought it was relevant to the difference of temps in the water column. I've definitely never dug into it this way though. I'm a long way from being an expert, but I have a better understanding of the effects of thermocline now. Thanks for the tip. Question: I read that some lakes will equalize in temps throughout the water column in early spring and fall. Have you ever seen The Bend do this?

So would greater depth adversely effect the oxygen content? My understanding is the deeper you get; the cooler the temps. Cooler temps will hold O2 better than warmer temps, correct? Also, would a lake like the bend have any stagnant, O2 deficient water anywhere? Bare with me, I'm a novice deep water, big lake angler. Most of my days on the water are spent in the Atchafalaya basin. Water depths greater than 12 to 15 feet are non existent. 0 to 8ft is mostly what it consists of. I've been to the bend twice in my life. Both times last year. I have two trips planned so far this year and will likely take a few more. First two trips are at the end of March and at the end of April. I am looking forward to putting the info I've learned here (so far) to practice and upgrade my personal best. Currently just over 4 pounds.

Catt, somehow I stumbled across this thread and now i'm addicted to it. You have a wealth of information tucked away. Thanks for sharing. I have not yet read the entire thread so forgive me if my question is redundant... My first question (of many more to come, I'm sure) is; how deep can bass live? Is there a limit?