Any ole timers are to share

[Sissyfishing]

Any ole timers have stories about the super lakes or experiences from the past. Like Toledo bend in the 60’s 

 

I fished lake fork when it opened in the early 80’s 

 

first few years most of the fish were small under 2 pounds but could catch them on every cast almost

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

 

I thought Lake Fork's claim to fame was the flooded ponds that produced trophy bass

in the lake from day one.  Along the road the lake has produced state records and the

greatest number of bass for the Texas Sharelunker Program.

https://texassharelunker.com/

 

When we had a BassResource Roadtrip at Lake Fork both Glenn and Keri caught Personal

Bests. Our big fish was north of 11 lbs. We had a great turnout and everyone caught fish.

As a natter of fact, most of the crew found at least one five pounder. My big bass would

have weighed 23.4 lbs, but it got away!

 

[Mike L]

21 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Hmm...

 

I thought Lake Fork's claim to fame was the flooded ponds that produced trophy bass

in the lake from day one.  Along the road the lake has produced state records and the

greatest number of bass for the Texas Sharelunker Program.

https://texassharelunker.com/

 

When we had a BassResource Roadtrip at Lake Fork both Glenn and Keri caught Personal

Bests. Our big fish was north of 11 lbs. We had a great turnout and everyone caught fish.

As a natter of fact, most of the crew found at least on five pounder. My big bass would have 

weighed 23.4 lbs, but it got away!

 

I couldn’t make that one, but if I remember right we all did pretty well when we went to Lake Wilson that year. 
 

Matter of fact I still have the pack of the prototype Rage Bug’s (or was it the craw?) Big O passed out. 
 

 

 

Mike

[Sissyfishing]

The creeks and ponds were stocked with brood size fish but it took a while to get over 10 lbs 1st few years catch 16 inch size and smaller on almost every cast, everybody was throwing a white spinnerbait 

huge areas covered in flooded forests of timber 20 feet above the final pool level, they cut boat lanes some of it was so thick you could not get a jon boat back in there, all gone now above the water line, and it was a clear stained color we called black water, they had temporary ramps then go back a few weeks later and the old ramps were 3 or 4 feet under water

toledo bend was same way in the hay days when my dad fished it, I went there in the 80’s and all the great timber forests were gone above the water line, millions of board feet of lumber who knows where it all goes?

[WRB]

Catt is the resident Tolerdo Bend bass angler but don't know if Catt is Ole, he is Cajon.

I am old and have a few posts on the site 21,000+ since 2007, told a few stories from time to time.

Tom

[Catt]

Many anglers talk of fishing Toledo Bend when there was standing timber.

 

I fished Toledo Bend when that standing timber still had leaves!

 

Joined two bass clubs whose members included John Torian, John Hall, John Dean, Villis P "Bo" Dowden SR, Harold Allen, Larry Nixon, Tommy Martin, & Zell Roland.

[Sissyfishing]

What about big Sam or caddo

[Hook2Jaw]

I been fishin' since 1991.  My meemaw set me out a worm in a deep hole in the Canoochee River.  I waited, and shortly thereafter my bobber went under.  Instructed by my expert meemaw, I went to cranking the handle of a Zebco 33 at 4 years old.  A big ole mudfish showed himself, and meemaw decided that I couldn't whoop him.

 

She took my 33 and promptly broke my line.

 

I looked at my meemaw with disdain and said, "Meemaw, you need to learn to fish!"

 

That's my experience from the past.  Carry on, oh wise ones. 

[Sissyfishing]

My biggest fish from fork was a whopping 4 lbs and I had friends who owned land and a bass club too fished for years

[Sissyfishing]

One day fishing alone at fork I accidentally left my bait casting rods on the boat ramp and was home when I found out and could not go back for them, that was the end of standard tackle for me, from then on sissy fishing, small bass, spots, guads, and light line spinning rods and light wire hooks, pro’s would talk about a tough bite and going to a panic box, small lures that work when all else fails, so I logically said why not fish these all the time, so be it, never looked back! Never skunked again that’s for sure! 

[Catt]

Fished a dozen tournaments with Lonnie Stanley, Terry Oldham, Jerry Dean, Shaw Grigsby, Ken Cook, Todd Faircloth, Bob Sealy, Ron/Rick Pierce, & Darren "Mad Man" Mooneyham.

 

On a few occasions I met Gary Yamamoto, Ben Matsubu, & Takahiro Omori at the cafes and boat launches around Toledo Bend and Rayburn.

[Sissyfishing]

Met Lonnie Stanley at the Dallas boat show one year, fished his jigs

I fish some bass club tournaments but never really cared to be in competition I prefer relaxing fishing for fun, maybe I’m lazy idk

[Sissyfishing]

What parts of Toledo did you fish most?

 

lower third?

middle third?

upper third?

 

what about 6 mile creek?

 

back in the 60’s the fished original silver rapala’s and creme purple or purple white tail worms what lures and methods did you have the most success on

 

[Catt]

@Sissyfishing Ya talking to me?

 

What parts of Toledo did you fish most?

 

The whole lake, started out mid-lake, drifted up north, & finally settled south. Mostly Texas side but know the Louisiana side fairly well.

 

what about 6 mile creek?

 

Spend a lot of time from Indian Mounds to Mill Creek south of 6-Mile.

 

what lures and methods did you have the most success on.

 

Texas Rigs, Jig-n-Craws, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits.

[Sissyfishing]

Ya sorry I meant you, thanks

 

i was looking a a map there are a lot of places where the river Chanel comes very close to the Texas side bank? 
 

has that ever produced for you

[Catt]

51 yrs on the big pond I've caught bass from Logansport to the dam.

[scbassin]

Catt I have heard that you were fishing when Moby Dick was a minnow.

[Catt]

5 hours ago, scbassin said:

Catt I have heard that you were fishing when Moby Dick was a minnow.

 

Caught his momma ?

[islandbass]

7 hours ago, scbassin said:

Catt I have heard that you were fishing when Moby Dick was a minnow.

I laughed at that. 
 

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

Caught his momma ?

If I were drinking coffee at the moment I read this,  I would have uncontrollably spit it out. Touché. 

[cheezyridr]

decades ago, i used to fish a private place me & a couple buddies called "the hole".  it was the nastiest looking place you ever saw. you could not fish it without getting muddy. it's too shallow and narrow for a boat except in winter.

if you saw it, you'd never think of it as the greatest place to fish in 100 miles.  but i saw my buddies wife catch a 5 lb crappie there. i saw him catch a 9 lb pickerel there. i've hooked bass so big i could not control them.  i had MANY  days there where i caught so many bass bigger than 3 lbs, i'd leave by 1 pm with a sore wrist. i also encountered a snake there that was 12-15 ft long. there were lots of times i went there with only 2 lures - a spinnerbait and a plastic worm, and caught more fish than i  could count. 

[txchaser]

3 hours ago, cheezyridr said:

decades ago, i used to fish a private place me & a couple buddies called "the hole".  it was the nastiest looking place you ever saw. you could not fish it without getting muddy. it's too shallow and narrow for a boat except in winter.

if you saw it, you'd never think of it as the greatest place to fish in 100 miles.  but i saw my buddies wife catch a 5 lb crappie there. i saw him catch a 9 lb pickerel there. i've hooked bass so big i could not control them.  i had MANY  days there where i caught so many bass bigger than 3 lbs, i'd leave by 1 pm with a sore wrist. i also encountered a snake there that was 12-15 ft long. there were lots of times i went there with only 2 lures - a spinnerbait and a plastic worm, and caught more fish than i  could count. 

[N Florida Mike]

I just turned 60. I have mostly fished N and central Florida only.

I have fished every big name water body N of Ocala to the Georgia line, except the Suwanee river, and more obscure waters than famous.

I started fishing Florida when it was still “ old Florida”

When I started fishing, a fish camp was really a fish camp, not a restaurant.

When I started fishing , one of the main ways to die was to be run over by one of the countless trucks that were towing a bass boat. They were everywhere.

When I started fishing, there were many places I fished that we wouldn’t see a house all day.

When I started fishing, there were mom and pop bait stores almost as numerous as Mcdonalds nowdays.

When I started fishing, the go-to bait was a Manns jelly worm, then a culprit worm.

When I started fishing , people fished with live bait as much as artificials, and most people kept the fish.

A lot has changed around here, but bass are still bass, after all.

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

Well, I turned 72 this month and got an unexpected birthday present from Bass Resources. It may seem nothing special - just an article about fishing the Allegheny River in western PA. WOW!!! I grew up in Franklin, PA, and caught my first bass in 1965 right below the old 13th Street Bridge.  It was a smallmouth and I caught it using an old Zebco spin cast reel on a no-name rod and a little orange and black plug with a front “propeller”. Wish I could remember the name ... it came on a black and yellow card and was the first lure I ever owned.  I bought it and a black job with “propellers” on front and rear by saving my allowance ($2.00 a week). That summer I got the bass fishing bug and spent many summer days walking from my home, up Elk Street to 13th Street, then wading and fishing down to the 8th Street Bridge from which I could walk two blocks home.  
 

Don’t know if this is the appropriate forum, but I wanted to say, “Thanks,” to BR and especially to Mr. Anderson and Mr. Cartwright for reminding me after all these years of why I started this pastime and why I’m still at it.

[roadwarrior]

[WRB]

February 9th, 1971 was the 6.8 Sylmar earthquake just as the sun was rising, it's a day etched into my brain. the day before I was fishing at lake Casitas just as the sun was breaking the horizon in Chumash bay and noticed the bouy line was gone opening up a long underwater point I could fish. made a cast and just as the jig dropped off the end of the point a strike that was my PB 12 1/4 lb Northern LMB. 

Fast forward to Fedruary 8th,1981, 10 years to the day around 9:30 I pulled up to the same point using the same type and color jig my Black-purple-brown hair jig with purple 4" Pork rind trailer and another strike at the same location in about 17' of water. This bass jumped twice and was massive body that weighed 18 lb 11 oz my PB for 12 years and for 1 month a lake record until Ray Easly's 21.3 lb giant that remain the lake record.

March 3rd, 1993 was a rainy Wednesday that I took off work and wondered if it was mistake because the rain was pouring at 0 dark 30 hooking up the boat to Casitas. Got to the lake and the rain light wind starting to pick and cold front coming still not too excited about going out. Tried a few spots like Ball and Trout point on the fish arm closer to the marina then headed up the ski arm into the wind to my favorite spot "the old folks home" and started feeling more into the zone but hands were cold and wind and rain picking up. This spot has a sandy beach with a few sunken 55 gallon drums and one side drops off sharply down for 50' with big rocks. Worked the opposite side and drifted into a line I could work the wall and the jig just stopping falling nothing strike. Reel quickly and set the hook. This bass ran right towards me and did a head shake breaking water, big bass! The bass turn and ran towards the beach and drums in shallower water, very unusually and jump again. The fight settled down into a pulling contest and weighed 19.3 lbs my PB using the same type hair jig with barn red Pork rind trailer. Memories.

Tom