So Yall Want To Learn Toledo Bend?

[bighed]

So the docks we flipped 5 days ago are under water.  The haygrass that had gators laying in it is under water.  The cypress that had 2' of water in them have 5' today.  Everything is now muddied up good and there is a pretty good current in the lake and I'm fishing the next two days.  Anybody have any thoughts about catching some?

[Cindy Graham]

i am taking my boys ( 14yrs and 9 yrs) down to turtle beach to fish where i lived when i was younger.  This is a trip we have planned for almost a year now.  With this weather, does anyone have any suggestions on how to fish the high water?  we prefer to fish for large mouth bass, but also enjow white perch and sand bass if necessary.  Thanks, in advance

our trip is this saturday (March 12) thorugh Thursdya morning (March 17)

[Bass_Fanatic]

I'd stay shallow flipping tight to brush.

[Bryanhester]

if you can't get bit in the bushes I would try fishing banks that you could actually get to. There is so much water between the bushes and the bank that you won't be able to fish !!  Just a thought.. 

[mguidroz]

34 minutes ago, Bass_Fanatic said:

I'd stay shallow flipping tight to brush.

BF, would you try offshore? Like the Indian Mounds, humps adjacent to creeks and flats on the main lake. There should some current in the creeks. Also do y'all think the fish will move up that fast? Thanks

[jcdogfish]

I agree, wood, hard stuff and bushes shallow, real shallow.  Plan B would be the inside and outside hay grass edge if you can find it.   For me, I can't find anything in deep dirty water so for me that is out.

[keithM]

Hi everyone , I'm new to this thread , just want to start off by saying thanks to everyone for the best information that someone new to this lake could get(especially you CATT ) .I fished THE BEND for the first time last year oddly enough a couple weeks after the flood in March of last year . I had a little luck but a few hard days of fishing . Mainly because the deep water I am used to fishing is what y'all call shallow .6 to 8 FT . But I'm learning . I think I learned more on the first page of this thread than I did fishing it for 5 days . So here I am again all this rain and flooding and I will be coming back to fish the BEND arriving on March 28 for the week . Hopefully by then things will be close to back to normal. I have probably read( no let me say studied) this thread through twice , studied maps ,and GOOGLE EARTH so much my wife says you would think you were going to fish the BASSMASTER CLASSIC .Well I'm not much of a tournament fisherman I have only fished 2 .The last one was the Lineman Rodeo on the bend with my son , which I thoroughly enjoyed. Cant wait for this years on June 3 and 4. I will say my goal is a big fish . I would really like to catch a ten pounder . My personal best is 6lbs2oz . I am currently looking for some property on the Louisiana side , I live in Mississippi but trying to plan for retirement and would like something that I can walk down and get on my boat and not have to trailer it every time I go fish . I would prefer something mid lake to the south . we are going to check some places out when we come over . I do have a question for CATT . I was looking at Google earth and went back on the history to 2006 when the lake was very low . Have you ever compared that to the HOOK N LINE MAP ?  What I like is you can actually see the humps and flats . i do have a little trouble matching up coordinates from google earth to my gps in my boat . Oh i will be staying at N TOLEDO BEND STATE PARK this year March 28 -April 2 any advise will be appreciated !!!!!

 

[Catt]

It would be a coin toss between shallow & deep!

Can we say Alabama Rig

keithM, yea I did! Took some pictures!

[Bass_Fanatic]

2 hours ago, mguidroz said:

BF, would you try offshore? Like the Indian Mounds, humps adjacent to creeks and flats on the main lake. There should some current in the creeks. Also do y'all think the fish will move up that fast? Thanks

As much as I love to fish deep, I'm afraid it will be wasting time. The current being pulled right now screws up the deep fish from my experience.  Fish that aren't use to current don't like to fight it.  Anytime water rises as fast as it has, fish push up shallow.  I'm sure there will still be some deeper fish, but IMO, majority will be pushed up.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Bass_Fanatic said:

As much as I love to fish deep, I'm afraid it will be wasting time. The current being pulled right now screws up the deep fish from my experience.  Fish that aren't use to current don't like to fight it.  Anytime water rises as fast as it has, fish push up shallow.  I'm sure there will still be some deeper fish, but IMO, majority will be pushed up.

Define deep?

Deep doesn't necessarily mean main lake!

Every cove with a creek will have current but what about coves with no creek?

[Cindy Graham]

Thanks to everyone who has already replied. We will begin putting your advice to work tomorrow. I will update everyone if we find them feeding. Keep the great advice coming!  We will keep fishing until we find them feeding somewhere. We are currently planning on following the advice above, flip bushes and fish shallows when we can get in.  Thanks again,

[Buckjunkie]

Hello all. Haven't been on in a while.

Headed over to Fin and Feather in 10 days. A couple questions for you guys 

Are the roads and bridges ok to get there coming from Louisiana side?

How much will the lake level recede by then?

How should we start fishing? Shallow I'm guessing?

Thanks 

 

[Catt]

12 minutes ago, Buckjunkie said:

Hello all. Haven't been on in a while.

Headed over to Fin and Feather in 10 days. A couple questions for you guys 

Are the roads and bridges ok to get there coming from Louisiana side?

How much will the lake level recede by then?

How should we start fishing? Shallow I'm guessing?

Thanks 

 

Depends on where you coming from?

i go I10 to Orange, Tx & 87 north, quickest way.

Don't know of any road closures 

 

SRA Louisiana Levels / Generating Schedules

As of:03/12/20166:00 AM

Lake Level173.40

Generator 1Current running 24 hrs

Generator 2Currently shut down

Spillway Gates9 gates open 16 feet

 

[Buckjunkie]

13 minutes ago, Catt said:

Depends on where you coming from?

i go I10 to Orange, Tx & 87 north, quickest way.

Don't know of any road closures 

 

SRA Louisiana Levels / Generating Schedules

As of:03/12/20166:00 AM

Lake Level173.40

Generator 1Current running 24 hrs

Generator 2Currently shut down

Spillway Gates9 gates open 16 feet

 

Crossing over from Many and then going south. Just making sure no bridges were washed out.

[Catt]

8 minutes ago, Buckjunkie said:

Crossing over from Many and then going south. Just making sure no bridges were washed out.

I'm on the south end

[keithM]

After the water level gets back to around full pool 172 how long do you think it will take to clear up ?

[bighed]

Muddy water didn't seem to hurt the bite as bad as you might think.  Our club had 24 anglers on the lake today and I don't think we had a blank.  Most weighed a few.  Guys were all over the lake fishing deep to shallow and results seemed pretty consistent.  Lots and lots of junk floating in the lake so be really careful running.  

[kajun32]

On March 9, 2016 at 10:57 AM, Catt said:

Well this Coonass staying home

Didn't know you was a coonass.   

That changes things / I'm registered!!?

That means you have been bless! 

[kajun32]

Oh and my first win in tournament (Hanesville) on the 4/5th. I got second place big bass. 7.34 lbs. and 11th on team string wt 17.85 lbs.   we were very happy campers.     

[Catt]

1 hour ago, kajun32 said:

Didn't know you was a coonass.   

That changes things / I'm registered!!?

That means you have been bless! 

Last name is Thibodeaux

[kajun32]

Cormier ( family are Breaux / Hanks / Pierce / Bertrand and Thibodeaux) . 

[BaddMamma]

delete

[Catt]

2 hours ago, 6MILE_SKEETER said:

anyone know what the road closures are, say from Lake Charles to SouthWest corner of TB?  going through Merryville, Newton, Burkeville?

I'm in Lake Charles; I always go I10 to Orange then Hwy 87 north, this is by far the fastest & easiest.

KPLC 7 is reporting right now Hwy 190 at Merryville is flooded.

[LaRoper]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

I'm in Lake Charles; I always go I10 to Orange then Hwy 87 north, this is by far the fastest & easiest.

KPLC 7 is reporting right now Hwy 190 at Merryville is flooded.

 

4 hours ago, 6MILE_SKEETER said:

anyone know what the road closures are, say from Lake Charles to SouthWest corner of TB?  going through Merryville, Newton, Burkeville?

6Mile and Catt,

 The only way across Sabine river south of the Dam right now is by I10, but this will not last much longer is the water keeps rising like it is. All the bridges are close except I10. I think you can still cross at the dam, but not 100% sure of that. 

[bighed]

Fishing improved for our club Sunday.  Not many limits but everybody caught at least a few quality fish.  Also, less floaters in the lake.  I guess they were headed south pretty quickly.  Big fish was 10.24 from Hay grass, my son got an 8 flipping cypress in his two day bag of about 30 pounds.