So Yall Want To Learn Toledo Bend?

[Back to Front]

I guess everyone is hunting. I'm going to the Bend on Monday and wanted to see if anyone was catching. I'll post a report when I get back.

[Catt]

@Back to Front

10-15' first thing in the morning, 18-22' later in the day. Alabama Rig, 6th Sense C15 or 500DD, & Carolina Rig.

[Back to Front]

Not much to report but here it is:

 

Monday afternoon: Hot and calm winds. Caught 3 keepers around Caney Creek on C-Rig Fluke in 13ft of water. Shad was everywhere but I couldn't find fish.

Tuesday Morning: Indian Mounds. I fished the edges of a creek in 12-20ft. Caught 5 undersized fish on C-Rig fluke, rattletrap, and t riged brush hog.

Tuesday afternoon: Fished Caney Creek again. Shad was everywhere. 12-25 ft. I threw everything in the tackle box and no bites.

Wednesday Morning. Negreet Creek. Fished points and ledges 15-25ft. Tried everything no bites. I found a brush pile with crappie on it so I gave up bass and caught 7 huge crappie on a Lil fishy.

 

This was my first time bass fishing with a Garmin Livescope. Didn't seem to help me much except for finding balls of shad. I wasn't able to figure out what a bass looks like. 

[Troy85]

I was up there last week.

Friday I fished San Miguel.  mostly fished points, caught 1 on a chatter bait.  All the rest came on a 1/2 watermelon football jig in 7-10'.  Biggest was 4.5, probably caught 7 fish that morning, most were around 1.5-2lbs.  

Saturday was calm, fished San Miguel again with my brother.  Pretty slow day, I think we only caught 5 all day and almost all were dinks.  

Sunday we ran across and fished the first creek arm south of Patroon.  Caught about 10 fishing a small point in 8', largemouth came on the football jig again, fat spots were biting crankbaits. After the sun got up we ran across to Lanan and caught several flipping docks.  probably caught 13-15 fish that morning, biggest was 4.75 and a few between 2-3lbs.

Monday was slow, fished the same areas but only caught about 6 that morning.  The keepers came on a jig, throw backs bit crankbaits.  

 

Almost all our fish came on the 1/2 football jig.  Im sure I coulda got bit throwing other stuff to, but I love throwing a jig, so if fish are willing to bite, im willing to throw.

 

I really need to work on fishing deeper.  I'm so used to shallow water marsh bass fishing that I always assume the fish are shallower than they really are.  We had a good trip, but I feel like I should have tried out deeper, the deepest we really tried was probably 12-15'.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Troy85 said:

I love throwing a jig, so if fish are willing to bite, im willing to throw

 

Love me some jig bite!

[Troy85]

Here's a question for you @Catt about bass movements.  99% of my bass fishing is done in the marsh, so I'm just trying to learn more about Reservoir fish and their movements.  This once question has always made me wonder.  You will read that in summer, most bass will move out to the main river channel.  I know some fish stay shallow all year, but in this case I'm just focusing on the ones that move back out.

In this example lets use the Housen Arm.  Lets say you have a group of fish that spawned on the Big Branch creek arm directly across from Fin n Feather.  When those fish move back out for summer, how far do you think most of them go?  What would a majority of those fish hang out in the summer in your opinion?  Would a majority of them go out to the Housen Creek bed and stop around there?  Or would they they eventually follow Housen all the way out to the Sabine river bottom?

 

It may seem like a silly and over specific question, but its one that I think about quite often.

[Catt]

Between Fin-n-Feather & Big Branch there is some interesting structure you should have a look at. 

 

Housen Bayou itself has a lot of structure from the mouth to the back.

 

[A5BLASTER]

On 11/17/2022 at 12:46 PM, Troy85 said:

Here's a question for you @Catt about bass movements.  99% of my bass fishing is done in the marsh, so I'm just trying to learn more about Reservoir fish and their movements.  This once question has always made me wonder.  You will read that in summer, most bass will move out to the main river channel.  I know some fish stay shallow all year, but in this case I'm just focusing on the ones that move back out.

In this example lets use the Housen Arm.  Lets say you have a group of fish that spawned on the Big Branch creek arm directly across from Fin n Feather.  When those fish move back out for summer, how far do you think most of them go?  What would a majority of those fish hang out in the summer in your opinion?  Would a majority of them go out to the Housen Creek bed and stop around there?  Or would they they eventually follow Housen all the way out to the Sabine river bottom?

 

It may seem like a silly and over specific question, but its one that I think about quite often.

There is no diffrence between a large mouth bass and a whitetail buck.

 

They both only move as far as needed too live comfortable and have easy access to food and female's.

 

Wind current, water current, bait fish school movement, fishing pressure and water temp/oxygen levels will all effect how far they move off the spawning areas. As well as how far and often they will move every 24 hour period.

 

In the dead middle of the summer heat, I have a few humps that are anywheres from 200 yards too 1/2 mile from spawning area. That I know those bass use during the spawn.

 

Then I have a few creek drains that hold fish in the dead middle of summer, that are still in casting distance of the bank and the beds.

 

Hope this helps.

[LovestoFish]

Merry Christmas Catt and everyone else!

[Catt]

Merry Christmas Y'all ?

[PlanoSooner]

Merry Christmas 

 

[A5BLASTER]

Baaaa humbug lol.

[jchief]

Looks like I'm FINALLY going to be able to get back up to Toledo next week and spend some time. I fish out of Buckeye. Last year found some grass in the Housen area. Hopefully it is still there.  Anyone got any info they'd be willing to share? Hearing some trap and chatter bait action shallower and c rig in deeper water. I'll post up what I find.

 

Thanks

[Catt]

Monday on the Big Pond

 

Fish both deep and shallow.

 

Out deep we are scanning in 20-30' looking for shad.  Once we find shad, we are stopping and throwing a 6th Sense Fishing spoon and Alabama rig at them.  

 

Up shallow we are targeting grass in 3-12' with a trap and chatterbait.  Our better bites came on a chatterbait caught on the grass edges.  

[jchief]

7 hours ago, Catt said:

Monday on the Big Pond

 

Fish both deep and shallow.

 

Out deep we are scanning in 20-30' looking for shad.  Once we find shad, we are stopping and throwing a 6th Sense Fishing spoon and Alabama rig at them.  

 

Up shallow we are targeting grass in 3-12' with a trap and chatterbait.  Our better bites came on a chatterbait caught on the grass edges.  

Sure is nice to hear "grass edges" on Toledo again.

[RonnieF]

Spent a couple hours fishing midlake. Caught 3. Biggest almost 5 lbs. had a 3 lb catfish choke a chatterbait. The 5 lber was a fatty. 3-5’ fow over some grass. About to get restored try them again before the rain. 

[RonnieF]

Caught 12 Monday. Rattle traps, watermelon seed lizard & weightless fluke basically dead sticking it. 58 degrees water temp at Blue Lake. Some of the fish I caught were like me, fatties! ?

About to try them again. 

[Catt]

https://www.thedailyiberian.com/sports/outdoors/biologists-bass-fishermen-rejoice-as-hydrilla-returns-to-toledo-bend/article_2d0c4b22-8d9b-11ed-b5e6-c34d41b7734a.html?utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0CS2Ahqqik-TXITsM1YrrJQ4vUs_-zgfxWK1KARhjBu_eCl3xq9sDyZR0&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

[A5BLASTER]

On 1/13/2023 at 5:34 AM, Catt said:

https://www.thedailyiberian.com/sports/outdoors/biologists-bass-fishermen-rejoice-as-hydrilla-returns-to-toledo-bend/article_2d0c4b22-8d9b-11ed-b5e6-c34d41b7734a.html?utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0CS2Ahqqik-TXITsM1YrrJQ4vUs_-zgfxWK1KARhjBu_eCl3xq9sDyZR0&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Good maybe the vast majority of the weekend can dams will stay on the texas side.

 

As far as the grass kill off on San miguel? They are half right or only telling half truth.

 

I seen first hand from the front deck of my boat, how the grass got killed off. The spray didnt kill it directly. The dead and dieing silvana sunk and choked out the other grass. I watched it happen over about a 3 to 4 month time span.

 

Most notably was the huge hydrilla stand we had infront of our warf.

 

Anyways. It's almost time to get the boat dressed up and strings changed out and the takle bags repacked and a new net. Cant forget the new net.

[Catt]

9 hours ago, A5BLASTER said:

They are half right or only telling half truth.

 

I think the issue is what the contractors were supposed to do vs what they actually did.

[LovestoFish]

54 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

I think the issue is what the contractors were supposed to do vs what they actually did.

This...100% correct.  High water was main culprit but spraying definitely an issue too. Good to see it coming back!

[A5BLASTER]

Not to get to far of subject but here's a thought.

 

If they really wanted to get the grass growing back wide spread in the lake. They should give out hydrilla like they do the fingerling bass.

 

Give it out to anyone who wants it say once or twice a year with instructions on how to best get it to take.

 

That would get it coming back very fast in my opinion.

[Catt]

55 minutes ago, A5BLASTER said:

They should give out hydrilla

 

Hydrilla is an evasive species & there by would be illegal. Ken Smith on YouTube has a series of videos by the head biologist in charge of vegetation & he addresses that very question.

[operationgrass]

While I don’t fish the bend much anymore with work moving me around so much and moving so often. I read the article about the grass. I’m happy you all are getting it back. Flipping deep hydrilla with jigs and craws is a blast.

[RockNReelN]

Looking forward to seeing plentiful grass again.