So Yall Want To Learn Toledo Bend?

[alwayslooking]

a lot of info to digest, would be easier if i was on the water, visualization is not my strong suit, lol, please be patient, maybe something will click,,

[Catt]

The hardest thing some anglers to learn is how to take a one dimensional topographical map or a one dimensional depth finder view and turn it into a three dimensional image in their mind. While 3D depth finders and Side Imaging Technology is a gigantic leap in the electronics field it would still behoove the angler to learn how view structure in 3D with out this technology. Once the angler learns this they take a huge step in becoming a more productive angler.

This is why when I back my boat down the ramp the first 2 thing I do is start the engine and turn my depth finder on. I don't care if I'm running at wide open throttle, idling, running the trolling motor or fishing my eyes is constantly scanning my depth finder. If I'm not anchored or after I have caught a couple bass before I leave an area I'll idle over a scan the exact area with my depth finder. Even on structure I've fished numerous times I'm constantly scanning my depth finder looking for details

As hard as it is for an angler to learn to see in 3D it just as hard if not harder to teach someone to see in 3D.

[Catt]

Look at the land surrounding the lakethat is what the floor of the lake looks like

[alwayslooking]

awsome picture, is that bridge in the indian mounds area? hard to tell where the pendleton is,

[alwayslooking]

i understand that the bottom is a continuation of the suface, that there are points and ridges underwater, the hard part is figuring out the productive ones,,on any given day, at any given time,

[fishfordollars]

Nope. About twelve miles north of the Indian Mounds.

[alwayslooking]

ha, yes sir, i see that the bridge is the pendleton, a little different seeing it from this perspective

[HitmanFO]

"Starting at a river/creek channel I can find a ridge that comes up to 15' that is only 20-30' wide that you will never find coming from the bank because once you reach 15' you stop. "

Excellent point Catt... you are exactly right... and this is exactly what I have been doing, 95% of the time.

The other 5% of the time I am motoring through 20-30' of water, see a sharp rise up to 15' or so of the depth finder, and stop and fish it, no matter how close or far away from the bank I am.

I guess that's why I don't catch fish 95% of the time...  ;D

Well, I'm going back to Toledo next weekend, fishing the 18th and 19th.  I'll definitely be fishing it differently this time.  Thanks for your input, Catt and capie... it's invaluable to those of us that are seriously wanting to figure out the Bend and make it produce for us.

[capierrottie2]

:)Fishing Report,

I fished a friendly tournament out of Buckeye Landing (La Side) on Saturday. The weather was horrible. Thirty mile an hour gust of wind out of the SE and two foot swells where I was fishing. It rained the entire time we fished. We were able to take 2nd place with a five fish stringer of 9lb 7oz. I was just happy we had five fish to weigh in considering the conditions.

Location: Housen, Indian Mounds

Baits:

Pumpkin Pearl Rage Frogs

10.5 inch Zoom Magnums apple plum Texas Rigged

Jigging Spoons

White Stanley 3/8oz spinner baits double willow

Total Number Caught: 25 fish

It was hard keeping the boat in position to fish and then try to feel the bite with the Texas rigged worms, so we jigged spoons in 27 feet of water near grass lines. We also found spots off of points and behind islands that would shelter us from the wind. One spot we wedged the boat into the grass near the bank and casted into 30 ft of water. The bank dropped off from 10ft to 30ft rapidly. We sat there and caught 9 bass from that spot. It was probably the worst conditions I have tried to fish on the Bend.

Fish in the photo are some that were caught in the tournament

[Catt]

Considering conditions that outstanding

[Catt]

Sidewinder by Stanley; If y'all aint heard about or tried em y'all better

Rigged with the Stanley T-Wacky hook either 1/16 or 1/8-oz., the weighted hook and slow-sinking Sidewinder fight each other, giving it a life-like action whether the bait is hooked through the middle or the nose.

Absolutely do not Carolina Rig this bait!

[fishfordollars]

Well that let's the cat(No pun intended) out of the bag.

[HitmanFO]

Fishing report for this weekend. Fished in Six Mile on Friday and Saturday. Friday evening I caught 2 keepers, 1 in 16' of water on a Tx-Rig June Bug trick worm, 1 in 17' with a black/white/bloodspot Stanley Wedgeplus, slow rolling deep. My buddy came up with nothing that evening, fishing flukes, mainly. Saturday I pulled a decent 2.5 lb'er in on a Stanley Wedgeplus Firetiger spinnerbait, casting into the visible grass in about 4 feet of water, hanging it up, ripping it out, pulling it back toward the 17' of water I was sitting in. He hit it when I ripped it out of the visible grass. I caught another keeper simply by turning around in the boat, throwing a Tx-Rig June Bug trick worm into 22' and lightly jigging it for a few minutes. I caught a few other non-keepers on the trick worm. My buddy caught about twelve non-keepers throwing a Carolina-rigged fluke into about 11' of water. He also caught a 2.5 lb'er on a Yellow Magic popper.

I fished topwater as well, but never even provoked a strike on a Chug Bug, Rage Tail frog, or waking the spinnerbait. That surprised me, because I was fully expecting the topwater action to be great this weekend. All of my fish came from 16-22' of water, except for the one I caught in the grass.

Now, I talked to several people that had an awesome weekend fishing topwater in Sandy Creek. I talked to one guy from Lake Charles Friday night that said he caught three 5 lb'ers and two 3 lb'ers that evening on Ribbits. On Saturday, I talked to a couple and actually looked at all their fish they caught, as they were weighed. They had a nice 6 lb'er, a 4 lb'er or two, couple of 3 lb'ers... a full limit for both of them with nothing under 3 lbs, if I remember correctly. They said they fished nothing but topwater from sunrise to mid-afternoon in Sandy Creek. They wouldn't give out all the details, but mentioned fishing with Ribbits a lot that day, and said they were throwing across visible grass mats/lines, pulling up to the grass line, dragging the frog across the top, and letting it drop off the other side of the mat. Their big one was caught in 10' of water on a Ribbit... they did give up that much. Of course, they might have been jig-fishing in 30' of water for all I know, just saying that to throw us off... you know how fishermen can be... ;D But they did have the best catch I saw that day.

I'm no pro, but I sure had a great weekend of fishing. Caught more keepers than I ever have before in a weekend on the Bend, including the 2.5 lb'er, my biggest bass on the Bend yet. Most of the credit goes to you guys that are contributing and sharing on this thread... thanks everybody!

I guess with this cooler weather rolling in, maybe it's time to start talking fall patterns, right?

[HitmanFO]

By the way, my buddy bought the Sidewinder at Ann's Tackle on the way up there Friday... fished them Saturday, Tx-rig, and caught a few.  I didn't handle any, but he did make a remark about how firm they were... he was concerned they'd be a little too rigid to get a lot of good action out of... but they did produce.  And, of course, since Catt recommends them, I'll go buy a bag and check'em out for myself!   :

[fishfordollars]

Wonder if he ever thought that might be the attraction?

[bigtimfish]

Catt, at what water temp do the bass start to move back into the shallows fattening up for winter? 80? 75? And when I say shallows I mean 10' or less. Also do they stay that shallow, or move in feed and go back to 15' +.

[jamey912]

love the post have read every page and i am learning the south end

thanks for all the help and looking foward to seeing the one on big sam

[Catt]

Catt, at what water temp do the bass start to move back into the shallows fattening up for winter? 80? 75?

The lake temperature is 82 to 78 and the bass have been shallow feeding up for winter for 2-3 weeks depending on the area of the lake. There are no magic numbers just like there isn't any during spring, each year is different and depends on many other factors besides water temperature.

Also do they stay that shallow, or move in feed and go back to 15' +?

One must first understand there are two distinct kinds of bass on a lake the size of Toledo Bend. There are those bass that are located within a certain distance from the bank year round and there are those bass that never see a bank there entire life.

The fall feeding frenzy and the pre-spawn feeding frenzy are very similar in that the bass are hunting bait fish.

For shoreline related bass

Early pre-spawn/fall through mid pre-spawn/fall: second break line out from the creek channel with trips shallower depending on weather stability

Late pre-spawn/fall: First break line out from the bank with trips shallower depending on weather stability

Spawn/fall: Bank shallow out to the first break line

Disclaimer: Depths are determined by each individual lake, vary from year to year, & are for the most part controlled by weather stability.  

For offshore bass; the only difference is with the shoreline bass the dirt is the stopping point where as with the offshore bass the stopping point is what ever is the shallowest ridge, hump, flat.

[bigtimfish]

Let me ask another question then. When will YOU move in shallow and fish coves or shallow water? Do you personally target those fish that are gorging or do you stay out for the ones that never see the bank?

[Catt]

Depending on how warm or cold the weather is and what area of the lake your area fishing one could move into creek channel coves in mid January early February for pre-spawn; mid-September early October for fall.

Now keep in mind the offshore bass will go into a pre-spawn and fall feeding frenzy just like the shore related bass just at different times. The offshore surface temperatures will warm slower in spring and cool faster during fall because it is exposed to the weather.

Disclaimer: Do not look at times/dates only but rather look at weather conditions

[HitmanFO]

Catt, this may be just a guesstimate on your part, but I have a question related to the water temp and how fast the fish move toward shallower water.

In late August/early September I fished Toledo Bend and the surface water temp was about 90 deg. In early September there was almost a solid week of rain and cool weather. When I fished on Sept 18-19, the surface temp was a constant 80 deg, from 6am til I got off the water in the late afternoon (there was heavy cloud cover and a cool breeze all day).

I was told, by those "in the know", prior to fishing that weekend, "The bass are going to be shallow! With this cool weather they are going to be really shallow! Fish the bank, the weedlines close to the bank." etc. etc.

Now, my thoughts were, "It has only been this cool for a little over a week... and all of a sudden all of these bass are coming out of the deep water, AFTER ONE WEEK of cool weather, and piling up on the bank???" :-/

How would you characterize the move to shallow water? A sudden charge toward the shallow water once the water cools down and the bass' metabolism speeds up, and has the majority of the bass in the shallower water in a matter of a few weeks? Or a slow, gradual shift toward shallower water, where the majority of the bass are in the shallows after a couple of months of cool weather/water?

I've heard in both ways... both from experienced Toledo Bend anglers... the "quick" version from a tournament angler, the "slow" version from a retired guide.  Consequently, my buddy and I stuck the boat in the 15' of water you've drilled into us and my buddy fished shallow and I fished deep, for the most part... him believing the tourney angler, me believing the retired guide.  Made for an interesting day of fishing!

What is your take? I don't think you've steered us wrong yet...

From my experience that weekend, all of the keeper bass I caught were in 16-22' of water, EXCEPT the biggest one... he was in 4' of water. My buddy put a dozen or so small ones in the boat from shallow water, but his keepers came from 10' or deeper.  So I would lean toward the "slow" version as being more true, though both versions probably have elements of "truth".

[Catt]

It is human nature ever for those in the know to get excited at the first signs of fall

What is taking place is the resident shoreline bass are the first to respond to cooler weather making it appear as though there was a quick influx of bass; the deeper offshore bass will move shallow next giving a prolonged influx.

The metabolism rates of bass are at its highest during summer

[alwayslooking]

Catt, with the main lake cooling faster, does this mean that main lake humps, ridges, and flats have fall frenzy first? If they can be found, they may be more readily productive? i'm thinking of the bass that never see shoreline.

[Catt]

Surface temperatures will cool faster in open water because of exposure to winds but these offshore bass are not located at the surface. And yes a stirring effect will take place but it will only get so deep and since these bass are located in deeper cooler water it takes more of a change to affect them.

Deeper water bass are least affected by seasonal, temperature, and weather changes making them more predictable thus easier to catch.

[alwayslooking]

ahhh,,so finding them is the key, then having slow enough winds to be able to fish them correctly,,,with the steady influx of fronts that are to be coming that may prove to be difficult, in your experience, how long to you fish a spot before moving,,,i've heard tell that you might have to check a "spot", several times in a day to find them active?