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Thanks for sharing. I could read all day about these giant bass and how they came to be.

I fish the south Louisiana marshes and not many areas have water over 10 foot deep.

I've never caught a bass in water deeper than 10 feet.

Freshwater fish only, I'd have to go with the choupic(bowfin for those outside Louisiana). These things hit and fight more like saltwater species. Every time I hook one, I think that I have finally hooked a double digit bass. A redfish in shallow water on light tackle is probably my favorite and just don't ever seem to give up. On the coast, a jack crevalle will plain wear you out on light tackle.

Topwater is my favorite. Any type of topwater bite just get the blood flowing. Second would be moving baits. I love to feel them hit a crankbait or spinner bait. My least favorite is slow bottom fishing, but I do like the feeling of setting the hook especially when fishing a T rig.

The worst thing for me about bass fishing or all fishing is having perfect fishing weather during the weekday and terrible conditions on the weekends. It seems like we have been stuck in this pattern in South Louisiana most of the year. And gnats. I hate those lil suckers with a passion. Lol.

If fun fishing and I'm really on them, I'll change up baits just to see what they will and won't hit. I'll keep the hot bait close, but will try other things just to see if they are just in a crazy feeding mood and the bait doesn't matter or if the fish are keyed in on one particular bait/presentation. Doing this keeps it interesting for me and hopefully helps me to figure them out on those slow days when they don't seem to want to bite anything.

Speckled trout fishing by myself several years ago and saw a handful of sharks swim by while I was reeling in my swimbait. I was fishing with some bass gear. I reeled it right in front of the sharks and was able to watch one of them open their mouth and eat it. Of course I said what the heck and set the hook. This lil shark freaked out and jumped out the water and spun around at least 10 times until I finally put my thumb on the spool and broke it off before it took all of the braided line off my baitcaster. Another time I brought my father in law saltwater fishing and he's sitting in the back of the boat and all of a sudden his rod and reel flies out of his hand and into the water. He swears the fish was huge and ripped the pole out of his hands. A few seconds later, a small speckled trout starts jumping out the water with his line still attached. I cast and caught the string and was able to pull his rod and reel back into the boat. I guess he fell asleep or something because that trout may have weighed one pound. I still remind him about his huge fish every so often.

Always. Especially if they are having mechanical issues or need help at the launch. I been on both ends of the tow line and always offer help. As far as fishing, I'll offer suggestions especially to a boat with young kids in it. Just this past weekend a dad in a bass boat with two pre-teen kids were fishing the mouth of a cut that I had to pass through as it is the only entrance/exit to the area we were fishing. He wasn't from the area and I politely asked him if I could pass as it was the only exit. He agreed and we talked a little. The kids were fishing a tournament and were struggling to catch any bass. I gave them a couple suggestions on baits to use and they ended up catching a few fish to weigh in. He also followed me out of the area as you have to run through some shallow marsh and it gets sketchy if you don't know where to pass. I can usually tell by the demeanor of the other boater if they want any suggestions and I'm always willing to accept suggestions as well.

I forgot to mention that we saw about an 8' alligator sunning on the bank in the back of Corsey Creek(this is the name on Google maps) in the Patroon area Tuesday afternoon. I'm not sure how large of an alligator population there is on Toledo Bend. We see them daily here in Lafourche Parish.

Nice fish A5. I again want to thank all of you who have posted in this forum both recently and in the past. It is a great resource especially for people like myself who have very little experience on Toledo Bend. My family and I had a great trip and can't wait to come back.

Last day of my family’s Toledo Bend trip. This morning my son and I fished Wilson creek and caught about 10 keeper sized bass with a couple small fish. No real size today. Most fish were caught on bladed jig and trigged baby brush hog. All fish were released. Fish were scattered today with most being caught in about 3 feet of water but not holding to cover. They just seemed to be in random area on the flats. We had a great trip and can’t wait to come back.

Fished this morning in the back of Martinez Creek. My son and I caught 8 keeper sized bass and one undersized. Largest one was only about 2lbs. Most were caught on a black and blue bladed jig and a few on a June bug colored baby brush hog Texas rigged. I also caught a catfish on a spinner bait and accidentally snagged a carp over 20lbs with the bladed jig. I thought I hooked a stump until it started swimming. Lol. Fished the backs of a couple coves in Patroon this afternoon and caught 4 keeper sized bass and missed a couple others. Water was dirty and water temps were around 58.

Fished all morning around the blue lake area and caught 1 bass around 3 lbs on a chatter bait fishing bushes and missed one on a crank bait. Took a break for lunch and fished all afternoon and my son caught one bass around 3 lbs on a trig zoom speed draw fishing a bank with hay grass in the Patroon area not far from Holly Park Marina. Any suggestions for tomorrow with a forecasted 10-20 mph SW wind? Our rental cabin is in Patroon.

Heading to the bend tomorrow for 5 days. We are staying in Patroon Creek. I have very little experience on the lake and I'm very appreciative for all of the great information I've read on this forum. Any area tips or bait suggestions would be appreciated. If you see a blue and white dual console Hanko hull with Mercury 225 Optimax on the back stop and say hi. If anyone wants to join my son and I in my boat let me know. I'll be there Saturday afternoon until Wed morning. I'm willing to trailer to any part of the lake as well. Thanks again.

Wow. Great fish. I hope to catch one half that size on my trip there next week.

Thanks for the great reports. This forum has been very helpful. I'll be there on Sat Feb 18th. Hoping for some good weather.

That's awesome.

Thanks A5. I really appreciate the detailed response. This is very helpful. I plan to do some map studying this weekend and may have some more questions.

Thanks A5. I come from a family of commercial fisherman so I grew up on the water and learned from an early age to respect all waterways, but especially large open ones full of underwater trees. Lol. I know it varies based on weather and temperature, but any bait/technique suggestions are typical for this time of year. Also bait color recommendations if that makes a difference. I'm an experienced fisherman and I'm not asking for secret spots(although I doubt any exist on a lake that gets so much fishing pressure). This is such a large lake that I'm just looking for suggestions on where to start. I plan to fish around where we are staying for the first day or two, but I would like to trailer to another area of the lake just to gain some experience with different areas. Thanks again and I'll keep reading the older posts and taking notes. I'll probably also ask more questions as the trip date gets closer.

This forum is awesome. I have been reading the older posts for awhile now. I have a trip scheduled to Toledo Bend with my family Feb 18-22. We are staying at a VRBO on the lake about 5 miles from Holly Park Marina. I've been to Toledo Bend twice and both were for hurricane evacuations. I brought my small boat in August 2020 and we fished around the Negreet Creek area around Turtle Beach lodge. We caught a few fish, but we had no electronics so we mainly just beat the banks. This time I will have my 22' aluminum dual console so hopefully we get good weather and I can expand my fishing area some. I have the Hook and Line map and have been trying to read this forum for tips and areas to fish. Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciated. I'm willing to trailer my boat to any area on the lake that may be productive at that time of year. I live in way South Louisiana, so anything over about 8' is deep water to me. As a result, fishing away from the bank is completely foreign. I've been reading and researching as much as I can and would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

I enjoy the sounds of nature while I'm fishing and for that reason I don't have a radio or speakers in my boat. My son has a portable speaker and uses his phone to play music when he takes his friends with him in the boat. I don't have anything against anyone playing music when fishing, but I do wish some were more courteous and not blast it so loud that the entire lake can hear it. I guess I'm getting old. lol

I can't ever remember a time that I didn't fish and that was thanks to my grandma. My family were commercial fisherman mainly oysters and shrimp so I was always on the water. As a young kid, I would stay at the camp with my grandma while my grandpa and uncles were on the boats. She would give me a spinning rod and reel and a bag of shrimp and I would fish off the wharf at the camp. I think this was her way to get me out of her hair, but I was hooked from day one. As I got older, she always came fishing with me until she was physically unable to do so anymore. As far as famous fisherman, the first would have to be Jimmy Houston with his tv shows. KVD because of his success and the publicity he achieved. Greg Hackney because of his personality and fishing style and because he is from Louisiana.

Plenty of gators here in South Louisiana as well. I want to echo Zcoker's statements. I retrieve and release all fish quickly when gators are around. I had a former teacher that was fishing a drainage canal in a pirogue. He caught a fish and brought it to the pirogue. When he reached into the water to grab the fish, a smallish gator came up and grabbed the fish along with his arm. Luckily the gator was on the small side, but it left a few punctures and cuts on his arm. I sure a change of underwear was also needed.