So Yall Want To Learn Toledo Bend?

[A5BLASTER]

5 hours ago, Catt said:

@btoups After yesterday what ever you do don't read anything I wrote!

 

One of the worse trips ever on the Big Pond!

 

Started at the 6-Mile boat launch & worked all the way around to the south bank of Housen' across from 944. 

 

4 little tighteyes, never found shad or fish on the electronics

That was better then my day. I got to fish for 20 mints before the trolling motor battery went dead.

 

Guess the people at the auto parts store don't know how to read a battery tester lol.

 

Catt. If you still have my number give me a holler. Lost yours when I got my new phone.

[A5BLASTER]

So a lil report. After fighting a bad trolling motor battery I was able to get out and fish some today. Got the first line in around noon and fished till 4pm.

 

Got 17 bites of that 5 were legal keepers.

 

Found them along a drain in about 8 foot of water. Got bit on a watermelon red baby brush high Texas rig.

[A5BLASTER]

Looks like the MLF crews are on San Miguel this morning.

 

Sitting on the porch drinking my coffee and I have seen 5 boats go by with 3 guys each in every boat.

 

All headed for the back of San Miguel.

 

Catt. I seen you once post a pic of a topo map of toledo before it was a lake. Do you think anyone would have a copy of that topo map still available for purchase?

[Catt]

I wish I knew 😪 

 

I can't find mine

[A5BLASTER]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

I wish I knew 😪 

 

I can't find mine

Man that stinks.

 

On a side note, I'm on them green fish today, finding them in 2 to 4 foot of water.

 

Watermelon red brush hog worked really slow.

[LovestoFish]

Ott Defoe caught one close to 6 today. Looked like the back of San Miguel where he was at

 

Thanks for the report!

[AlabamaSpothunter]

On 1/31/2024 at 5:06 AM, Catt said:

@btoups After yesterday what ever you do don't read anything I wrote!

 

One of the worse trips ever on the Big Pond!

 

Started at the 6-Mile boat launch & worked all the way around to the south bank of Housen' across from 944. 

 

4 little tighteyes, never found shad or fish on the electronics

It's amazing these fish can humble the greatest among us, posting such a report really helps growing anglers like myself.  

 

Still stinks for you, but when a guy has a bad day who has vastly more knowledge than myself gets stumped, makes it easier to understand why I get stumped.   

 

Next time out you'll kill em and be thinking it's time to enter some local derbs 😎

 

 

On 1/31/2024 at 5:24 PM, A5BLASTER said:

So a lil report. After fighting a bad trolling motor battery I was able to get out and fish some today. Got the first line in around noon and fished till 4pm.

 

Got 17 bites of that 5 were legal keepers.

 

Found them along a drain in about 8 foot of water. Got bit on a watermelon red baby brush high Texas rig.

What were water temps if you remember, and thanks for the report.

 

eta:  I saw a 11+ was caught in the MLF event

 

Also this kid got ruined for life 

[A5BLASTER]

1 hour ago, LovestoFish said:

Ott Defoe caught one close to 6 today. Looked like the back of San Miguel where he was at

 

Thanks for the report!

I seen that late this evening on a video. 

 

Not sure where he was when he caught it, but I didn't recognize it as any part of the back end of San Miguel.

 

 

Dang it had the fat finger dease lol.

 

Rest of the report from today.

 

I went back out after I posted today.

 

Water Temps in the backs of coves were in the 60 to 62 degree range, but that's after the sun got it warmed up, this morning those coves were in the 57 to 59 range.

 

Fish turned on a bit today and the watermelon red kvd shad with a owner flashy hook got a good work out.

 

I ended my day with 7 of my 8 legal keepers, had several dinks to put back today. All keepers were in the 14 3/4 to 16 inch length range, so 2 to 3.5 lb fish.

 

I did find one really fat female late today she came in at 6 lbs 4 once, she got put back.

 

Rain predicted to start tomorrow night, so got one more chance at them tomorrow then I'm done till the rain is over.

[Catt]

@AlabamaSpothunter 

Sometimes I be like...

 

[LovestoFish]

Nice! Thanks for the report A5. Did u catch the 6 on a buzzbait? 😉

 

I thought it was SM but I guess Iwas wrong

[A5BLASTER]

8 hours ago, LovestoFish said:

Nice! Thanks for the report A5. Did u catch the 6 on a buzzbait? 😉

 

I thought it was SM but I guess Iwas wrong

Nope swimbait.

[Catt]

@A5BLASTER y'all getting rain?

[A5BLASTER]

5 hours ago, Catt said:

@A5BLASTER y'all getting rain?

Yea started around 2am, was kind of hard a few times during the night, now it's a steady soft rain for the last 2.5 hours.

[btoups]

I'll be headed out that way this Friday with the family.  We are staying in a rental cabin in Patroon Creek just south of Holly Park Marina.  Will be fishing Sat through Wed and will post up daily reports here if the cell service is decent.  

 

If anyone wants to join myself and my son please let me know.  I've only been on the lake a couple times and could use all the help I can get.  I have no issue trailering to a different part of the lake if that's where the bite is happening.

 

I'll be in a blue and white dual console Hanko aluminum hull with a white Mercury 250.  Feel free to stop and say hi if you see us.

 

Any tips or suggestions on where to start fishing will be appreciated.  

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

[A5BLASTER]

10 hours ago, btoups said:

I'll be headed out that way this Friday with the family.  We are staying in a rental cabin in Patroon Creek just south of Holly Park Marina.  Will be fishing Sat through Wed and will post up daily reports here if the cell service is decent.  

 

If anyone wants to join myself and my son please let me know.  I've only been on the lake a couple times and could use all the help I can get.  I have no issue trailering to a different part of the lake if that's where the bite is happening.

 

I'll be in a blue and white dual console Hanko aluminum hull with a white Mercury 250.  Feel free to stop and say hi if you see us.

 

Any tips or suggestions on where to start fishing will be appreciated.  

 

 

Bring rain gear and warm clothes. Thunderstorms forecasted to start Friday and a drop in daytime/nighttime air temps as well.

[btoups]

8 hours ago, A5BLASTER said:

Bring rain gear and warm clothes. Thunderstorms forecasted to start Friday and a drop in daytime/nighttime air temps as well.

Thanks.  Yeah I been watching the weather.  Oh well the fish are wet already right.  Lol.

[Catt]

@btoups Weather is always a issue on the Big Pond.

 

This time of year any area on this lake will be productive. My suggestion would be start where you launch. 

 

Patroon has plenty structure & cover. The first creek of the main lake whose name eludes me at the moment is a good starting point.

[A5BLASTER]

Like Catt just said. Weather on the Big Pond can be a issue, just incase, be prepared for anything and don't take chances on this lake. She can be very temperamental and gets really dangerous ruff real quick.

 

Best to try and put in as close as possible to the areas you want to fish, keep the trolling motor battery charged each night, just incase you have a motor issue and need to use it to get back to the truck.

 

As I said earlier plan for cold temps and rain.

 

As for as fishing, the north end is getting into pre-spawn and you can perrty much catch fish in any water depth.

 

I'm a shallow water guy,so buck brush, grass and lay downs in 1 to 5 foot of water with trigs, jigs, small swimbaits, chatterbaits/spinnerbaits, sqaurebill cranks and traps.

 

If going shallow, kind a mind open to wind blown banks in the back of coves with good cover, possibilities of active fish eating on shad blown in.

 

Water is muddy right now and will be even worse if we get the rain that's forecasted. Lure color will need to be adjusted.

[btoups]

Thanks guys.  I really appreciate it.  I'll be posting up some reports this weekend.

[btoups]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

@btoups Weather is always a issue on the Big Pond.

 

This time of year any area on this lake will be productive. My suggestion would be start where you launch. 

 

Patroon has plenty structure & cover. The first creek of the main lake whose name eludes me at the moment is a good starting point.

Is the name of the creek you mentioned Corsey Creek?

 

[Catt]

1 hour ago, btoups said:

Corsey Creek?

 

Yes Sir 😉 

[A5BLASTER]

So I put the boat in around 10 this morning.

 

Fished till 1pm, stopped and ate some late dinner and had lines back in around 1:30 this afternoon.

 

Just got settled in for supper.

 

Had a grand total of 21 bites all day, 5 bites the fish missed the bait. The rest were hooked up and landed. Of those 6 were legal keepers and the rest were short and put back in.

 

1 to 4 foot of water, wind blown banks with wood (brush,tress and laydowns).

 

Watermelon red baby brush hog and 4 inch swimbait was the most productive. Found a few in the 3.5 to 4 foot range on a hump that wanted to eat a pearl and black back square bill crank.

[LovestoFish]

Good report sir! Thank you!

 

What was the water clarity?

[A5BLASTER]

2 hours ago, LovestoFish said:

Good report sir! Thank you!

 

What was the water clarity?

It's February so it's somewhere between dirty and mud.

 

Good rule of thumb for toledo. From late January to late April if it rains the water will be dirty, we really don't have stained water on the north end of the lake. It's either slightly clear or chocolate milk. If we get a rain hard enough or long enough to bring the water level up. The water will be chocolate milk for a week min.