So Yall Want To Learn Toledo Bend?

[casts_by_fly]

36 minutes ago, Catt said:

Lakes in Sabine River Basin

Brady Branch 

Lake Cherokee 

Lake Fork 

Lake Gladewater

Lake Hawkins 

Lake Holbrook 

Martin Lake 

Murvaul Lake

Lake Quitman 

Lake Tawakoni 

Toledo Bend 

Lake Winnsboro 

 

 The major river in the basin was named Rio de Sabinas or River of the Cypress by Spanish explorers.

 

The Sabine flows for 555 miles. Its total drainage basin area is 9,756 square miles, of which 7,426 is in Texas and the remainder in Louisiana.

 

so the next question is which one of them in that basin is the hidden gem that produces almost like Fork or Toledo Bend but doesn't have the name and popularity.  

[A5BLASTER]

4 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

so the next question is which one of them in that basin is the hidden gem that produces almost like Fork or Toledo Bend but doesn't have the name and popularity.  

Non of them. Every square inch of water within a 500 mile circle of toledo bend gets beat on every year for bass.

 

There's no secret spots leavt in the bass fish game. 

 

 

[A5BLASTER]

Well where to start...........

 

The last few days have been good to great fishing. The bits have stayed up but the size dropped off severally. Let's say 95 too 98% short non legal buck bass.

 

Fishing off our dock every night, we haven't had a single white perch bite in atleast 5 days.

 

Until yesterday and last night.

 

Took out around noon yesterday, hit my favorite cypress trees in front my house and the very first cast I hook up and land a 4.72lb bass. Two cast later and the second tree and I hook up and land a 4.68lb bass, followed up with one legal keeper and around 20 non legal keepers for the rest of the day.

 

Last evening on the dock I had 6 white perch bite, two came unhooked and landed 4 of them. The smallest one is 1.01lbs the largest is 1.55lbs, big ole fat girls.

 

Baits for bass included- babybass colored 4 inch swimbait on a owner flashey swimmer 3/0 hook, gold Colorado or gold willow leave blade. All bass came out of 2 foot or less of water

 

Baits for white perch- shiner under a cork set at 1.5 foot depth, fishing in about 2 foot of water.

 

Them big girls are on the move fellas, yall better be getting them before I do lol.

[LovestoFish]

Good report. I've been here since Wednesday. Seeing the same thing. Alot of short fish. Yesterday was our best day too. Biggest was 3 lbs

[PlanoSooner]

Coming to the lake this Friday - Sunday. 
A hundred plus boat 'boat show' hanging around the mouth of Housen. 

 

[A5BLASTER]

3 hours ago, PlanoSooner said:

Coming to the lake this Friday - Sunday. 
A hundred plus boat 'boat show' hanging around the mouth of Housen. 

 

The San Miguel  annual boat race got kicked off Saturday.

 

 

 

 

[A5BLASTER]

Well what can I say......

 

This lake never seems to stop amazing me, frustrating me, straight p$$$$ me off, humble me, make me look like a genius, make me look like a fool, inspire me.

 

Hit the water yesterday with all the k owledge I have gained from this place, plus all the knowledge I have learned out fishing it over the years.

 

Spent the first 3 hours without a bite. So I pulled the trolling motor and hit the gas and headed for a bank full of cypress trees that I know bass are on. Break out the swimbaits in babybass and watermelon red plus all the different hooks I have. Gold Colorado and willow leaf and chrome in the same style blades.

 

I start casting trying different combos and hopefully figure out what they want. Well needless to say after probably 45 mints, u still had no bites. So I out that down and pick up a rod rigged with a swimjig.

 

I noticed the swimjig had a 3.5 inch pearl colored swimbait as a trailer and I was like well let's try that on a swimbait hook.

 

So I get it rigged up and first cast, babamm 3lber, so I spend some time on those fish getting it dialed in. They wanted it the best with a gold Colorado blade and the paddle tail died in chartreuse.

 

So I take off and head back to some of the bank I had tried earlier in the day and to my surprise not only did I start picking up keeper bass but I was slaying the big ole slabs.

 

Ended yesterday with 7 keeper bass and I'm not even sure on how many slabs.

 

Take off again today and the same pattern is working, difference is the bass had moved from cypress tress back to brush,laydowns and branch piles and the numbers of small bass biting dropped off but the keepers sized bass I like were straight hammering it. Not as many slabs today as yesterday but still found a few while chasing the bass.

 

Just when I think I have them figured out, they prove me wrong and make me work for it. 

 

Just like a woman 😆 🤣 😂 

[Catt]

Y'all quit fishing 😉

[LovestoFish]

Everybody is at lake fork! 😃

[AlabamaSpothunter]

[A5BLASTER]

Boats been on the trailer in the front yard since Saturday.

 

Not enough water for me to be out the messing with them. If the water gets back above 171 before the spawn is over I will put it back in.

 

We didn't get enough rain the last 48 hours to amount to a hill of beans.

[A5BLASTER]

So what can I say.....

 

The bass bug got ahold of me bad today. Decided to drop the lil boat in with the fourwheeler in the back yard.

 

Motored around to the back cove where there is a perrty nice lil pre/post spawn hump right off the creek channel.

 

With the lowered water level there is a shelf on the deeper side of the hump, that they will stage up on to feed on the wind blown shad balls.

 

So I hooked around down wind, got in a comfortable casting distance and set the spot lock.

 

Tied on a cotton Cordell super spot 1/4 once in chrome/black back.

 

Set myself up to cast up wind and retrieve it back up hill from the ditch to the shelf and then to the apex of the hump. And just like I had figured, they were stagged up in 2 to 3 foot of water right where the transion would be.

 

Slow rolling the bait and it would just load up.

 

Ended the day with my 8 keepers and 5 other keeper sized bass come unhooked and landed close to 20 small fish with another say 10 to 15 of the small fish coming unhooked.

 

Weather app shows severe thunderstorms possible tonight and into tomorrow. Hopefully the bass gods will smile on us and bump the water level back up into the 171 foot range, so I can get back to hammering them in the wood.

 

I'm all about my hand to hand combat fishing and I want my 🐸 bite to fire off.

[LovestoFish]

Good report A5! I was starting to wonder about u when u made the comment about not fishing unless the lake went up. Good to see that only deterred u temporarily 😉

[A5BLASTER]

38 minutes ago, LovestoFish said:

Good report A5! I was starting to wonder about u when u made the comment about not fishing unless the lake went up. Good to see that only deterred u temporarily 😉

Pulling the lil boat today. No rain at all.

 

Water dropping.

 

I'm sorry but this is just not sustainable. SRA is blantly harming the ecology of this lake for profits.

 

 

[Catt]

I can report the pecan trees here a blooming which means winter is over. 

 

Should be moving north soon.

[A5BLASTER]

53 minutes ago, Catt said:

I can report the pecan trees here a blooming which means winter is over. 

 

Should be moving north soon.

Dogwoods have been a blooming here for 3 weeks now.

 

Here is blasters big pond weather report for 03-08-24. I'm fighting like the third monkey trying to get on the arc....

 

And brother the rain is coming coming down.

 

Couldn't get the lil boat out, rain hit like a hammer, lighting popping like crazy, so I hooked up the bilge pump.  Grabbed a rod with a roadrunner on it, made two cast too some grass infant my dock and hooked up with a soild 15 inch bass.

 

Been a good day so far 😆 🤣 😂 

[Back to Front]

It was a tough week.  I fished Monday through Thursday at the Indian Mounds, Negreet, and Caney Creek. We caught about 15 fish with only 1 keeper. 

 

Also blew out a hub on my trailer on Highway 191. Fun times!

[A5BLASTER]

4 minutes ago, Back to Front said:

It was a tough week.  I fished Monday through Thursday at the Indian Mounds, Negreet, and Caney Creek. We caught about 15 fish with only 1 keeper. 

 

Also blew out a hub on my trailer on Highway 191. Fun times!

I gave up fishing San Miguel around my house a few days ago. It's a waist land now.

 

Me and the neighbor went to blue lake today, found some fish suspend at 5 foot on a 9 foot bottom just above the grass but it was super tuff to get them to bite. Caught 5 total for the day, 3 of them keepers.

 

Then we had to hual a$$ because the boat started to take on water from somewhere. It was touch and go for a few mints. But we got it on the trailer and back to the house now.

 

They calling for rain but I ain't seeing it.

 

Something has to change, this low water mess and the fishing pressure we put on them this time of year is just to much to be sustainable.

[LovestoFish]

Thanks for the reports. Had someone there yesterday I know that went and they didn't do much better

[Catt]

That's not good 🤔

 

Got till the 27th to get better!

 

[A5BLASTER]

37 minutes ago, Catt said:

That's not good 🤔

 

Got till the 27th to get better!

 

Catt. Sometimes not right on the Big Pond.

 

I know where all the prespawn areas and post spawn areas are in the blue lake area. And they were not on in of it. It took us close to 4 hours to find the few fish we did find suspended on that stretch.

 

We went from 3 foot all the way out to 25 foot range and could not find any bass anywhere, almost nothing in the prespawn ditchs/drains/humps/flats and the same for post spawn areas. There was just nothing. Hardly any white perch as well.

 

I have never seen it like this.

[Catt]

@A5BLASTER The big pond can be the #1 lake in America one week & a total bust the next week.

 

One thing I'm looking forward to is the use of LiveScope. 

[casts_by_fly]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

@A5BLASTER The big pond can be the #1 lake in America one week & a total bust the next week.

 

One thing I'm looking forward to is the use of LiveScope. 

wait what?  You’re getting livescope?

[A5BLASTER]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

@A5BLASTER The big pond can be the #1 lake in America one week & a total bust the next week.

 

One thing I'm looking forward to is the use of LiveScope. 

Oh I know this all too well. Something just seems off. 

 

I can't put my finger on it.

[Catt]

55 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

wait what?  You’re getting livescope?

 

My friend I'm going with does!