Toledo Bend Reservoir Fishing Report
for
July 1, 2009

If there is one single tip I can give to anglers before they head out the door to go fishing is to make sure they have new line on their reels. It’s amazing how many times we’ve started off a fishing trip and one of my customers hooks a good fish and about half way back to the boat the line snaps. Nine out of ten times it’s because the line has deteriorated.

A simple test to see if your line has deteriorated is to tie a “granny” knot and give it a snap. If it breaks, you need to re-spool.

The advance in line technology over the past few years has produced some amazing line qualities but it doesn’t mean you can leave the same line on your reel forever. It’s not necessary, to re-spool the whole reel; just strip off about a third of the spool and use a splice knot and top off the reel with new line. Store your line in a cool dark place. Sunlight and high temperatures are fishing lines worst enemies.

As the water temperature increases the bass move into deeper cooler haunts along deep- water creek channels, sloughs and the old river channel shelf and ledges. The bends and points in these areas that have brush tops, lay downs and other cover are good areas to concentrate. Also concentrate around the creeks, sloughs and ditches that dump into the channel. Deep water humps and ridges will also be holding fish. Work main lake points, boat lanes, road –beds, flats and timber- lines for schooling bass. Keep a top water plug, trap, or shallow diving crank bait handy if they come to the surface.

Early morning, late evening and on cloudy days work the edges of the pepper grass, duckweed, and lily pads growing close to deep water with top water plugs, buzz baits, spinner baits, frogs, shallow diving crank baits, traps, soft plastics and finesse plastics. When the sun gets overhead and the shallow bit slows down, back out to deeper water and work deep diving crank baits, slab spoons, tail spinners and Texas or CR rigged plastics. Nighttime is the right time to catch numbers and size as the bass feed more at night and the water cools down. Large noisy top water plugs, buzz baits, spinner baits and large dark plastics work well.

The White Bass will be moving all over the lake this time of year chasing shad. Watch for schooling fish along boat lanes, timber- lines, main lake points and flats close to the river channel. Keep a trap, shallow diving crank bait or top water plug handy when they start schooling. When they go down, throw a slab spoon or tail spinner.

Crappie holding in 12 to 25 ft of water over and in brush tops and main lake humps.

Fishing Forecast

What kind of weather can we expect to have in February based on the averages compiled over the last forty years. The average temp is 50 degrees, average high 61, average low 39. Highest recorded temp 89, lowest 2. The average precipitation is four inches. The average snowfall is 0.5 inches. The average possibility of sunshine is 55%. The average possibility of clear days is 8. The average possibility of cloudy days is 15. The average number of rainy days is 8. The average number of days above 70 is 7. The average number of days below 32 is 7. (Weather statistics taken from “weatherbase.com”.)

February is the month the Bass and Crappie will start moving from deep water using the creeks and ditches as their highways heading to the shallow spawning flats. Shallow water warms faster and the bass will move into the shallows when the water temp approaches 55 degrees. This is what we refer to as “staging” before they move on the beds. The bass will go on a feeding frenzy bulking up for the spawn. If the water temperature drops the bass will drop back into deeper water. All sorts of baits can be productive at this time, jigs, spinner baits, traps, soft plastics, finesse baits, cranks and jerk baits.

The Crappie will also start moving into the deep creek channels in anticipation to their spawn. Work the bends and points of the channel with jigs and shiners especially areas that have brush or cover. When the Crappie move into the shallows to spawn work the flats with a shiner or jig on a slip cork with an eighteen to twenty-four inch leader around grass lines, stumps and Cypress trees. A Beatle spin or similar lure on an ultra- lite spinning rig can be used to cover a lot of water until you locate the fish.

When you talk about fishing in February you immediately associate fishing the river proper for the annual White Bass river migration. If the river level is high, we’ll work the flooded sloughs and pockets with traps, shallow diving crank baits and Road Runners. If the river level is low we’ll work the sand bars with live crawfish or slab spoons. If we have a strong current, we’ll work the “eddies” down stream of the points and bends with Road Runners and crank baits.