Toledo Bend Reservoir Fishing Report
for
May 1, 2008

The White Bass have been excellent on the main lake river channel sand bars the past couple weeks when the wind will allow you to get out. We're also starting to see some schooling activity. Slab spoons and tail spinners in 13 to 18 ft and traps and shallow diving crank baits when schooling.

The bream are showing up in abundance with some good catches coming in. We've been keying around Cypress trees from bank shallow to three or four feet of water with crickets, worms or meal worms.

The lake has plenty of water going into May. The spawn is over and the bass are in transition gradually moving from the spawning areas back into deep water as the water temperature continues to warm.

Early morning and late evening we’ll work the shallow flats close to deep water and main and secondary points with buzz baits, stick baits, swimming frogs, spinner baits, top water plugs, shallow diving cranks, finesse and soft plastics until the sun gets over head. Once the sun gets overhead and the shallow bite slows down, we'll back out to deeper water and concentrate in the bends of the creeks with crank baits and Texas or Carolina rigged soft plastics. Later in the month as the water continues warming and the lake is usually falling, the main lake points, river channel ledges, ridges and humps will become more productive. If you can find the structure and cover holding bait -fish you will usually find the bass. Schooling activity will start increasing as the water continues warming so keep a shallow diving crank bait, lipless crank bait and top water plug handy for schooling bass.

The White bass have migrated back into the main lake and will be holding on the main lake river channel sand bars and off main lake points. Slab spoons and tail-spinners worked on the bottom are most productive. Keep a shallow diving or lipless crank bait handy for schooling fish.

The Crappie will be moving back from their shallow spawning flats into deeper water. Work shiners and jigs over cover in 15 to 25ft of water at the mouth of the creeks and pockets leading to the main lake.

In May the bream are usually busting wide open. Just cruise the shoreline with a beetle spin on an ultra-lite reel or a bucket of crickets with a cane pole and you’ll know when you hit a bed. It doesn’t take long to fill up an ice chest when you get into them.

Fishing Forecast