Recent cool fronts have allowed quality fish to remain shallow longer than usual
Mention post-spawn bass fishing at a tournament club meeting and you can watch frowns materialize on many faces.
In the minds of many bass anglers, fishing the post-spawn in reservoirs and lakes means dramatically less weights at the tournament scales.
That’s why many clubs schedule their fishing tournaments on rivers during the late spring and summer – especially for the numbers.
At Toledo Bend however, guide Jason Courville has noticed a few trends that have put some quality bass on the business end of his hooks.
“This spring, it has been a lot to do with water temperatures,” said Courville, 48, with Jason Courville Guide Service – South Toledo Bend (409-365-8245).
“Three weeks ago, we were following the fish back out to deeper water where we were catching them on main points and the mouths of major creeks on deep-diving crankbaits,” he said. “Once out there, they scattered and it was difficult to target them.”
Since then however, Courville has been finding some hefty bass by starting out shallow and then moving to depths in 10 to 16 feet of water.
“We would pick up a few at mid-depths, then move shallower again and find good fish,” he said.
And Courville has been catching these fish despite the rainstorms that have pelted Toledo Bend waters.
Courville believes the back-and-forth transition of bass has more to do with water temperatures than anything else.
“We’ve had four small cool fronts with rain in the last three weeks,” he said. “This has kept the shallows cooler than usual this late spring for bass and the baitfish.”
Late last week he noted water surface temperatures in the mid to high 70s.
“I’m also seeing more submerged hydrilla in 15 to 17 feet of water,” he said. “If the baitfish are there, so will be the bass.”
Courville advises anglers not to dismiss fishing shallow right now due to the cooler surface waters.
“Fish south for the good fish,” the angler said, referring to areas such as Six Mile, the Indian Mounds, Housen, Mill Creek, Buck Creek and Indian Creek.
“You can find schools of small fish, but there are groups of larger bass out there to locate,” the angler said.
Courville also said to keep it simple.
“We have been very successful with Texas-rigged plastics in watermelon red and junebug colors,” he said. “And we’re catching them fishing these lures under only 3/16- and ¼-ounce sinkers.”
Courville uses 25-pound Seaguar Flippin’ fluorocarbon spooled to a Lew’s Wide Spool reel on a 7-foot 4-inch heavy-action Falcon BuCoo rod when he’s fishing the post-spawn.
Lots of anglers will be invading Toledo Bend soon for the Oilman’s Bass Classic scheduled June 9 and 10. For a schedule of upcoming bass tournaments and events, visit Toledo Bend Lake Country’s Calendar of Events.
