As most bass anglers know, when a lunker bass or heavy stringer is taken anywhere, the first two questions are about lures and locations.
From February through May 2014, there were 34 stories on LouisianaSportsman.com about double-digit Toledo Bend bass.
The top big-bass producer was the Housen area, where 13 lunkers — the largest of which was 12.89 pounds — were taken. In other words, the Housen area delivered 38 percent of these huge bass.
Early on in Housen, it became apparent that prespawn, Toledo Bend sow bass love red, lipless crankbaits like those made by Rat-L-Trap and Xcalibur Hi-Tek Tackle.
There are deeper ledges and humps in the Housen area that holds grass, and lipless crankbaits reign supreme in catching these fish in February and March.
The second most-utilized lures in the Housen area were jigs with plastic trailers. Anglers dropped jigs and plastics to the points and ledges in the area to get quality bites.
But the Six Mile area also merits attention. Early in February, lipless crankbaits delivered quality bass there.
In April and May, jigs and plastics accounted for most of the Toledo bend lunkers taken from this location.
George Herr said he wasn’t surprised by the prime locations.
“All of Housen, Six Mile and Sandy Creek provide good bedding areas,” Herr said. “The waters here can get crystal clear, and these areas hold a lot of grass. And there can be lots of boat traffic down there because of that.
“Indian Creek and Buck Creek are other great places.”
When bass are on the beds, Herr said major areas to focus include Hurricane Creek off of Housen, shallow waters near hay grass and stumps, and the first two pockets on the right entering Six Mile.
“There’s a lot of hay grass on the edges, and the water is a little deeper in those pockets,” he explained.
Anglers’ reports indicated that, from mid-March through May, plastics such as creature baits and twitch baits are effective for bedding bass. Jigs will work for deeper lunkers in these areas.
Interestingly, Carolina-rigs accounted for only two of the 34 lunkers taken from February to May 2014.
Also, there were few, if any, Toledo Bend lunkers reported in waters to the very north. All of the bass written up on LouisianaSportsman.com were taken from just north of the 1215 area south to near South Toledo Bend State Park and areas on the southwestern border of the reservoir.