With fall almost in the rearview mirror, it’s time to tweak your approach to get bass to bite on Toledo Bend.
December is a transitional month for bass. If the transition to a full-blown winter pattern doesn’t happen earlier, I’ve learned that it’ll catch up around the third week or so of December. It’ll be a time for sitting down on a spot longer as the bass don’t chase as much, and they generally hold, at the shallowest, in 10-foot depths. They can be as deep as 20- to 25-feet.
If the weather is warm in the first week or two, you’re looking at starting at 8- to 10-foot depths, but the colder it gets the deeper the fish will be. They start pulling out of the back of creeks, to at least halfway, or to the main lake. The colder it gets the more they pull out to main lake spots. They still will use the grass, particularly the deeper grass (10-foot plus) and, usually, the green stuff is getting shorter at that time. So a ½-ounce red Rat-L-Trap retrieved over the top of the grass, especially in 10-foot or deeper, is effective. And natural wood always is a player on Toledo Bend because the bass sit around wood cover, mainly along dropoffs.
My go-to this time of year is a watermelon (clear water), green pumpkin (stained water) or June bug (really dirty water) soft plastic on a Carolina rig. I throw it on a 20-pound fluorocarbon main line with a 15-pound, 3- to 5-foot long monofilament leader on a 2/0 or 3/0 EWG hook under a ¾-ounce egg sinker. Yeah, I like the leader pretty long.
Texas-rigged soft plastics such as creature baits and trick worms in similar colors also are effective this time of year.
One of the most effective “moving” baits throughout December is an umbrella rig armed with shad-colored swimbaits.
Concentrate on deep timber
For those looking to drop crappie in their ice chest(s) this month, don’t worry too much about what area of the lake to fish. Just look for “big” timber in 28- to 50-foot depths. Big channel bends tend to concentrate the slabs a little more but aren’t necessarily the magic areas.
And take note: the Chicken Coop, once renowned for giving up so many crappie when bitter cold weather arrives, isn’t what it used to be. Toledo Bend’s lake level doesn’t get low enough (to, say, 165, 167) most of the time in the winter these past few decades for that approach to pay off consistently. People still can catch fish in that area, don’t get me wrong, but on the other hand they can catch all over the lake around deep timber.
I prefer my clients fish with medium-sized shiners on a No. 2 crappie hook on 8-pound monofilament line under a large split shot. They also can try to trigger crappie bites with a shad-colored artificial jig, typically a soft plastic such as Pan Fish Assassin Pro Tiny Shad, on a 1/16-ounce jighead.
This winter should be a good one for crappie fishing enthusiasts, providing the water stays like it is now (167.8 feet), or a few feet above, and we don’t get an excessive amount of rainfall. If the water gets high and muddy, that scenario messes the bite up. If it stays down and clear, it’s pretty good.
Call Living the Dream Guide Service at (318) 256-8991 to make a dream fishing trip come true on Toledo Bend.
