As if on cue, Toledo Bend’s water level began rising the last week of January, just about the same time a warm spell set in.
The timely combination spells good news for bass fishing and crappie fishing as the spring spawn gets underway. The lake will be an ultra-popular place to be, particularly for bass anglers who love to soak soft plastics in and around grass beds and bushes to pick off spawning bass.
The lake’s pool stage is on the way up. I expect it to be 170 feet and above by mid-February. The rise is just what the doctor ordered.
After a deep freeze in mid-January, the integral piece to the spring puzzle boiled down to air and water temperatures. All we need is heat and, yes, it is warming up just right. Forecasts predict a 7- to 10-day warming trend, eventually into the upper 70s. What’s important are climbing overnight air temperatures to hold daytime water temps.
Anybody ready to go bass or sac-a-lait fishing, it’s looking like good times are ahead. It’s a great time for personal bests and DDs (double-digit bass), increasing more and more beginning in mid-February as the two species simultaneously move up from their deep domains.
A great setup for bass
For bass, water and weather conditions permitting, I like to stick to the main lake ridges, humps and points, which are a Carolina-rigged soft plastic paradise. Those areas and any flats get full of bass that can be triggered easily by a deadsticked Fluke.
I’ll throw C-rigged Zoom Super Flukes, grubs and crawfish imitations mostly in watermelon/red, green pumpkin/red and South African Special, behind a 5/8- or ½-ounce weight in zero- to 7-foot depths. That setup is hard to beat this time of year.
Another proven option is to offer a Fluke or similar soft plastic, similar colors, with a 1/8- or 1/16-ounce weight and deadstick it. The backs of coves, creeks and “shotgun” pockets are prime areas to drop the soft plastics and let them sit in front of a bass’ nose.
There are some good times ahead as both bass and sac-a-lait transition to shallower habitat, which hopefully includes submerged bushes and similar cover by that time. Ten-plus-pound bass catches ought to begin ramping up considerably the third week of February.
Mark it down. There’s a good chance a lot of those double-digit bass will be caught during the full moon period starting March 14.
Crappie action
Fishermen can find plenty of crappie during March in the same areas as the bass on Toledo Bend. Much of the crappie catchin’ action usually takes place from Blue Lake Landing to the mouth of San Miguel Creek and up to the Solon’s area.
Grass, grass, grass is the key for some of the better spots up and down the lake. Many of the successful crappie anglers use soft plastic jigs on 1/16-ounce jigheads. Others catch their share of slabs on a minnow under a cork.
Target 5- to 7-foot depths with either a Cubby in monkey milk or, as more and more people are discovering, a 2-inch long Baby Vudu Shrimp in Cajun pepper.
This lake’s crappie fishing reputation precedes it. It’s going to be hot, hot, hot again this spring.
I’ve been guiding on this lake most of my life and you’re welcome in my boat. Give me a call at (936) 404-2688.
