Big bass caught on bed is angler’s best fish yet
Early last week there was a major wave of bass that moved into Toledo Bend’s shallows to spawn, but the cool front that passed through the area a few days later pushed most of the fish back into deeper water.
But on Sunday Aaron Gilchrist of Shelbyville, Texas, caught a 4-pound buck in 3 or 4 feet of water in the back of a major creek, and guide Darold Gleason thought that might be a sign some fish were still on beds.
About 15 minutes later, Gilchrist sank his hook into an 8-pound sow — the high-school angler’s best fish yet. And the battle with the bedded bass was all captured on video.
“He caught the buck casting a Texas-rigged lizard,” said Gleason, who owns South Toledo Bend Guide Service. “We actually got up there and tied to a tree, and sight-fished the female.”
Once they saw the big fish locked on the bed, Gleason swithced Gilchrist’s bait out for a white V&M Wild Thang Craw.
“We used white so we could see the bait,” Gleason explained.
Gilchrist made repeated casts to the fish, and about 15 minutes later the fish couldn’t stand it any longer and slurped up the bait.
The attached video captured by Scott Gilchrist starts as the young angler sets the hook, and the fish can be heard splashing in the water as Gleason hurries to grab the net.
You can watch in slow-motion as Gilchrist fights the big bass, which quickly comes to the surface and thrashes around in an attempt to throw the hook.
When the 8-pounder is safely in the net, Gleason goes nuts — pumping his fists and yelling.
“It was his biggest fish to date,” the guide said. “It weighed 8.00 pounds on my Cul-M-Rite scale.”
Gleason said weather conditions are right for another big round of spawning fish.
“It’s fixin’ to happen again,” he said. “We’re out on the water right now, and it’s 75 degrees. We found some 63-degree water today.”
Be sure to read about the many double-digit bass being caught on the lake. The recent surge of 10-pound-plus bass has resulted in Bassmaster naming Toledo Bend as the No. 1 bass fishery in the nation.
And don’t forget to post your reports on the Bass Fishing Forum.
