Last Modified: Thursday, November 03, 2011 9:07 PM

BY JOE JOSLIN / AMERICAN PRESS

Wind can’t keep fish from biting
Hello, anglers.
A strong cold front hit last week and north winds that at times measured almost 40 mph caused us to cancel fishing for a couple of days.
However, it was amazing as to how quick the fish rebounded. By last Thursday we were catching large numbers of bass once again. Friday morning we experienced some of the fastest action in recent memory as I caught seven bass on eight casts and missed the eighth one.
At the same time my client was also catching bass fast and furious. By 9:15 we (two of us) had 50 bass in the boat with near 70 percent of them legal bass (longer than 14 inches), although we did not keep any. The bass are fat, healthy and beautifully colored as all of the bass came off the grass.
Water levels
With fishing so good, boaters and anglers are learning to deal with low water levels by fishing closer to the boat launch and pullin’ back on the throttle. I am observing more and more anglers who simply idle instead of running on plane. Not a bad idea!
However, it is amazing how much fish-filled water you can locate at 6-7 mph.
I also faced a new situation last month that I mentioned briefly when I needed to break-in my new boat. Here is how it went: I chose the area near the dam and had no problems at all. I will say that this is my backyard and I know the area very well, but I think it would have worked for most anyone else as well if caution was used in the process.
Lake Conditions
The lake just fell below 160 feet mean sea level for the first time ever and stands at 159.9 with no generators running and one gate open 6 inches at the spillway, 24/7.
Water temperatures have fallen to the low 70s and will fall further this week with passing of another cold front. Water clarity is still good all over the lake with slightly stained conditions on north Toledo, midlake has mostly clear and south Toledo is very clear.
A few resorts and marinas have reworked and extended boat ramps. This is not a complete list, but only those of which I have current information. These include Holly Park Marina, Huxley Bay Resort, North Toledo Bend State Park and Pirates Cove (In Toro Bay).
If there are others, please get me the info and we can pass it along. If the lake goes down another foot, the large number of boaters using Sabine River Authority No. 7 above the dam on the Texas side off Texas 255 will not be able to get out of the cove due to a shallow spot between the ramp and the main lake.
I do plan to contact local SRA crews to see if they can keep this ramp area usable.
Bass Reports
Here is a recent fish tale that happened last Friday morning on a grassy ridge on the southern portion of Toledo.
I had just met my client for the day who drove over from Alexandria for a fishing trip on Toledo.
At dawn it was 41 degrees and my hooded jacket felt great running to our first fishing spot. I backed off the throttle and settled down in the water just south of the Louisiana Islands and the sun was not yet up when I made my first cast.
My customer wanted to start with a Pop R and I started with one of Stanley’s new hand-painted 3/8-ounce Vibra-shaft spinnerbaits. They are brand new on the market and I had just received them in the mail the day after the cold front hit and this was first trip in two days and my first chance to use them.
A light wind was blowing into the grassy ridge, the surface had a slight ripple and fog was forming on top making it a great morning for shallow water patterns.
I made a medium-long cast, made a couple of turns on the Revo baitcast reel and immediately had a solid hit on the new spinnerbait but failed to connect.
I cast back and on the next seven consecutive casts caught a bass and we landed 15-20 bass in less than 20 minutes. When this pattern slowed down we switched to soft plastics and continued to catch fish. The new color of the Vibra-shaft spinnerbait (skirt and blades) was LSU/Royal Shad color No. 321.
Other fish-catching patterns have been Texas-rigged worms worked over grass with Berkley Havoc Bottom Hopper, Stanley Itsabug, Trick Worm and Speed Craw being some of our favorite Texas-rigged soft plastics.
Topwater patterns continue to produce with Spooks, Chug Bugs, Pop Rs and Yellow Magic all getting good reviews in my boat with bone, shad and chrome and black all catching bass.
Also, there have been times when a weightless Texas-rigged soft plastic was the most productive with Yamamoto Senko, Berkley Jerk Shad and Sinking minnow, Fluke, D Shad(new from Yamamoto) and Stanley’s 5-inch Wedgetail (Diamond Shad colored). The Wedgetail was made for saltwater but works great on bass when rigged on a swimbait hook and fished weightless.
Wacky worms continue to catch more and more bass as the water temps cool. I am using a wacky rig on a jig head as well as a 2/0 and 3/0 Daiichi Round Bend Worm hook.
As far as plastics I am using 5-inch Senkos, Berkley Bottom Hoppers, Trick Worms and Stanley Sidewinder. We are also using drop-shot and jigging spoon on bass deeper than 18 feet up to 35 feet.
Crappie Reports
Crappie fishing continues to be good after winds backed off after the front and the pattern is still live shiners from brush ranging from 15-28 feet with 18-22 feet some of the best depths.
The white and yellow bass are migrating up all major feeder creeks. Look for them in the bends of creeks as well as on major points in the creeks. I like a jigging spoon fished vertically to catch these fish.
Be safe, God bless, good fishing and hope to see you on the water. Until then I am catching fish and praying for rain.
Joe Joslin is a syndicated outdoor columnist, tournament angler and pro guide on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn. His column appears Wednesdays. Contact him at 463-3848 or joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com or visit www.joejoslinoutdoors.com