Hello, anglers.
Last week was one of the most pleasant weeks in months to be outside with nighttime temperatures in the low 50s to mid-60s
and daytime highs in low 80s.
We did have a couple of very winds days that kept us off some our main lake fishing areas but, for the most part, we were
able to find additional fish in some more protected locations.
Gun season for deer opened last weekend
and we did hear several shots Saturday morning while fishing the
southern end of the
lake. Deer are moving with the cooler weather as we witnessed deer
coming to the lake for water and feeding on the green grass
close to the shoreline.
It does not get much better than to be fishing while at the same time watching deer on the shore about 50 yards away. What
a blessing!
The Bass and Bucks Championship took place on Toledo with the winners (John Isles and Brian Shook) catching more than 54 pounds
in two days, plus they bested the nearest competition by 19 pounds with more than a 5-pound per fish average.
Local anglers Jeremy Burge and Kraig Welborn finished fourth with 34.27 pounds.
The lake level is 167.9 mean sea level, which is roughly 4 feet below full pool but about normal for late October.
Water temperatures are running from 71-74 degrees with both generators shut down.
There’s more floating and submerged grass on south Toledo than I can remember for 20 years or so. Most of it is hydrilla, but there is a lot of pepper grass in the shallow areas. There are actually some areas that have
so much grass it is hard to find the bass in large concentrations as they have such a vast amount of areas to hang out.
BASS: One of our approaches recently has been trying to find areas with scattered grass. I have been having my best results in thinner
grass when fishing with jigs and Texas rigs.
When covering water with a spinnerbait,
buzzbait, or topwater, the large amount of grass is not as much of an
issue as I am
either fishing on top of the grass or on the outside or inside
edges of the grass. Our top over-the-grass baits include a
3/8-ounce Vibrashaft spinnerbait with double willow blades,
Norton’s Triple Wing buzzbait and a Prop Pop (Norton) popper with
teaser tail.
We are also using a Stanley Swimmax
jig, Texas-rigged Havoc Bottom Hopper and Trick worm on the outside edge
of the grassline,
which is running from 12-22 feet depending the area and grass
patterns. Effective colors have been pretty basic using darker
colors early and late with more translucent colors in the brighter
portions of the day.
Jigging spoons and drop-shot rigs have a
soft spot in my heart during this season of the year. We are using
half- and three-quarter
ounce hammered jigging spoons plus a drop-shot rig with a Havoc
Bottom Hopper Jr (4.75 inches). The Bottom Hopper floats so
the tail sticks straight up and gives it a very alive look that
the bass really like. Work this rig slow and slower.
CRAPPIE AND YELLOW BASS: Crappie guide Noe Garcia reported catching quality white perch in 20-24 feet over brush in the midlake part of Toledo. Live
shiners were used to catch the fish. He said the numbers of fish were not that high but the crappie were big.
Yellow bass have been in good numbers along the main feeder creeks and can be caught on jigging spoons and tailspinners such
as Norman’s Knock Off as well as a Little George.
•••
Joe Joslin
is a syndicated outdoor columnist, tournament angler and pro guide on
Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn. His column appears Thursdays.
Contact him at 463-3848 or joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com or visit www.joejoslinoutdoors.com