Hello, Anglers.
Last week’s weather during Thanksgiving
weekend was basically about as good as it gets for mid-November while
this week we
have had some cold frontal rain. While the lake was not crowded at
all, a fair number of fishermen were on the lake and fishing
was good and at times even excellent.
We had spurts where we were catching
fish on almost every cast and other times where we would go 10-15
minutes without a bite
and have to move around on the lake to find active fish. However,
it was a very pleasant experience and just another reason
why I really enjoy the cooler months of the year.
The lake level is 167.6’ with one generator running at the dam from 4 to 6:30 p.m. 2-3 days per week to maintain the integrity
of the Sabine River below the dam. Water temps are running from 59-63 degrees which is about the same as last week.
Water clarity all over the lake is good
with north Toledo slightly stained, mid-lake is mostly clear and south
Toledo is very
clear. If you like to fish off-colored water conditions, there is
some stained water in the back of major feeder creeks and
good populations of fish are now in these areas.
We continue like to use many of the same patterns and techniques we
have used over the past several weeks while making adjustments
on how we are fishing them as well as what depths we target. These
adjustments are largely based on weather and lake conditions
as we fish more aggressive presentations during stable weather and
more finesse and subtle techniques when post-frontal conditions
are in place.
We had several cold nights last week
and bright skies which had us fishing deeper and slower with
spinnerbaits, Texas rigs,
crankbaits, spoons and drop-shot. The only decent spinnerbait bite
was the first 45 minutes at dawn and the last 30 minutes
at dusk when the bass would move up to feed. We used Stanley
VibraWedge with double willow blades with shad colored shirts
and fished them either in 2- to 6-feet on the shoreline or on the
outside edges of the deep hydrilla in 12 to 20 feet.
We fished the Texas rigs mostly on deep points and ridges with deep grass from 10 to 25 feet using Berkley Havoc’s Bottom
Hopper (6, 25 inches) in Shady w.m. candy and watermelon. We also used Trick Worms in w.m. red, w.m. candy red, w.m. candy
and candy bug.
On our crankbaits we used two types: One was Norman’s DLN (Deep Little N) as well as their deep diving DD22 using fire-tiger
colors early and shad patterns in bright conditions. Crankbaits were worked on outside edges of grass as well as on deeper
humps and ridges up to 25 feet.
On our jigging spoons we are using
hammered style in 1/2- and 3/4-ounce sizes depending on depth and wind
conditions in 25-
to 50-feet depths near creek channels using 17- to 20-pound test
mono (Trilene Big Game mono) and Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon.
Drop shot patterns include 3/16- to
1/2-ounce size sinkers with Bottom Hopper Jrs. (4.75 inch) in shady w.m.
candy and watermelon
with 8-pound test Berkley XL and Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon on
medium action 6’6” Veritas spinning rod with Abu Garcia Ora
spinning reel.
Many yellow bass anglers are finding fish on sand bars near the river
as well as on the edges of major creeks and they are
feeding almost exclusively on shad. Jigging spoons and
tailspinners like Little Georges/Knock-off (Norman Lures) as well as
Rinky Dinks are good choices for catching yellows that are showing
up in depths of 20 to 50 feet. Crappie fishing has been
improving along the river (Sabine) as well as up major creeks in
brush piles. Live shiners and 1/16 oz jigs are the best choices
for bait.
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