Toledo Bend Fishing Report-April 2010

As of April 2, 2010 the lake level on Toledo Bend is 170.33 which has the lake about one foot and eight inches below full pool. The lake has fallen nearly two feet over the past three weeks which has pulled a large number of fish out of the bushes and positioned them on the inside grass edge. The water temperature has been anywhere from the mid fifties to the mid sixties depending on what part of the lake your on. The rising water temperatures combined with the falling water level has created exceptional fishing opportunities around most of the shoreline vegetation. I have been focusing nearly all of my fishing in six feet or less of water around the inside hydrilla edges and the hay grass. The fish have been biting really well over the past couple of weeks and should continue to bite for the rest of the month and into May. Try throwing both wacky worms and lightly weighted Texas Rigs around the hay grass early in the morning and late in the afternoon. I generally throw both on a PG144-7’0” with 15 lb. fluorocarbon. You can target the hay grass all day long but the bite seems to slow down unless it is cloudy or windy. On a calm sunny day, try to target the inside hydrilla edge with the same baits and occasionally mix in a Carolina rig. I usually use a PG104.5-7’6” with a ½ oz. weight for my rig. Baby brush hogs, senkos, flukes, and trick worms in one of the various watermelon or green pumpkin color combinations all seem to be equally effective. On days with lots of wind or clouds try throwing either a white/chartreuse or solid white double willow spinner bait around any shallow cover. Please remember that there is a large number of spawning females that will be sitting on beds during the month and it is very important to practice catch and release with these fish.

Good luck,
Danny Iles

www.johnstonsfishing.com