THE BASS COLLEGE

ShaneWilliams: well Toledo bend gave up some nice stringers today with alittle over 23 to win and 16 and change to draw a check. We had a slowstart with two lost fish that would come back to haunt us at weighin.We were flipping cypress trees and bushes in 4-7 feet of water on thenorth end. The trees did not payof...flike they did a couple of weeks ago but the bushes wound up being wherethe fish were. At one o'clock we had one keeper and by 2:30 we had alimit and culled three times. If anyone plans on taking a trip toToledo just buzz me and I will give you all the help I can.

Thanks shane will do

The Largemouth bass fishing is good on chartreuse/blue spinner-baits and shallow-running crank-baits in the  hydrilla in about 6 to 10 ft. of water, also good fishing with camo-watermelon wacky worm plus Texas-rigged lizard baits  under and  around docks or shallow water cover on secondary points.

This is the time of year when bass will move to the main river channel and to deep grass beds. Effective patterns are fishing deep diving crankbaits on the old river channel and vertically fishing heavy jigs and big worms in the grass beds.

The lake level is 169.35' with both generators running from 3 to 9 p.m. weekdays and water temps running from 82 to 86 degrees. All of the lake has fishable water conditions from north to south with north being slightly stained and south Toledo very clear.

The best bass the past week came on crank baits and Texas rigs from 10 to 25'. In crankbaits we are running DLN(Norman's Deep Little Ns) on grass points and ridges in 8 to 12 feet plus we are also running DD22s(Norman's Deep Diver) from 10 to 20'. We are using a medium action Fenwick and AllStar 7' rods with Abu Garcia Revo Winch cranking reels with 5.4:1 ratio. Our line choices for cranking have been Berkley Big Game 12 and 15 lb test plus Seaguar Fluorocarbon. Try a varity of speeds with pauses on crankbaits because some will out produce others.

On Texas rigs the best baits have been Berkley Power Worms and Wacky Crawlers, Stanley's Sidewinder, Trick Worms plus baby brush hogs. Top colors have included watermelon red, w.m. candy and w.m.seed. Carolina rigs have also worked with the same soft plastics mentioned. We are working Texas and C.rigs on main lake points, humps and ridges. The ideal ridge or point is one with brush or grass and close to a deep drop off or creek. Drop shot patterns are working.

Early in the morning and late in the evening I would start off throwing top water plugs, buzz baits, frogs , spinner baits, jerk baits, shallow diving and lipless crank baits, and a variety of plastics in grass flats close to deep water.

When the sun gets over- head and the shallow bite slows, concentrate fishing deeper water along the points and bends in the creek and river channel ledges that have the most cover and structure (tops, lay-downs etc) with deep diving crank baits and Carolina or Texas rigged soft plastics. Keep a top water bait and a shallow running crank bait like a rattletrap handy for the schooling bass.

On the north end of the lake,I would use a crankbait on the river bends, sloughs and break lines.

The Highway 21/6 bridge leading into Louisiana is a good area as well.

6-Mile from about Miles Creek all the way to the back is good.

All of the bass this past week came on a Texas Rigged plastic, a worm, Craw worm, & a Baby Brush Hog.

All bass were cookie cutters in the 3-5 pound range.

Carrice Creek area

In 12-18’ of water you can cast and reach shallower or deeper water; I’ll stay at this depth year round with the exception of during pre-spawn and spawn. Bass at this depth are not as affected by boat traffic & weather changes because this is the depth at which Hydrilla, Milfoil, and Coontail Moss stop growing on this lake therefore keeping me on a break line.

I would start deep and stay deep with Texas Rigs, Carolina Rigs, Jig-N-Craws, Deep Cranks or any combination of them.

Texas Rigged plastics are the most productive techniques by far on this body of water. I can tell you why but the bass on this lake love plastic of any kind and if you want to catch bass in numbers or size you better be throwing plastics. I also can not explain why but it has been my experience when fishing a Texas rig either a 3/16 oz or 1/4 oz bullet weight will produce the most bites regardless of water depth. Texas rigged craw worms are largely overlooked by most but it is really productive on this body of water.

Due to the tremendous amounts of vegetation, brush, and timber on this lake the Jig-N-Craw is a great choice. While it may not produce all the time I keep one tied on at all times and will not leave a piece of structure without throwing it.

I position my boat just far enough away so I can reach 10 or 15’ past the grass line with a good cast and  then I can turn around and still reach deep water with a longer cast.

You should locate the Pendleton Bridge.  Follow the west Bank north to Clear creek.   That whole area  is a shallow flat with grass and lilly pads.  There were some bass in the back of the creek.

Negreet,Six Mile and Tenaha are some of the best creeks.

Concentrate on the outer half of Negreet Creek paying attention to the points on either side of each creek working your way back into the bay. I would target the points on the south side of Tennessee Bay as they are the closest to the main river and then work my way back. The flat on the south side of the mouth of Negreet has produced some good bags for me in the past. Just work your way down the side of the flat into the first creek you come to with plastics and cranks.The better results have come fishing the submerged points and creek channels on the northern side. There are a lot of them off the bank in the deeper water up and down that area all the way to Salter. This is the area I would concetrate on.

Find the roadbed that runs to Turtle Beach Lodge

Next move over to the mouth of Slater Creek where you’ll see another roadbed crossing the mouth

Now move into Slater Creek about  a third of the way in and you’ll see a pipeline

I would work these areas with Crank baits, Traps, Rouges, Texas Rigs, Carolina Rigs, or Jig-N-Craws. People always say why not spinnerbaits and I say that I would stay deeper most of the time and while spinner baits can be fished in deep water they would'nt be as effective

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