Toledo Bend Reservoir Fishing Report
for
February 1, 2010

February is a great month to catch fish in number and size on Toledo Bend. The Bass and Crappie will begin staging and feeding heavy in anticipation of the spawn and the Whites will be migrating into the river proper for their annual “river run”.

The bass and Crappie will start migrating into the coves and creeks heading toward the spawning flats. Concentrate on the edges of the creeks, main and secondary points close to deep water, and the drains and ditches leading to the shallow spawning flats. The male bass will move into the shallow flats first making the beds. The females will be close by. If you locate a number of males, back out to deeper water and you will usually find some aggressive females staging in anticipation of moving onto the beds and they’re usually hungry and aggressive. All sorts of baits can be productive at this time, jigs, spinner baits, traps, soft plastics, finesse baits, cranks and jerk baits.

If a strong cold front comes in and drops the water temp, back out to deeper water. The bass will not move very far but they will move to deeper water. Slowing down your presentation will help you catch more fish. If we receive a large amount of rain during the month, fish will typically move up with rising water and back out with falling water.

The Crappie will also start moving into the deep creek channels in anticipation to their spawn. Work the bends and points of the channel with jigs and shiners especially areas that have brush or cover. When the Crappie move into the shallows to spawn work the flats with a shiner or jig on a slip cork with an eighteen to twenty-four inch leader around grass lines, stumps and Cypress trees. A Beatle spin or similar lure on an ultra- lite spinning rig can be used to cover a lot of water until you locate the fish.

When you talk about fishing in February you immediately associate fishing the river proper for the annual White Bass river migration. The Whites will stack up in the pockets and sloughs along the river. Road- runners, traps and shallow diving crank baits can all be productive. Also work the river channel sand-bars with slab spoons or live crawfish.

Fishing Forecast