Hello, Anglers. I am excited to be in Lake Charles at the Civic Center this weekend for the annual Central Gulf Coast Boat, Sport and Travel Show. The show runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday with schedule as follows: Friday from 3 till 8, Sat from 10 a.m. till 9 p.m. and Sunday 11a.m. til 5 p.m. I will be at the Lake Charles Tackle booth so drop by to say hi and we can swap some fishing stories.
Several of you sent me requests for the Berkley card we offered illustrating the Palomar knot and we mailed them to you. I will have some of those cards with me at the show and will be glad to personally demonstrate how to tie the Palomar knot. I look forward every year to this event and being able to visit with so many friends and fellow anglers.
FOX AND JEANE WIN BASS N BUCKS: Good friends and fellow anglers, George Jeane Jr and David Fox, both of Evans, LA, won the Bass N Bucks team event last weekend on Toledo. They had a five-fish limit weighing over 23 pounds and won a nice $20,000 pay-day for their efforts. According to the duo, they fished main lake points and ridges in 15-20 feet with jigs and Berkley Chigger Craw green pumpkin trailers.
A heavy fog made it difficult for them to get to their fishing area but once there, they caught a 20 pound limit by 9 a.m. and then was able to cull a smaller bass with a much larger fish. The last bass they caught came just before time ran out adding three pounds to their final weight giving them the win by about a 7 ounce margin. They outfished over 200 teams of some of the best anglers in the bi-state area. Jeane is sponsored by Berkley and Abu Garcia reels. Nice going, guys!
LAKE CONDITIONS: With recent rains the lake is up slightly to 168.7 feet and no generators are running at the dam, according to Sabine River Authority information. Water temperatures are from 50 to 53 degrees and north Toledo is stained, mid lake is slightly stained to mostly clear and south Toledo is clear. All major feeder creeks have stained-to-muddy conditions.
FISHING REPORTS/BASS: Winds have played a major part in fishing the past week with 3-4 days having 20 (plus) mph winds. According to other anglers who placed high in the recent tournament, lipless crankbaits and Carolina rigs also played strong roles in catching good stringers. A top five finisher reported they caught their bass using Rat-L-Traps over points with grass in 8-10 feet while another top team said they caught all of their bass on a white spinnerbait and slowly working a very light Carolina rig through submerged grass in 10-12 feet.
Other current bass catching patterns include working mid-diving crankbaits along the edges of submerged grass in 8-12 feet. Top crankbaits include Berkley Frenzy Mid-Diver, DLN (Norman) and 300 series Bandit. Good color choices include fire tiger, blue chartruse and Tennessee Shad. Another pattern that requires patience but is a great producer is to work a 5 inch wacky-rigged Berkley Sinking minnow and Senko along the edge of submerged grass in 8 to 14 feet.
The wacky pattern produced our biggest bass this week which weighed just under 7 pounds. We are also still catching bass on deep pattens with jigging spoons and drop shot, especially on days with high pressure and bright skies. Best depths have been from 25 to 40 feet.
CRAPPIE: Good reports are increasing at The Chicken Coop so we may have a deep water crappie season after all. One report had two guys catching three 5-gallon buckets of crappie at The Coop early this week. Another caught 85 fish. However, everyone is not catching them as some caught very few. However, things are greatly improved over last week. Most catches are coming from 30 feet just off the river with live shiners.
AUTHOR INFO: Joe Joslin is a syndicated columnist, tournament angler and pro guide on Toledo and Sam Rayburn. His sponsors include Skeeter Performance Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Lake Charles Toyota, Red River Marine/Alexandria, LA, Berkley, Fenwick, Abu Garcia, Daiichi, Jay's Carpet One DeRidder, The Floor Trader Lake Charles and Stanley Jigs Inc. Contact him at 337-463-3848 or joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com. and WEBSITE www.joejoslinoutdoors.com.
