Toledo Bend 04/15/23

[J.W.]

Boated my son and his fishing partner for their last NLJFL points tournament of the year. I've been pretty sick, so we did not get a chance to pre-fish much at all. We were able to go just once, and it was a tough day without many bites, so we did not go into this one with much data, and it came back to bite us.

We got up at 2:00 AM, got ready, and went and picked up my son's fishing partner. Did boat check in Many at 5:00 AM, then went to Zwolle to launch. First cast was at 6:30 AM.

We started out mid-lake on the Louisiana side, with a light rain, fishing places where we've caught plenty of 3+ pounders in the past, and hoping for the best. Water temp was right at 70 F, and stained but not dirty. Wind started out around 10-12 mph, but died off quite a bit by 11:00 or so.

My son caught a keeper in a grass mat on a white frog on first or second cast that went 1.3 lbs. Not a whopper, but we thought we were off to a decent start. After that it was short fish after short fish. The boys were catching 'em right and left, but nothing would bump. After about three hours of that, we decided to make a run across the lake to a midlake spot I know on the Texas side that usually has some decent spotted bass. You're not gonna win on Toledo with spotted bass, but I figured the boys could at least fill their limit, then we could go hunt for some kickers. So we went across the lake (lots of idling through standing timber and stumps), and the boys caught enough to round out their limit, plus a few more, but nothing that would let us cull.

Weather reports had been all over the place, including severe thunderstorm warnings. Since we didn't really know what the weather was going to do, I said we better get back across to the Louisiana side while the getting was good. I wanted to be back before the wind picked up or any thunderstorms moved in. Going back across I could see rain to the north, but we never got any weather. We made it back in hopes of finding a big girl or two, but after spending what time we could afford there, it never materialized.

All said and done, the boys ended up with a three fish limit that put them in 16th for the tournament. Not what we were hoping for, but we all knew you can't show up to weigh-in on Toledo Bend with a limit of small bass and expect much. Me being sick and not being able to take them pre-fishing much really hurt us. Turns out, we were in the right area, but on the wrong pattern. We probably would've had that figured out with more pre-fishing. That said, they still got a Bass Pro card each for 16th. We were in 7th overall prior to Toledo, so I'm not sure how this will move us in overall standings, but I don't think we're in any danger of not making the cut to fish the championship at Bistineau in May. I'm just hoping our overall standing doesn't slide too much. I'm not exactly sure how all the points are worked out, to be honest.

Even though we didn't do so hot, there were definitely big bass to be caught, even after the pressure of the Bass Master Open, because there were teams with three fish limits in the 8-10 lb range. A bag with a 3+ lb average is a good bag, and there were a handful of them. Always fun to watch those kids at weigh-in when they get to hold up a big bass and tell their story! Those kids will crack you up sometimes.

So anyway, all-in-all, it could've turned out a lot worse. The boys caught a ton of fish, got a Bass Pro card to spend, and we never got the lightning storms that they had been predicting. A good time was had by all. I'm calling those things a win. The points will shake out how they shake out.

[Smallie_Stalker]

It's hard when the odds are stacked against you like that but you were able to make the best out of a tough day so that's a win right there.

I'm sure the boys learned some valuable lessons too and at least everyone had fun.

That'll keep them coming back next time around.

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[J.W.]

It's hard when the odds are stacked against you like that but you were able to make the best out of a tough day so that's a win right there.

I'm sure the boys learned some valuable lessons too and at least everyone had fun.

That'll keep them coming back next time around.

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Yeah, I kind of feel the same way. The boys did their part, and they caught a lot of fish, so they did have fun. I just wish I had been able to put them on some bigger ones.

The standings just came out, and we slid three places to tenth, which is not terrible considering how we did at this one. We will definitely be fishing the championship at Bistineau in May.

[Smallie_Stalker]

That's awesome, Congratulations!

Good luck in the championship.

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[Mike Cork]

Thanks for the report, great to hear they made the championship... Keep those frogs ready...

[J.W.]

Thanks guys. 10-4 on the frogs 

[Donald Garner]

Congrats to the boys on the top 20 finish and getting into the championship.  Tks for sharing the trip with us also.

[J.W.]

Thanks Donald.