Caddo Lake Bass Fishing Reports

[MotherNature]

mdegra, that is Papa's area of expertise. He is usually on later and I am sure that he will see this and give you some info

[mdegra]

Thanks Laurie. I mostly fish the Red, but it's nasty right now.  So I've been trying to learn Caddo better.  I went Monday and got skunked.  Pretty sad.  Hopefully Papa can help.  Have you been on Grand Bayou lately?

[BIG PAPA]

Right now caddo is fishing as hard as I have ever seen it. The Bass are relating to hydrilla and the lake is full of hydrilla so they are very scattered and off the feed so to speak.
That said he is what I would do if i was going to Jeems .
Stay near the channel edges and fish the deep edge of the grass.
After you pass channel marker 70 there is a long straight away, on your right will be some massive hydrilla beds, the grass is under water now but you can locade it with a rattle trap easily enough as it is everywhere. The key for me has been to work the deep edge of the grass where it faces the channel. There ARE some good fish in there but it has  been hard to get them to bite.
I was catching some good fish in there just working a grass jig (bullet shaped)slowly along the deep edge of the bed. In the afternoon go on down to about 77-78 and go all the way to the bank on your right, if the sun is out that bank will be 2-3 degrees warmer and the fish have been turning on around 1:00. Swim a light colored jig past the trees just like a spinnerbait except slower. I got 3 small overs and a couple of slot fish there Sun. in the KSLA Smith tourny all after 1:00.
Now my best advice is if the wind is not too bad go north on the A boat row and fish the hydrilla beds around marker 110 to 120. mostly on your left, (texas side). I would hit whatever trees I came to with a jig but would concentrate on the grass. check your temp. and depth. if you come across a little deper water fish the edge also if you come across warmer water 1 degree makes a difference at times. Work a red or chartruese rattle trap ro a spinnerbait just ticking the grass.
the 2nd week of Jan. I got a 7.5 and 5-6 over 5 out of there on an original Big O crankbait in copper color.
good luck

papa

[mdegra]

That's great advice Papa. Thanks so much.  The A channel is the the one that runs under the drawbridge, right?  Have you caught any fish in the trees in Jeems bayou that are in 2-6 feet of water?  The wind is supposed to be 5-10 tomorrow, but I'll believe it when I see it.  Thansk again for the advice.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I don't have a TX fishing license, but I guess I'll pick one up since I plan on fishing Caddo more than the Red in the near future.

[BIG PAPA]

Thanks Laurie. I mostly fish the Red, but it's nasty right now.  So I've been trying to learn Caddo better.  I went Monday and got skunked.  Pretty sad.  Hopefully Papa can help.  Have you been on Grand Bayou lately?

Do not feel bad, Dan and I (my tourney partner) caught 2-3 fish Sat. In 8 hours of fishing.
And several SALTY Caddo boys got skunked both days. there is just too much fresh water and until they stop dumping water from Lake O the pines into Caddo it will be tough
papa

[BIG PAPA]

That's great advice Papa. Thanks so much.  The A channel is the the one that runs under the drawbridge, right?  Have you caught any fish in the trees in Jeems bayou that are in 2-6 feet of water?  The wind is supposed to be 5-10 tomorrow, but I'll believe it when I see it.  Thanks again for the advice.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I don't have a TX fishing license, but I guess I'll pick one up since I plan on fishing Caddo more than the Red in the near future.

You do not need a Tex. licence for Caddo I have not caught much off of the trees but sometimes that is the key.

papa

[mdegra]

I didn't know you could fish Caddo with a LA license.  That's good to know.  So you think sticking to the grass off the channels is the key?  Fishing all around here has been rough lately.  I've been looking at several aerial photos of caddo trying to formulate a plan of attack.  It looks like we'll have some warmer weather coming up, so hopefully that will jump start the fish.  It has been slim pickings recently.  I have a bunch of time off now, and it figures the weather and fish won't cooperate.

[BIG PAPA]

I could not catch much off of trees till after 1:00 and that was just that one bank. the grass is definately the thing right now. Dan and I spent several hours Sun. pitching jigs to my favorite trees in Jeems without a bite. until we found the warmer water late.

papa

[mdegra]

Great.  Thanks for the advice.  I'll try it out tomorrow and let you know how it goes. I may go to Cross Lake on Friday. If I do I'll let you know what the temp is (and a fishing report).  Keep an eye out for me on Caddo. I usually fish by myself in a black Bass Tracker PT 185.  Say Hi if you see me. I owe you one.

[BIG PAPA]

I probably won't be on Caddo for a couple of weeks I have the ABA on Cross and then a Club tourney on Cypress on the 13th. After that I will be back on Caddo.
papa

[mdegra]

Well Papa, Caddo continues to be hard.  I ran up Jeems to marker 60 or so and fished some trees next to the channel with no luck. I ran up to marker 70 and fished the hydrilla with everything you can think of except C-rigs.  I missed one fish on a spinnerbait because the cold had lulled me to sleep.  The Temp was 44.9 around marker 70 and 45.6 around the landing.  I was hoping the sun would come out and warm the shallows a bit, but no such luck.  I think I'm going to go again tomorrow morning.  I ran into another guy who also got skunked, so I didn't feel so bad. 2005 has been rough so far.

[BIG PAPA]

Things may not get better until we have a little warming trend. In conditions like this sometimes it is a good idea to tie on a big jig and just hit deep trees.
papa

[casso]

Fished Caddo last two afternoons (Tues & Wed).

Tues- water temp +\- 53 started around scattered trees 4-5 ft with grass present ;jigs and tubes no bites. moved to 4-5 ft grass flat w/ hydrilla still topped out or about 2ft of water on top, 1 dink on a rattle trap and a jack fish. hit a couplke grass edges heavy jigs and traps- nothing. Headed to single deep 9-10 trees in texas jigs and tubes - nothing, but then I saw something I could not believe w/ 53 degree water temp, bass schooling. caught 4 fish in that area biggest 4.5 all fish were overs.

Wed- lost a trophey at the boat on a trap. took me around the boat 2x and finnally bent out a triple grip on the back and ripped out the split ring on the front, big fish. Caught a slot on a jig on a 6ft grass edge and an under on  a tree on a tube.

2 days 1 bite on wood, everything I've got has come from grass and there is alot of it.

Casso

[Ron Fogelson]

Man oh Man I hate to here you lost such a nice fish.   

[Trey]

Casso,
     Did you have a net handy?  I know sometimes even that doesn't help though.   Sorry to hear that you lost such a nice fish.

Trey   

[Gabby]

Hey casso - that is why I ALWAYS change out my hooks on Rat-L-Traps when I buy them.  I think Steve Alexander told me about losing fish because of the poor quality hooks.  That scares me about the split ring, though.

I hate it for you, bro.  Was it in deep water?  Red Trap?

[casso]

Thanks for the condelences, i think I'm over it now and ready to give it another try.

Trey- Yes I had a net handy, it was in the other hand. I didn't even know I had a fish, just a clump of hydrilla I couldn't rip out. She was just coming straight towards the boat (to deeper water possibly?), when I realizied I had a fish I immediatley picked the net, she was close at that time. It was kind of a cluster, she would come close to the boat then make another run around the boat ripping drag all over.I kept having to point my rod tip down in the water to keep her from coming up and fight her easy.She made a quick move up before I could and that was all she wrote. i should have just dropped the darn net and calmed down and finessed her more.

Gabby- always, always,always, switch those hooks. I like the triple grips, bigger on front smaller on back. I gueszs now I'll pay attentiuon to the split rings I use too. Oh well maybe next time, hopefully tomorrow.

Casso

[casso]

Sorry Gabby didn't answer you. Yes red trap. Depth- Boat was in 6-7, what i was fishing was 4-5 ft, but there was a thick grass edge and grass patches everywhere.
Later,

Casso

[BIG PAPA]

David if you get to Caddo tomorrow check out the pre spawn areas at the mouth of the sloughs . if the water is as warm as Cypress they should be.

papa

[BIG PAPA]

Fished Caddo today, water was from 58 to 66 degrees. Lots of bucks in shallow water. Caught 4-5 on spinnerbait and may have caught more but got tired of the spinnerbait. went to a Senko and caught 2 small fish then fished a jig the rest of the day in 5-6 feet. caught 4 on the jig one just over 5 the rest smallish slots. the spinnerbait fish were in very shallow water in wildcat creek and the other fish were on trees around the main creek.
papa

[Railroader]

just wanted to give a report on caddo a friend of mine fished yesterday ( tuesday ) he called me said he had broke his recored, he caught a 9.53 on a crankbait in 5-7ft water then a 4.6 and a slot all between 9am-11am. with the sun an warm weather the fish had moved up on the trees. something to try next time your on the water...

[casso]

Went to Caddo Tues. morning. Caught 1 under early on a trap, then couldn't buy a bite until 11am. Made a few changes and picked up 2 overs, 1 slot, 2 unders, and 3-4 dinks all in about 30 minutes.

Casso

[Mike Cork]

That was some change Any tips for a guy that hasn't been out there in quite some time and would like to stick a fish or two this weekend?

[casso]

Well, I haven't been able to buy a bite on a tree or pitching, even in areas that have historically been always been on this time of year. Fish moving lures (traps, spinnerbaits, and swimming jigs) where bait fish are present around grass. Wind is GOOD. If they aren't bitting on the outside grass line, try the matted stuff, or the inside.

I'm taking a budy out there Sat from Layfette so stop and visit if you see us.

Good luck

Later,

casso

[Mike Cork]

I probably won't make it Saturday but Sunday for sure and maybe even Monday. What is the lilly pad situation like?