Hello, anglers. Wow, what a blast of cold air! However, weather forecasts say that warmer weather is returning midweek and there seems to be milder weather all the way into the new year. With a large number of family members expected home for Christmas, time in my big Skeeter may be somewhat limited for a few days.
I usually try to grab a relative and get in an early morning trip while most of the guests are still asleep. However, like most wives, my wife is gifted at keeping my schedule booked pretty tight during the holidays.
LAKE CONDITIONS: Toledo's water level at midweek is 168.2 feet with one generator running 24 hours Monday through Friday. Water temperatures had climbed back to the upper 50s but receded back to 53-55. North Toledo is stained-to-slightly stained, mid-lake is clear-to-partly stained and south Toledo is clear. All major feeder creeks have off-colored water in upper portions.
FISHING REPORTS/BASS: Last week we had the best bite/action on deep water patterns with drop shot and jigging spoons. With the weather so mild, I expected the shallow bite to really kick in last Thursday and Friday. That did not happen for me. We had to rely on crankbaits, drop shot and jigging spoons. For crankbaits, we used Norman's Deep Little N, DD22s and Berkley Frenzy mid-diver in fire tiger as well as sexy-shad.
I had better success working crankbaits over points in 12 to 25 feet using 10 and 12 pound test Berkley Big Game and Berkley 100% fluorocarbon. When using lighter lines with heavy crankbaits, be sure to frequently examine your line especially close to the bait. Also, re-tie often. This is vital when coming into contact with brush or hydrilla (dense grass). Monitoring your line is crucial when using monofiliment line in heavy grass and brush.
One of my regular customers shared with me last week about losing a huge bass due to failing to check line where it is tied to bait. I usually cut off about 2-3 feet of line above the bait when I re-tie. As far as drop-shot, I am using Berkley's 5 inch Wacky Power Crawler in watermelon candy and am nose-hooking it with a #1 or 1/0 Daiich wide-gap hook with 8 and 10 pound test Berkley 100% fluorocarbon line.
For weights, I am using a drop-shot sinker in one-fourth, three eighths and one-half ounce sizes in both round and cylinder shaped weights. The size sinker I use is determined on how much wind as well as the depth.
In deep water with wind it takes a bigger weight. On my jigging spoon we are using a 1/2 to 3/4 oz. silver spoon with #4 and#6 Daiichi Death Trap treble hooks. We caught bass with drop shot and spoon from 30 to 45 feet.
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, Bill Norman , Daiichi, Jay's Carpet One DeRidder, The Floor Trader Lake Charles, Extermatrim Exterminating, Inc. and Stanley Jigs Inc. Contact him at 337-463-3848 or joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com. and WEBSITE www.joejoslinoutdoors.com
