Hello, Anglers. If you are going to get more fishing time logged in 2007, you had better be getting it done. This calender year will soon be history. It has been a fantastic year of fishing on area reservoirs, rivers and local salt water bays and 2008 promises more of the same. Have high gas and oil prices affected the frequency of fishing trips by local fishermen? My sources says yes and when on the lake, anglers may also be fishing closer to the launch in order to conserve fuel.
We will continue this topic in future columns. I would be very interested in your comments on this subject. Outboard oil is another expense non boaters may not be think about. Quality outboard oil cost from $16 to $25 per gallon. My oil bill runs $150 to $200 per month.
LAKE CONDITIONS: Toledo's lake level is 167.7 and both generators were currently shut down at midweek, according to Sabine River Authority reports. Water temperatures are running 56 to 58 degrees on south Toledo. North Toledo is slightly stained, mid lake is mostly clear and south Toledo is very clear. As normal, the upper ends of all major creeks have stained conditions.
FISHING REPORTS/BASS: Weather conditions are a constant factor, but in December it seems like the factor may be even greater than normal. Especially this December with such huge, rapid changes in conditions. In a 24 hour period last week I fished in shorts and a tee shirt one morning and the following morning it was 32 degrees and I had on Gortex.
Also unusual, we caught a lot of quality bass in shallow water (4-8 feet) the morning the temperatures were in the low 30s and the fish were very aggressive. Sometimes bass forget to go by the manual. That is just another example of the fact that bass fishing is a challenging, lifetime sport and we never completely get them figured out. I would think this is somewhat similar to the female gender. 'Nuff said!
We are using multiple patterns according to weather patterns. Early patterns include working a Stanley Wedge three eights ounce spinnerbait over and through shallow grass. Frenzy Rattl'r and Rat-L-Traps are also getting action over the same structure as spinnerbaits. Mid-diving crankbaits are also improving as water temperatures cool.
Mid diving Frenzy, 400 series Bandit and DLNs are all great choices. For mid-divers, I mainly use Frenzy in blue chartreuse, firetiger and Tennessee Shad on 12 pound test Berkley Big Game or the new Berkley Fluorocarbon. A stop- n- go retrieve has produced for us.
Deep brush, 20-30 feet is holding bass. For this pattern, I use a Carolina rig with Berkley's Power Bait lizards and Jerk Shad in June Bug and green pumpkin. For deep brush, I also like a 1/2 ounce jig with powerbait trailer.
I will always have on a jigging spoon and drop shot rig this season of the year. To see tips on a jigging spoon, I posted a full article last week on www.joejoslinoutdoors.com.
CRAPPIE: It is just a matter of time. The recent cold front put water temperatures at the Chicken Coop near 55, according to local sources. However, the crappie have yet to show up in meaningful numbers. We get a lot of questions about The Chicken Coop. We will try to answer some of them next week. We will let you know when action picks up.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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 and Stanley Jigs Inc. Contact him at 337-463-3848 or joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com. and WEBSITE www.joejoslinoutdoors.com.
