Hello, Anglers. I loved the Christmas holidays with a house full of family as well as lots of food and football. Fried chicken must have agreed with our LSU Tigers. Wow! What a game! However, it has been great to get back to a regular routine which for me means spending most daylight hours on the water.
Some recent days have been cold and miserable while others have been very warm with afternoon temperatures in the upper 70s. Such is common for January weather in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas making the term 'winter' a hard sale to Christmas visitors from our more northern states.
CURRENT ECONOMY AND FISHING Cheaper gas has allowed anglers some wiggle room in family budgets for more frequent trips to their favorite fishing hole. Also, as a whole, outboard engines and tow vehicles are much more fuel efficient than older models which also is encouraging. As far as buying a newer model boat, boat sales have also been impacted by the economy as most major boat manufacturers have seen a decrease in sales.
However, boat show season is here and dealers are going to make strong efforts to move their products at shows all across the country. In the current financial climate, it is a buyers market with boat and outboard engine manufacturers following current trends of auto makers by adding extra incentives to the buyers of their products. One such boat manufacturer incentive program is Skeeter's ‘Buy. Save. Fish.' promotion that runs from January 1, 2009 until March 30, 2009, and offers cash back rebates as high as $2,000 on select, new, in stock and ordered boats.
Skeeter introduced several new models for 2009, including its redesigned i-Class Series, its WX1950 and WX2000T, SL1900 and ZX2250 bay boat. Trey White, Director of Marketing for Skeeter Products Inc., recently stated; "Skeeter is being extremely aggressive during these slow economic times, announcing an interest payment deferral program for our dealers, launching our ‘Buy. Save. Fish.' promotion aimed at new boat buyers, and introducing several new models for 2009," says White. Skeeter's helping hand to their dealers is also common in the industry as many dealers are also struggling to keep their employees paid and dealerships in the black.
If an angler is fortunate enough to be in a financial position to buy a boat, this could be a chance of a lifetime to purchase a dream rig.
LAKE CONDITIONS: Toledo is up slightly at 168.3 feet with both generators shut down. Water temperatures are 54 to 56 degrees with slightly stained water conditions on the north end, mostly clear at mid-lake and very clear down south. With some rainfall this week, the upper portions of feeder creeks are stained.
FISHING REPORTS/BASS: Most Toledo anglers are targeting submerged grass and deep brush as the new year comes on the scene. Slow-rolling a Stanley 1/2 ounce double willowleaf spinnerbait over and along the edge of hydrilla continues to catch big bass for those patient anglers who are willing to slow down their presentation. Crankbaits also continues to boat big bass and a pattern which has produced for the past two months has been working Bill Norman's DD22 (Deep Diver) on ledges which fall into creeks and river as well as working across deep points.
Lipless crankbaits (Rat-L-Traps and Frenzy Rattl'rs) continue to catch bass when worked along the edge of grass as well as in mouths of ditches and drains. Jig n pigs (jigs with trailers) pitched along edge of grass are catching bass in depths of 4 to 12 feet. On bright days, a heavy jig pitched into matted/thick grass and allowed to fall through to the bottom is getting quality reaction strikes. I suggest braided line for this...I use 50 pound Spider Wire.
I still am fishing jigging spoons and drop shot in 35 to 40 feet.
CRAPPIE: It is a mixed scene as far as crappie fishing is concerned, especially at The Chicken Coop. If conditions change, I will update on my website. There are those who have caught 30 to 50 crappie at The Coop and then there are those (several of these) who have caught only a handful of crappie while fishing there.
Is it going to happen this year? The later we go into the year, the less likely it is to come to pass. On those years where crappie fishing has been outstanding at The Coop, it usually has started mid December and continues through January.
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
