(upbeat music)
- Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend
arguably two of the best bass fishing lakes in the nation.
If you were to sit around a campfire, a bait shop,
or at a fishing event
and talk about top bass fishing locations,
there's no question those bodies of waters
would come up on everybody's go to list.
For me, I've been fortunate that I've been able to fish both
of these bodies of waters for quite some time.
And there places that I absolutely love to go.
Why? Because they're plum full of large mouth bass,
and they also provide
constantly changing challenges for anglers.
I can remember going over there
a couple decades ago and catching them up
in seeny-beeny bushes as we called them,
and going back and those same bushes
being dry 20 feet away from the shore
or from the water line and immediately going,
"wow, I've gotta adjust".
And that's one thing about both those bodies of waters
you always have to adjust
because they're constantly going up and down.
One year there may be a lot of high drilling
on one of these bodies of water
and the next year
you can't even find a blade of that grass anywhere.
So from a bass fishing standpoint
and a tournament fisherman's delight,
these are two destinations you always wanna go fish
because they're gonna challenge you
every time you go there to be able to figure them out.
But one thing you always know,
there's a lot of bass that swim
in both of those bodies of water.
(upbeat music)
We're gonna launch the boat
on Toledo Bend real quick.
Set the stage, it's very cold outside.
Water temperatures are way before the spawn.
The fish, they're just coming out
of there wintertime haunts.
In fact, some of them are probably still that deep.
What we're gonna be doing,
is going just outside of the Cypress Rim Marina,
fishing around that area.
That area in the middle part of the lake on Toledo Bend
is well-known for lots of ridges, lots of drop offs,
and also known for a lot of bass fishing tournaments
that are held there.
So you're often fishing for fish
that are recently released.
Let's see if I can't figure out how to catch just a few
on this quick fishing trip to Toledo Bend.
(fishing reel creaks)
Ah, not very big.
Hello fish, I smell a bass.
(mumbles)
(water splashes)
Come here, buddy.
Little Kentucky, man he knocked the fire out of it.
Little Kentucky, his belly's bigger than his mouth.
(laughs)
That's fun.
Never gets old.
I love the color of those big ol' spots like that.
That round belly.
He's probably down there saying, "I need more shad".
We're just going down a drop off basically
a long ledge going in the river channel.
I mean it's where probably 80% of the bass tournaments
on Toledo Bend come out of right there.
A lot of fish are released here
and there are so many little ridges
and humps out here.
It's a great place to idle around,
graph around, and find fish,
and catch them.
Obviously, we're just looking for schools of bait now.
Every now and then we're finding some.
It's not like we're finding a lot of bait
or a lot of bass right now.
But when we do, they want to bite this high blue bird.
I mean you never see Toledo Bend this flat.
Electronics play huge role
in dissecting lakes like Toledo Bend.
I can remember one of my first trips over there.
I was so overwhelmed.
I didn't even know.
I didn't have maps of the boat lanes we had to figure out.
Much less be able to understand what's below the water.
Today, when you can look at the mapping on these lakes,
you can quickly dissect,
and get yourself into positions
that you're gonna be more successful.
So whether you're trying to learn the whole lake,
or one specific creek, mapping's gonna be a big key
in you being able to determine
where to go fish and how to navigate there.
Fish.
(mumbles)
Same size.
Another Carolina rig spot.
I've gotta wait for him out there now
on all three of these fish
that we've caught on the Carolina rig.
They've all been about the same size,
and they've all came out of the same little stretch there.
You can kind of see it
when you look at it on the electronics.
I've got the yellow
which is gonna be my 10-foot range right there
to get me up on top of that ridge,
and I'm just dragging along that drop off.
And you can see the drop offs
of all the depth shading.
In the lines on both sides of it,
coming around it.
Fish are probably just moving up there
to feed on bait fish,
and the Carolina rig is dragging along the top.
They're just loading up on it.
Soft plastic baits are a go to in this type of situation.
A Carolina rig, a Texas rig, drop shot,
lotta those types of situations,
you can basically mix and match
a lot of different baits to find success.
For me, I've always liked a fry-style bait.
The big bite baits coontail worm
is one that I really like to use
in a lot of these situations.
It's got lots of ribs on it.
Comes in a size that I thinks
gonna help you both catch big fish
as well get numbers of bites.
So when I start looking at a bait,
that's a bait that I've got a lot of confidence in
which makes it easy for me
when I first start fishing to be able to throw it.
So when I start looking at how I'm gonna catch fish,
I always, almost always at least,
go to a bait that I've got a lot of confidence in.
Oh, Carolina rig fish.
Not a very big one.
You know the Carolina rig,
come back here.
The Carolina rig, such a deadly technique
to cover a lot of water with.
You take a big half ounce or one ounce weight,
and you put it up top like that right there,
bead and a swivel.
In a lake you're based on conditions,
and you can cover a lot of water with it.
And it's a way that a lot of people fish off plastics.
And when you start talking about sensitivity and feeling,
what's going on, there's no doubt that a Carolina rig
transmits a lot of data up to your hands.
Anytime you can get out on the water for a few hours
and catch a half a dozen bass of different sizes,
it's a great trip.
And when you start looking at every trip you can go on,
you're always learning.
You're always evolving.
Sure, I look to a lot of my past history,
knew some of the general areas that I was fishing.
But also, threw a lot of my confidence baits out there
while I was trying to dial in a specific area.
When I went back and really looked at my gps slides,
most of the bites I had
right outside of the Cypress Rim Marina area,
were all on a place
that I had actually probably fished 15 years ago
in a tournament right there.
I knew the general area,
had to find where the hard spots were
for that particular day,
had to find where the bass were holding on,
and met that water level and caught a few fish.
To me, that's a great successful fishing trip.
- [Narrator] When we return from break,
Wade discusses one of his favorite bodies of water,
Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
Stay tuned for more Fisherman's Handbook.
(upbeat music)
The Fisherman's Handbook is brought to you in part by
Cabela's, it's in your nature,
Ranger Boats, still building legends one at a time,
and Yamaha Marine, reliability starts here.
(upbeat music)
- When you start looking at
Sam Rayburn Reservoir,
I don't think in the history of bass fishing,
you can find a lake that has withstood the test of time
like Rayburn has.
When you start flipping back
into annuals of bass fishing tournament history,
this is a lake that every major series
and minor series regionally has stopped at
at one time or other.
And when you look at the who's who has won there,
it's some incredible bass fishing names.
And when you look at the styles
that they've caught their fish in
over the decades of fishing tournaments there,
you're gonna find a wide range of fishing styles
and techniques that have proven and paid off
based on the water level and the time of the year.
Sam Rayburn is one of those bodies of water,
when it's cold and high,
or low and flooded,
or whatever it may be, it's gonna challenge you
as an angler to try to figure them out.
And for me, figuring out the puzzle
is always something that I love to do.
It doesn't take much to see what we've got here.
You can see what I call the hay grass,
and that's gonna come out a pretty good ways out.
Cuz the lake has come up,
and that grows all summer long.
Depending on the ebb and flow,
sometimes you'll see the water way back
up the pines on this lake.
And right now it's kinda in between.
It's not enough water in the boat brush,
you're gonna have that hay grass coming out,
there'll be some inside grass lines,
who knows what else is out here.
I haven't been in this area of the lake
in probably 10 years.
So this really looks good to me.
Be a lot of good stuff to fish.
We can fish here, and the winds gonna be comfortable.
The fish are probably wanting to get back.
We just got to figure out what kind of cricket
they want to bite on.
Here in the wintertime,
I've always found that there's a small window
I feel like when the fish really feed.
And it could be tied to the mid afternoon warmups,
could be tied to weather changes, cloud cover,
whatever it may be.
And often times, I've found in the winter,
you're dealing with high pressure.
You're dealing those clear blue bird skies out there.
And I've always felt that those days
that look like they're perfect for picnics,
are some of the worst fishing conditions you're gonna find.
But there's always a way to catch fish,
to trick them into getting a few bites,
and you as the angler just have to figure that out.
Come here, buddy.
He hit it on the fall.
(fishing reel creaks)
Whoa!
You're a mean one.
I like mean ones when they're green.
This time of the year they get a little mean.
(water splashes)
Come here, buddy.
He liked what we were throwing there.
We've really actually been out here
for about three hours, and that's our first bite.
Not a giant by any means,
but I've been struggling just to dial in what to do.
I've downsized to a very small aruku shad.
And hopefully we can figure something out
in the backs of these pockets.
I would think I should be able to catch
quite a few right at this type of stuff.
It just makes all the sense in the world.
The thing about Rayburn that I always tell myself
in the back of my mind is,
they're biting somewhere somehow someway.
And that window of time is gonna open for you,
if you just keep your head down,
and you throw high-percentage baits
in high-percentage places.
Rayburn is one of these bodies of water
that when you find them,
it's not uncommon to get a lot of bites really quick
in a certain area.
So when I'm fishing over on Rayburn,
I always have that mindset.
I'm always looking for the holy grail.
I'm always looking for a big school.
I'm always looking for the right spot.
And I'm also often rotating my baits.
Now when I have a high blue bird sky
or a situation like I know
the fish are not gonna be super aggressive
in the wintertime,
I will slow down.
But the rest of the time,
I want to take the fight to them
until I can get a bite.
There's one.
Never got the hook in this one either.
He's starting.
A pretty good one here.
He's a three or four pounder here.
He came way out in the middle of the drain
and a lot of these other ones I've been catching.
Oh yeah, that's the size you're looking for right there.
That's the size you're looking for right there.
You're better.
He came more out in the middle of the drain.
A lot of these other ones have been coming
kinda in between the.
Honey, I'm gonna take you back to the back,
back here where I can really lift you.
He came more out in the middle of the drain.
It's just a big ol' female that's
probably sitting out there on that hay grass.
We're gonna let this one go.
- [Narrator] After the break, we go back out to Sam Rayburn.
This time with tour pro Mark Daniels Jr.
targeting pre-spawn bass up shallow.
(upbeat music)
The Fisherman's Handbook is brought to you in part by
Garmin, fight your fish not your fish finder,
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and Engel Coolers, a legend in reliability.
Welcome back to the Fisherman's Handbook.
In today's episode, Wade is sharing insight and tips
on his favorite lakes to fish in east Texas.
Before the break, Wade highlighted Sam Rayburn Reservoir
and emphasized how in the early spring
on this particular body of water,
one can get rich quickly
if you find an active school of fish.
We take a look now at another trip
toward the first part of the year on Sam Rayburn.
This time, Wade's joined by bass master elite series pro,
Mark Daniels Jr.
With the fish in a pre-spawn pattern
and cloudy, windy conditions,
the two anglers are in search of one little clue
to help get them dialed in on some hungry fish.
- [Wade] (mumbles) He's been there the whole time.
- [Mark] Nice. Nice.
On the board Wade.
- Like I said, every bite counts in my book.
Future Rayburn nine pounder.
- Anytime You're fishing these lakes,
even if you're familiar with them,
it's always amazing how
immediately you wanna fish history.
I've caught them in this area before,
doing this doing that.
But it's always amazing how more times than not,
you're gonna end up catching them on something new,
trying something new and learning as you go.
And that's one of the things
I really enjoy about bass fishing
is cuz it's really never the same.
Sure, we have baits and techniques
that we have had success with.
Every time we hit the water, it's a new experience.
It's a new challenge.
It's another victory,
and you learn something.
You never stop learning.
- (mumbles)
- Come here little sucker.
- (laughs)
- Look at that, he crushed that thing too.
- I like it when they crush it
cuz those are the ones that hook themselves.
- They hook themselves real good.
- I like that. (laughs)
- He got himself some. A buck bass.
Little red in his eyes.
Where's your girlfriend at, buddy?
- You know up in the deer stand,
one thing about it is that I can remember
from years of fishing it,
there's always gonna be some fish moving up shallow
that time of the year.
We're kind of in that early spring.
Water temperatures are just creeping into the 60.
I keep thinking we're gonna hook a few big ones.
We've caught quite a few fish now
on a trick stick and some other soft plastics.
The winds blowing down a bank we've already fished.
I keep thinking to myself,
I need to go down that bank
because I've had great experience on that bank in the past.
And Mark picks up
a swim jig basically,
and he starts throwing it out there
and getting some bites.
(boat creaks)
Got him?
- No.
- Good one?
- Not that good.
He just mad.
- They're all mad. (laughs)
Like it? (mumbles)
(Mumbles) on a moving bait,
we just haven't seen a lot of that today.
- There's your pre-spawn.
- There she is. (laughs)
- Fat girl. Right there.
- It's a nice fish.
- And that just makes all the sense in the world.
- Pre-spawn, healthy,
out here getting that last snack
before she go drop those eggs.
Thank you, sweetheart.
- I noticed when we came through here earlier.
I was looking at the map,
and I could see all the different colors
where we had a little ledge coming up here.
That's why I wanted to come back through here.
You caught that fish right
where all those colors come together
on the depth shading.
- That's awesome. Right there in that break.
- Now we're on top of it. Yeah.
- Started to put a little piece of the puzzle together.
Let the wind kind of be our friend technique.
And started picking up some moving bait,
some vibrating jigs, and we caught a few nice fish.
Wade lost a really nice one.
(fish reel creaks)
(shouts)
But that's part of it.
Just that one indication,
noticing the wind, noticing the water temp,
which stage the fish should be in,
just that one little piece of the puzzle
led us into catching several bass.
So paying attention can be really key.
(fishing reel creaks)
Yes.
- He ate that thing deep.
- That was hung and popped.
And right when that sucker popped outta there
he said, "dinnertime".
- (laughs)
- That looks like filet mignon, guys.
- I'm a have me a piece of that.
- [Narrator] Next on the Fisherman's Handbook,
top water fishing can be one of the most exciting ways
to catch fish.
Find out which technique Wade prefers
when fishing flooded vegetation.
(upbeat music)
- The Fisherman's Handbook is brought to you in part by
Gill Technical Fishing Gear,
Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor, swift, silent, secure,
and Spro, sports professionals.
- [Wade] We spent a lot of time
looking at Rayburn and Toledo in today's show,
and showing you some fairly cold weather,
tough fishing conditions as far as I'm concerned
a lot of high blue bird skies,
bundled up like bank robbers, gloves on, jackets on,
all the Gortex on, got the guide we're on,
insulated underwear trying to keep everything warm.
But one of the things about Rayburn
that we cannot dismiss
is the opportunities when that water gets high,
and the temperatures get up,
and those fish get in that inside grass line.
Rayburn is famous for having
what a lot of people will call hay grass
and just inside that hay grass
a lot of times water comes up
those fish will spawn,
and when they do that,
and they're moving into the post-spawn,
it can be some of the best times of the year
to take a hollow-bodied frog
like the Spro spittin shad or a bait similar to that
and throw it in that inside grass line and hold on.
(fishing reel creaks)
(mumbles) I don't think so.
It's so fun to do
when you can throw that thing down there
and (mumbles) you just think it's gonna be
a nine pounder every time.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it's just a bass.
But I'll tell you what,
never gets old when you get one like that
to blow up on a frog.
(fishing reel creaks)
(mumbles)
When you look at the designs on these hollow-bodied frogs
that Spros come out with, Dean Rojas,
the master of frog fishing in my opinion,
has designed several different sizes of bait,
several different styles of bait,
to be able to make it adaptable for you as a fisherman
to fish situations exactly like this.
Let's learn from Dean a little bit more
about the Spros spittin shad now.
- Hey folks, Dean Rojas here,
and I'm hanging out with my best friend
in a beautiful backdrop.
It's got frog written all over it.
Well, this is the new spit shad we came out with last year
and is becoming one of my favorite baits to throw
in so many different circumstances.
And what's so great about it,
and what's different from it from our poppin frog
and our regular bronze-eye, is our cup lip,
but we also have a release here
on the bottom of the bait itself.
Now this in itself, will help the frog come through the pads
ten times better than our poppin frog
and will create just as much commotion
as our 65 bronze-eye.
So when you can build something
that's in between two great baits,
you're gonna build one that's even better
than the ones before.
And the great thing about it too,
we have the inline tails in the back
which creates less friction in the back
which loosens up the back end
makes it walk so good.
Especially when you're fishing around sparse vegetation
where you have holes in the grass,
and you wanna get it next to a piece of cover.
It has ideal walking power,
and the cup itself spits water.
It's a different sound.
It's different than the chugging.
It's different than everything else that's on the market.
So be looking for it.
The Spro spittin shad at all your great retail markets.
- [Narrator] That'll do it
for the Cabela's Fisherman's Handbook.
We'll see ya next time.
(upbeat music)
- God (laughs)
I thought that fish may be the fastest fish alive.
- Dude, it was.
- That's the Usain Bolt of fish.
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