Weekly Fishing Report Week of February 1, 2023
Toledo Bend
FAIR. Water stained; 52 degrees; 2.00 feet below pool. The water level is 170.09 with both generators running 24 hours a day. Water temperature at the Dam is 52 degrees. The back feeder creeks are muddy and flowing. The northern side of the main lake is stained but clear on the south side. The weather has been cold and raining all week, so there are few reports. The fish should get back on schedule next week with warming temperatures and clearing water. Bass are shallow out to six feet of water searching out cleaner water to feed. Top producing baits are bladed swim jigs, spinnerbaits, rattling flat sided crankbaits, and buzz baits. Top colors will be black, black/blue, red/orange, and white/chartreuse. The water warmed a little this week, so �¼ or �¾ ounce rattletraps in chrome blue back, gold, black back, and Rayburn red will be a top producer. Try casting in the drains and on the edge of grass or over the grass. Try this cadence: cast it out in a drain, rip it up, let it fall, rip it up, and let it fall. Once you get a hit there are more fish in the area. Another pattern will be targeting a feeder creek with a light current and casting a 3/8 to �½ ounce jig on a vertical wall with an eddy and letting it fall to the bottom. Top color this week was black and blue and white with a gray back with a matching trailer. The bite will be subtle, so watch your line, if it moves or feels heavy, set the hook. Crappie are starting to migrate to the shallows and coves. Some are still out deep and have been caught off the edge of the river channel. The Chicken Coop area is still producing good numbers of crappie. The white bass are on the run up north in the ditches, drains, and feeder creeks. Catching some good numbers of white bass using a small 2-3 inch swimbait, small beetle spins, or roadrunners in red and white, yellow, white grubs, and of course, the Clouser minnow flies in all black, white with a red head and chartreuse/white. Remember, it is always better to play it safe by telling a loved one or friend the area you will be fishing, how many people are in your party and the expected return time. Good luck and keep casting forward! Report from Master Captain Steve “Scooby” Stubbe, Mudfish Adventures LLC, Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide, and Mudfish Custom Rod Shop.
Sam Rayburn
GOOD. Water stained; 50 degrees; 2.68 feet below pool. Fish are going to stay deep until the weather warms. Bass are fair on rattletraps inside and outside of grass lines, and offshore near structure, deep points with crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Crappie have slowed with the cold water and continue n migrating into the spawning areas on brush piles. Catfish are in the creek and river channels and bend in 15-20 feet of water cut bait and minnows. White bass are running up the rivers biting jigs and minnows. Report by Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.
SALTWATER
Sabine Lake
GOOD. 58 degrees. When the weather allows, fishing is good. Weather is forecasted to improve for the weekend. North Levy and South Levy holding limits of speckled trout on live shrimp and swimbaits. Black Bayou and East Pass holding redfish on shell banks with live shrimp under a popping cork and swimbaits. Limits of redfish in the canals and turnarounds of Bessie Heights Marsh. Sheepshead, drum and redfish at the jetties on live mullet. Look for flounder to start coming in from the gulf biting on jigs tipped with shrimp. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.
Bolivar
GOOD. 59 degrees. Fishing patterns are similar. Fish deeper ends of the reefs or wind protected cuts with popping cork and shrimp. The jetty holding sheepshead and trout on live shrimp close to rocks. Yates Sloughs to Siever’s Cut holding redfish in the grass lines biting on cut bait positioned 12-18 inches under a cork with shrimp, or burner shad. Stingaree’s to Rollover holding redfish in deeper marshes on popping cork with shrimp. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
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