Toledo Bend 10 lb plus bass count for year at 131

Stephen Johnson said on his Shreveport fishing talk show this morning ,that there had been 131 10 lb plus bass turned in so far this year - how can there be any doubt which lake is king in Texas

Haha lets keep this quiet dont want the word to get out, tried to buy up all the Bassmaster mags that has not worked so far.

That is impressive. No question.

As if the lake hasn't taken enough of a beating haha

I agree with reelswift, we need to keep that quiet Bill, Ha Ha

Wish I lived closer to TB, tired of all the [censored] that goes on at Lake Fork. Too many tournaments, too many guides and too many 70mph bass boats that have no respect for other fishermen. Man if I lived in San Augustine I could fish TB one day and Sam Rayburn the next. Don't get any better than that.

I never thought a 186,000 acre lake could get crowded.... Boy was I wrong.. A beating is an understatement

Was out there today and it was more crowded than anytime last year. And that's with McDonald's going on right down the road. 50 boats on one main lake flat.

Crazy. I think next year Falcon will relieve some of the pressure on the Bend.

How does that year run? May 1 to May 1?

Texas state tournament is this weekend.

Yep

That's why we were out there. Fish it every year and it's never been like it was today. State tournament is just over 100 boats normally. That's nothing compared to the armada on the water today. We fish the High School Tournaments on Rayburn with over 400 boats and it hasn't been nearly as crowded as Toledo was today. Biggest difference I have noticed is its even crowded during the week right now.
Maybe it will thin out some this summer.

Just got told there was an oil men's tournament as well. That explains some of the crowd.

Must be a lot not turned in. With the quantity of boats on that lake year round that number should be a lot higher. Or maybe some don't turn them in.

Some get dipped in hot grease some get mounted and yes plenty of them dont get recorded.

Lots of quality go to the grease.

I hope no one comes along and says that cooking 5 pounders is good for the lake but undoubtedly someone usually does.

I got a buddy that dont care how big just the few I know of in the last month 6.79, 7, 8.58 I get pissed at him but he dont care. The only fish I keep is the spotted bass and dont keep those very often.

There has been a few 10's that I know of that wasnt turned in pics and back she went.

I heard of a 15 this year but nothing to confirm yet.

No other lake turns in 10 lbers to my knowledge, so I don't know how you'd compare it. That's a lot of 10s if it's this calendar year. If it's some made-up year that's different from the calendar year, then it's somewhat less impressive IMHO. Wonder how many Fork averages per 365 days?

Im not saying it is good but it doesn't seem to hurt it if those numbers are right. Tons of big fish still caught even with all the big fish that are kept. Law says they can keep them.

Part of the reason you see soo many big fish there are the shear number of people on the water. It's like a McDonald's tournament most of the week during the prespawn and spawn. The fishing has been good for a long time

Main reason that it has gotten good is that the drought keep people and tournaments off the lake for 3 out of a 5 year period It gave the fish a chance to get bigger and they did . For several years if you didn't know how to run the river channel you couldn't take the gamble to get on a lake that low plus only a few ramps went out 15 feet further out

Notoriety attracts crowds, and when a lake gets noticed for that many 10 lbers, it's going to attract a really big crowd!

You nailed it right here I wish it would go back like it was before it was named #1.

Fork wouldn't come close I don't think.

The numbers are also impressive in just the size of the lake. You couldn't compare Fork and Toledo anyway your talking 180,000 acres versus 26,000.

There was 3 or 4 tournaments on Toledo Bend last weekend. That is why there was so many boats but everyone still fishes the same places and all their friends do to. But if you remember when they first stocked the lake with bass fingerlings they gave them to guides to put release and the most guides worked out of fin and feather back then.

i counted 42 boats at the Indian mounds mid morning on Saturday. It's crazy.

Really? I'd be willing to bet there are at least 100 fish of 10 lbs or more caught on Fork every year. Used to be a ton more in the good days.

At 131 in the past 11.75 months with less than a week to go in Toledo's "calendar year", there should be about 135 10 pounders caught from May 1- April 30. That's one ten pounder for every 1,378 acres of water. Fork produces one for every 270 acres of water. Fork's not what it once was and Toledo is fishing better than any other lake in Texas right now. Some simple math to consider before declaring Fork dead or Toledo "king".

Texas? One could argue anywhere.

Fork also has a slot to protect big fish Toledo doesnt.

I would guess that's probably half of what was actually caught on Tbend. I caught an 11 last year and didn't want to make the run in 30 mph winds to get it weighed. I'm sure there are others. I'm not declaring Fork dead though.

Just wait till the Elite Series absolutely smashes em out there, it will increase even more. Makes it tough on the regulars out there that are used to having it themselves, but I'm sure all the businesses around the lake are loving every minute of this... especially after the drought years that put many on the brink of bankruptcy.

I would think their are a lot of 10# fish caught that never see the books on all lakes. I know Fork who has a couple two or three guides whose clients catch in the 20 a year per guide. This doesn't even count all of the guides that have clients or just weekend fisherman who have also caught and released 10# fish. Fork fisherman [right or wrong] do not usually count it till it gets close to 13#. I personally think that any fish over 7# is a big fish. I do not think we can really determine which lake produces more ten pound fish in a year when most people who catch these fish, ever get counted. I think we are blessed and spoiled to have so many great lakes in Texas so when one is a little down the others will be producing. I heard the other day Falcon is trying to make a come back with big fish. just my .02

I hope a bunch of Fork fishermen and tournaments will go to Toledo Bend for years to come.

I do think Fork could use a break for a couple years with a few years of good spawns and some grass. We could then come back and hammer it. LOL

No, we want them to go to Falcon! I hear they are killing them down there again.

There's more good water on Toledo that doesn't get fished than all of fork combined. That's the crazy thing. The shear numbers of 6-9lbers is pretty amazing on Toledo. Lots of fish never see a bait. I can't imagine what it would be like if all the 3-8lbers were protected

If I may say so and I am I dont recall saying Fork was dead they are not comparible lakes by no means. Like stated above Fork has a slot and Toledo dont another reason you cant compare Forks big fish are protected. I fish Fork too and if I had to choose on which one to go to to have a better day it would be Toledo Bend. Im not like the Fork guys who think there isnt a better lake than Fork like most on here but hate to tell you guys there is better lakes than Fork but like I said never said it was dead you puttin words in my mouth Mr. Fouz

Fork dont know tournaments like Toledo and Rayburn anyways.

Exactly my point if it did good lord I would hate to see how many she could kick out then.

I agree from shear numbers but fishermen per acre would go to Fork because TB is so much bigger.

We were over there last year and caught a few 6 pounders that were the most beautiful things..... Not one scratch, red mark, hook hole, etc. It really made me wonder if they'd ever been caught or mishandled.

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Well of course it would. Just the amount of guides alone on that lake is rediculous. I like fishin Fork but as far as which one to have a better day I would go to Toledo. I remember first time I fished Fork I went with James Caldemeyer well I fished 3 days before going with him the day we went the first 4-5 spots we hit I had fished. My wife looked at me and said we done fished here well I didnt think much of it at first then it clicked hell its 26,000 acres arent to many spots going to be secret. Thats the only thing I dont like about Fork I have one spot on Fork that I fish that I have never pulled up on and seen anybody there or had anybody come in on it.

So it is 131 10 pounders in nearly 12 months? That's not that big of a deal IMHO. When the post said "count for the year", I thought it was 131 in 3.5 months, which was much more impressive. Fork puts out at least that many 10 pounders in 12 months, and probably more, and it's a fraction of the size.

Good for TB that it's fishing better than it has been. I hope all the Forkers relocate out there.

You sure about that? The 10 lbers from Toledo were weighed on certified scales, not 8 and 9 lbers from Fork that are called 10 lbers.

Lunker Program

T Bend had a measly 89 10+lb fish turned in since Jan 1 of this year.

I'm not jumping into the whole Fork is dead deal, I love fishing Fork and I believe just like Toldeo Bend is experiencing right now, Fork will come back with a vengeance. Heck, we should all consider ourselves blessed to live in a state where we debate which lake kicks out the most 10 lb bass!

Ya there is alot of photos of 7-9 lbers at Fork called 10's for the clients and one of the worst about it is a king on Fork. Also like stated above Toledo fish your chances of your fish never having a hook in it are high. Fork lots of sore mouth fish that there acounts for something.

I dont think it will reason being its kinda like a deer lease with too many hunters what happens it gets shot out. Same with such a small lake like Fork with the rediculous amount of guides and clients that are catching and handling those fish daily eventually will take a toll on the fish population Im sure.

Lamoon you bring up a interesting point. I know a lot of people say the guides on Fork call 7's 10's but I have fished with a ton of guides at Fork and just haven't seen that in the last five years. I am by no means saying it doesn't happen just saying its hard to look at a picture and tell how much a bass weights.

I have never thought about one point you bring up. I do believe their is a number of DD fish on fork that get caught many times during the year on Fork. I see were y'all are talking about fish on TB that have never been caught or you do not see holes in their mouth. That a long says their could be way more DD on TB then Fork. I do not think this is scientific by any means, I just thought it a very good point. I still agree with the point that isn't it good to have this many lakes that can even produce real DD's just my .02

I don't understand. How big are the tournaments on Toledo and Rayburn? Skeeter Owners on Fork has 1800-2000 boats, with these other lakes being 5x the size of Fork, do you have tournaments of 10,000 boats. If so what tournament is that?

Rayburn and Toledo have what seems like 3 or 4 tournaments every weekend from January thru May. Some of them pushing 300 to 400 boats. You add those up, plus recreational fishermen not fishing the tournaments each weekend and that puts close to 800 or so boats on the water every weekend in that time frame.