Matthew Loetscher, Toledo Bend fishing guide reports that bass catching is better than ever. Lately, with Toledo Bend experiencing a drawdown he has been able to take his clients on some high number fish catching trips.

Here are three reasons why the fishing has been great.

1. Toledo Bend’s fish population is now in a scaled down version of the reservoir. This makes fish much easier to locate because they have less area to spread out in.

2. The lake being lower allows shoreline vegetation to grow.

3. The most important one is when the water rises in the future, aquatic vegetation can grow in the replenished, nutrient rich soil that was exposed during the drawdown.

As the water level drops fish will make their way closer to a drop off of some sort. They do this for access to deeper water as the lake recedes. Once the water level stabilizes and is no longer dropping at a fast rate these fish that have moved closer to deeper water begin to gang up in schools on the remaining sweet spots.

How do you find these sweet spots?

Consider a few variables: food, cover & water depth. The fish require a food source and on Toledo Bend the primary food source is threadfin shad. So first find an area where there is a conce

This deeper water could be a 5 feet deep ditch or it could be a 20 feet deep creek channel. Deep is relative term. But, there is almost always a deep-water highway nearby. This is the process he goes through every time he looks for fish. "It has served me well, especially when the water level is low," reported Loetscher.

Obviously all boaters need to exercise more caution when navigating Toledo Bend during the drawdown. Don’t run outside the boat lanes,  and pay attention to the depth.