February is a great month to catch fish in number and size on Toledo

Bend. The Bass and Crappie will begin staging and feeding heavy in
anticipation of the spawn and the Whites will be migrating into the
river proper for their annual “river run”.

– Lake Mohave

The bass and Crappie will start migrating into the coves and creeks
heading toward the spawning flats. Concentrate on the edges of the
creeks (main and secondary}, and the drains and ditches leading to the
shallow spawning flats. The male bass will move into the shallow flats
first making the beds. The females will be close by. If you locate a

number of males, back out to deeper water and you will usually find some

aggressive females staging in anticipation of moving onto the beds and
they’re usually hungry and aggressive. All sorts of baits can be
productive at this time, jigs, spinner baits, traps, soft plastics,
finesse baits, cranks and jerk baits.

If a strong cold front comes in and drops the water temp, back out to
deeper water. The bass will not move very far but they will move to

deeper water. Slowing down your presentation will help you catch more

fish. If we receive a large amount of rain during the month, fish will
typically move up with rising water and back out with falling water.

The Crappie will also start moving into the deep creek channels in

anticipation to their spawn. Work the bends and points of the channel

with jigs and shiners especially areas that have brush or cover. When
the Crappie move into the shallows to spawn work the flats with a shiner
or jig on a slip cork with an eighteen to twenty-four inch leader around
grass lines, stumps and Cypress trees. A Beatle spin or similar lure on
an ultra- lite spinning rig can be used to cover a lot of water until
you locate the fish.

When you talk about fishing in February you immediately associate
fishing the river proper for the annual White Bass river migration. The

Whites will stack up in the pockets and sloughs along the river. Road-

runners, traps and shallow diving crank baits can all be productive.
Also work the river channel sand-bars with slab spoons or live crawfish.


Greg Crafts
Toledo Bend Guide Service & Lake Cottage
159 Toledo Forest
Shelbyville, TX 75973
936.368.7151
www.toledobendguide.com
gcrafts@bigfoot.com
– Lake Mohave

Related Images: