This STUDY Changes EVERYTHING We Know About BASS FISHING

This one bass fishing study may not only change how you go about bass fishing, but more than likely it will change WHERE you start fishing. A recent study done on Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas/Louisiana border tells us that bass fisherman may never even throw their bait in front of 41% of the bass population.

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About 7 or 8 years ago, Toledo Bend reservoir was experiencing some of the best bass fishing in the World. As a matter of fact B.A.S.S., the worldwide leader in bass fishing, labeled Toledo bend as the #1 bass fishing destination in America. Not only did they do this once but the lake was #1 for 2 years in a row. No single lake has received the #1 vote 2 years in a row before so this was a big deal.

As a matter of fact, studies done in 2015 showed that the average catch rate of bass at Toledo Bend was anywhere from 1 to 1.5 fish per hour per person. Which means if you and your buddy went fishing for an 8 hour day, on average you would catch 16-24 bass. Not only were catch rates high but the amount of quality and trophy sized fish being caught was also high.

However, after 2016 with the increase in fishing pressure on the 180,000 acre lake, catch rates were noticeably going down each and every year.

In 2019, another catch rate study was conducted and found that the average catch per hour was down to .7 fish per hour per person, which is a drop of nearly 30-50% in just 4 years.

Some people speculated that the recent high water, which killed a lot of aquatic vegetation, had a big impact on these catch rates. But it also sparked the interest of Texas Parks & Wildlife Biologist and avid tournament angler, Todd Driscoll, who wanted to figure out if the increased fishing pressure had actually started to move the fish and change their behavior.

After receiving funding in late 2019, Todd and his team set out to study toledo bend’s bass and their findings are not only remarkable, but they go against what many bass fisherman perceive to be as FISHING TRUTH.
Now I always like to give credit where credit is due, and the information that I am about to share with you comes from 2 interviews that Ken Smith did with Todd Driscoll of the Texas Parks & Wildlife, I will link his Ken’s youtube channel and the interviews down below in the description!

The main objectives of the study were to track bass over the course of a 2 year period to see their actual movements, this is a tradition telemetry study that has been done before, but unlike any study done in the past, once a bass location was found the team wanted to see how each bass reacted to the presence of a boat/motor being over their head! Would the fish stay put or would the engine noise scare them away? So many times when anglers are locating bass, they will purposefully drive over the fish to see their actual location, but does this actually do more harm than good? Also, unlike any study done before, the team would actually try to catch the bass with a lure by first casting to it from a distance with a texas rig worm, and then getting directly over the bass and vertically dropping a drop shot on the fish.

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[jaceunderwood]

I feel like this study showing that bass infact don’t move much should change the rules of some tournaments. No more weigh in’s miles away from the fishes territory, must be weighed and released immediately instead.

[gregblake]

I am 69 yo. Have fished since I was 8 yo. I only bass fish. I have done any and all to catch big bass. My equipment is quality. My patience has been earned. Once I find or suspect an intersection or bass trail I will anchor and present worms both T & shakey and jigs. I will fish for hours. Sometimes all day. I tell you it is a technique few will do. Earning patience is tough business. What this video shows is we are being schooled. Learn to change. What you think is not what it is, sometimes. Fishing today is harder than years past. Harder to me means to change how we fish. The bass are reacting to us. We need to adjust our preconceived notions. Thank you very much for this video.

[joed]

I’m with you Jay. I too am an old fisherman at 87. Yes I have a bass boat with some electronics, but they are very dusty from little use, only in new waters. I’m very old school and enjoy finding fish the old ways, with old lures, some homemade. I wonder where it will end. We need to get back to basics, enjoy the sunrise, enjoy wildlife, forget the electronics. You may be surprised at what you see and hear

[jayfalbo]

Really enjoyed your video and study. I also like your reverence for bass fishing.

I'm 75 and have been fishing for black, smallies, and guadalupe bass for 68 years. I consider myself very lucky to have fished for bass without the current technologies that "catch" most fishermen. Learning from old timers throughout my travels, I'd always would ask them what their favorite lure was and why. The "why" helped me understand bass movements and tendencies.

I believe there are many secrets still out there. Some have to do with techniques, weather conditions and attitude.

I'm saddened sometimes seeing some "fishermen" treat bass and bass fishing as a business. Sometimes, sun rises and sun sets outweigh focusing on technology and numbers. Some of my fondest memories recall the ones that got away. And, there were many.

I've been blessed to have fished many of the fine bass lakes of Texas: Medina, Calaveras, Conroe, Falcon, , Amistad. I just fished Lake Powell and had great luck finding some nice smallies.

Take Care, and thanks for the study. I've always had good luck finding fish where others never went.

Paul

[MrHabitat]

Tyler the amount of work and resources you must have dove into is honestly insane. Thanks so much for all your hard work and dedication to educating your fans and followers. Absolutely Remarkable job Tyler! Damn dude

[jasperredican]

The flats point is really interesting. In saltwater fishing, flats are a common place to look for fish. I had to learn that coming from my bass fishing background. Fish might sit next to one pothole in a sea grass flat, or in small little contours on the flat. Maybe the bass are doing a similar thing, hiding in almost imperceptible holes, or next to one stump where they can ambush migratory baitfish

[mxtacy]

This is by far, one of my favourite bass fishing channels, even though I'm from South Africa, and our waters are not as huge nor as deep as those in the USA. Its still amazing how I always learn something new from you, everytime.
This particular video has to be one of the most informative videos on the migration patterns of bass. And to condense it into a 20min video, that we can still understand is nothing short of brilliant.
RESPECT.

[wanderingoglethorpe]

Definitely an interesting study but I definitely think they need a larger sample size before we draw too many conclusions. I'd be interested to see them do this study on different water body types and in northern lakes where they aren't the primary predator species. Great video!

[daadwarland]

Great stuff as always!

If I were a bass, I would 100% move to featureless flats too following alien abduction and surgery 🤔

[MAB]

There is just to many studies, I’m 62, I started fishing when I was around 7 or 8, on lake Murvaul just south of Carthage, Tx, we fished with H&H’s black & yellow, 12:46 tiny torpedoes green in color, a swimming worm purple with a white tail, a Texas rig mostly black or pumpkin, just really anything we had, used a 14 John boat with a 7 and half Johnson, and we used a paddle and we caught 7 to 10 fish every time we went fishing, now I have a 85, 000.00 boat with 5 electronics on it and have a hard time just catching 3 or 4 a day… boy I miss the good old days of fishing 😢….

[CajunLures]

I predominantly fish Toledo Bend. My best spots are structureless areas that have specific pieces of cover, like big stumps or brush pile. This video basically explains why! Great video!

[JL]

I don’t own a boat so I already am not throwing my lure in front of 98% of fish 😂

[KenSmithFishing]

Thanks for the shoutout in the comments, was a fascinating set of interviews

[Oldbasshole]

The only “rule” a bass follows is there are no rules. So many times you do everything right and fish the perfect bait in the perfect spot and come up empty but make a crap cast and hook a tank that “shouldn’t be there” Awesome video, very informative

[TheFishJockey]

Hey, that’s me at 1:22 ! That was the fish that won the Bassmaster Open on the Co angler side in 2019! Awesome video 👍🏼

[ostenhartshorn]

Really enjoyed this one man. Being someone who kayaks with no electronics and not a whole lot of experience i really dig the informative videos. Keep up the good work

[emmettfitzhume]

I've said before and I will say it again. This is the best bass fishing content on Youtube/ TV. I have been watching fishing TV. Shows since the late 1970's and this is the best. Your graphics are amazing. The research you put into the content is great and it is that of a TV. productions. Great job again!!

[basfishermanallyear]

Man I love seeing vids like these with studies showing data on bass behavior. Featurless flats like you were describing in the vid, is where i think people like Mike and Kevin VanDam shine the most. True power fishermen like they are, are not likely to overlook these flats. Yes, these fish are randomly sitting in these flats, but do move in certain times of the year. Fish are still wild animals, which in conclusion they might not have a rhyme or reason to behave a certain way in a place where variables are changing constantly.

[farrzmd]

Great video. Thanks for the information. Makes me feel better as a bank angler when I can’t always find a way to a juicy point, dock, pads or some structure and I’m stuck fishing featureless banks.

[chirpinsquirrel]

High quality video. It kind of confirms some of what old school big bass hunters knew.