Current Fishing Report for Sam Rayburn Reservoir

Sam Rayburn Reservoir Fishing Report
for
February 1, 2010

Milder weather is slowly getting things back to normal but cold water temperatures took a toll on last weekend's Skeeter Boats Bass Champs East Texas Series. Pete Shivers of Kirbyville, TX and Doyle Tibbits of Broaddus, TX captured the first place check of $20,000 with just over 19 pounds of bass. Last year (January 2009) on Big Sam at the same event there were 8 teams catching over 20 pounds and in-the-money cutoff was nearly 16 pounds whereas Saturday about 12.2 pounds got you a check. Cold water temperatures was the major difference.

According to some of the top finishers, Bill Lewis's Rat-L-Traps played an important part in their getting paid. The winners, Shivers and Tibbits, reported throwing Traps all day long and hitting about 15 spots targeting drains and ditches in 4-6 feet of water. The runner-up team reported using jigs and Traps to catch their 17.58 pound stringer and caught bass from 6 to 25 feet. The biggest bass of the tournament, caught by southeast Texas angler Jason Gates, was a large 10.24 pound bass that hit a 3/4 ounce Rat-L-Trap(fire tiger) in about 8 feet of water. According to LakeCaster reports Gates caught the fish with only 5 minutes left before heading to weigh-in and they only had 4 bass. Again, just another reminder for all of us to not give up until the fat lady sings.

The continuing impact of the economy is a huge concern weighing heavily on the minds of those in the fishing/boating industry as well as tournament organizers all over the country. Even the major organizations of B.A.S.S. and FLW have been impacted and some sponsorships have changed. Their tournament angler quotas were slower this year to fill up because many pros lost sponsorships or had sponsorships downgraded making it tougher for them to stay on the road full-time.

However, the pieces of the 2010 tournament puzzles seem to be slowly coming together as anglers appear to feel more comfortable with jobs and income with even boat sales showing improvement. I talked to Gerald Link of Lake Area Marine at the recent Lake Charles boat show and he stated that they had very good response from local anglers and sold several new units stating that he was very encouraged. In another encouraging comparison, I looked at the number of 2-angler teams to fish the January Skeeter Bass Champs on Rayburn in January 2009 which was 272 teams and last week, January 2010, there were 266 teams which is a very minimal decrease. Things are looking up and we are thankful!

Joe Joslin Outdoors
Licensed Guide on Toledo Bend & Sam Rayburn
Tournament Angler & Outdoor Media
Member: Louisiana Outdoor Writers Assoc.& Southeastern Outdoor Press Assoc
160 Country Lane, DeRidder, LA 70634
Phone: (337) 463-3848
E-Mail: JoeJoslinOutdoors@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2007 by Joe Joslin Outdoors, DeRidder, LA 70634