Hello. I'm planning a trip with several friends to Toledo Bend Feb 21. I've never fished the lake but I do know it is a lake known for its stumps. I don't know a lot about electronics yet as I've always fished little local sloughs and recently bought my first fiberglass bass boat for lake fishing. The last thing I want to do is hit a stump with it. Does anyone have any advice on navigating it safely? Are there boat lanes? Are there ways to use my navigation on my Lowrance HDS7 to stay safe?
When I was there years ago a guide told me it's "Safe where it looks safe." It has marked boat lanes and I'd assume the new units are "fairly" accurate in showing them. Just use e little common sense and you should be fine. Our problem was the tornado that came through and wrecked the boat dock.
Originally Posted by d'Wayne
Be careful with that advice.
The boat lanes are marked fairly well and you will be ok with a HDS7. If you have ANY doubts, idle.
Get the most recent map chip for your HDS7 (I think Navionics is the only one) and the boat lanes are marked pretty well. They are easy to see when on the water as the markers are fairly close together but you need to pay attention for sharp curves in the boat lane. If you are not in a boat lane, trim up and idle along. Sometimes it can take a while to get from a boat lane to where you want to fish. You'll get used to bumping into trees in 30+ ft of water after you've hit the 300th one.....
2013 Ranger Z520c, 2013 Yamaha 250 SHO
2018 Ranger RT198p, 2013 Mercury 150 Optimax
My navionics cards are older, I use the lakemaster card now but the boatlanes on those are not nearly as accurate as the Boatlanes card. I have also seen the marker bouys drift out of position. For the few bucks download the boatlanes.com info. And idle anywhere other than a marked boat lane.
I agree, I don't trust what looks safe because I'm worried about those stumps that are just below the water surface that can't be seen til its too late. My HDS7 is brand new so I have a lot to learn and I've never had much experience with electronics. My boat was always used on Toledo Bend by the previous owner. He broke the pinion gear off twice idling through stumps. Will the boat lanes automatically appear on my map? Or only if I buy a chip?
The boat lanes are marked fairly well and you will be ok with a HDS7. If you have ANY doubts, idle.
The markers that show up on the lowrance mapping isn't accurate......either get the Navionics card or Boat Lanes.......
YOU are not entitled to what I have earned!!!!!
2014 Phoenix 619 Pro / 2014 Mercury 200 Pro XS
I live on the lake
it is not safe just because you don’t see stumps
navionics is a good reference but use the clearly marked boat channels. Even if you see locals running an unmarked area don’t try it your self. I run creeks I have fished for years and 5’ off will cost you a lower unit.
Yep. Agreed with BB318. I'm not an expert but I have been to Toledo a good bit. Only run when you know you're in a boat lane and can see the next buoy that you're headed for. Otherwise, shut down and idle. Makes moving from spot to spot take a little longer, but you'll see just how many trees there are in areas that "look" clear when you're idling them.
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Justin Mayers
At 172 and 173, you can take chances. Like running from the last bouy in housen, all the way into the creek, or past the bridge at holly park to the creek. I would never try any of that below 171, however the locals run it below 170.
boatlanes.com
cheap card to upload to the hds.
I was there just last year and the Navionics maps are a must. They not only help you find contours but also help you keep on track with the channel markers. Whatever you do, just take it slow and keep track of the buoys.
If the lake is 172', it's considered full. When it gets lower than that, the buoys get slack in the cable and will get blown by the wind. Try to stay on the upwind side of single buoy boat lanes. I heard a boat hit something in the San Miguel boat lane just north of the north Toledo state park intersection a couple weeks ago. It was a north wind and he must've been on the SE side of the buoys.
This +++111. The boatlanes card is pretty darn good. I see lots of buoys drift off. I tend to err on the side of the GPS. That allows you to see the lane general direction up ahead and line up 1 or 2 buoys ahead. And yes, watch the wind. It will drift the bouys to one side. I have never hit anything running the boatlanes using the gps and boatlanes card. My navionics must be outdated because they are no where near accurate in a lot of places, especially when it comes to boat lanes.
Thanks for all the posts. Each one was appreciated. I've came to the conclusion that I may not go or if I do, I'm going to be a nervous wreck and idle everywhereIf I go, I'll definitely try navionics or boatlanes.com. I live in Arkansas and fish Norfork Lake so I'm used to a virtually stump free lake. I couldn't imagine experiencing hitting a stump at a high speed. Looks like it'd be a very scary thing...and I doubt the motor would raise up when hit, like my little Mercury 25 hp that doesn't have power tilt. If I go, I'll be running a Ranger Comanche with Mercury 225 on Toledo Bend.
You would be surprised at what a 225 WILL do when hitting a stump/tree under the water......had a friend hit one in his Trition w/225 and he was only going about 35.....was not a nice sound and the results were bad.....any faster that motor would have been on the back deck or in the seat with him.....i was fishing when he was rounding the curve and i heard the bang and then the cursing started.....it flew up and busted the fiberglass in the splashwell, busted trim motor/rods, etc.....he had to get a whole new motor.....
YOU are not entitled to what I have earned!!!!!
What hasn't been mentioned here is that there are a ton of boat launches around the lake and you can launch very close to anywhere you might want to fish and never need to do anything but idle. On the Texas side you could launch at Housen (Fin and Feather), Indian Mounds (state park), Palo Gaucho (Harborlight), Patroon (Holly Park) and find a lifetime of water to fish without ever getting on plane. There's nothing remotely close to Toledo Bend in Canada either and I was a little intimidated by it for the first few days but I've gotten the hang of getting around the mid-lake area and can hardly wait to get back there in Feb.I've came to the conclusion that I may not go or if I do, I'm going to be a nervous wreck and idle everywhere
2013 Ranger Z520c, 2013 Yamaha 250 SHO
2018 Ranger RT198p, 2013 Mercury 150 Optimax
Go to boatloads.com, download the info and go have a good time. It's not bad, just follow the lanes.
Thanks for the info. I hope to be able to fish fairly close to the ramp. Another thing I should mention here is my dad is also going on the trip and he and his friend is crappie fishing. Me and my buddies will be bass fishing. But my dad, has always fished in a 14 foot jon boat with only 15" sides! He has always liked barely getting by and I don't know why. He has always fished local sloughs in it and it's fine for that but he wants to take it to Toledo Bend since its already rigged up for trolling with rodholders. I've told him, dad I'm not so sure you will want to take that boat, seems like it might be scary. I need some advice on this too. Thanks.
Crappie fishing at TB would be done mostly in tree tops, around the bridge or docks (vertical fishing/jigging).....Im sure there are some areas where he could have multiple rods rigged up and troll but just to get out there and start trolling wont work cause of the standing timber in the lake......and to have a 15' tin boat in Feb. could be dangerous unless he's in a well protected area from the wind......
YOU are not entitled to what I have earned!!!!!
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