Hello, anglers and outdoor addicts.

There’s still a lot of boat traffic on my favorite fishing hole. As the water has warmed up about half of the boaters are skiing and enjoying the lake. However, there are still lots of anglers on the lake as the summer bite has improved. More about that later in the fishing reports.

The Sabine River Authority said the lake level was 171.27 mean sea level with both generators running 24/7. All gates were closed at the emergency spillway.

North Toledo was stilled stained, midlake was slightly stained but gets clearer as you get close to the main lake. South Toledo was clear.

Fishing report

BASS: We continue to get a decent topwater bite in the first hour or so in the morning. My favorite topwater is Berkley’s Choppo. We also are catching bass on a wacky-rigged General in pumpkin and pumpkin party.

We are catching bass on wacky-rigging a 5-inch Senkos in watermelon blue flake and mad melon.

We are using 10-pound test with a 3/0 Aberdeen hook. I use spinning tackle with my wacky rigs with a good combination Abu Garcia rod and reel. I use a medium-light action rod that allows me to set the hook hard without breaking the 10-pound line.

Deep Bite: The deep bite continues to improve with Carolina rigs and deep-diving crankbaits. My favorite crankbait is a Berkley Dredger. It runs from 10-20 feet depending on which model you choose. It also depends on which line the angler uses. Most of the time I use a 12-pound fluorocarbon with a winch that is made for deep crankin’. With this setup my bait runs 15-16 feet.

We also are getting a good Carolina rig bite with a Pit Boss in green pumpkin and Baby Brush Hog in watermelon red. I use a 4-foot leader with 3/0 offset hook and a half-ounce ounce sinker.

The 4-foot leader, I think, is crucial to my rig as it allow the soft plastic to slowly fall back to the bottom.

CRAPPIE: Tater Reynolds said crappie are still staging in their brush piles in 20-30 feet and were suspended at 10-15 feet. They are still eating shiners, Reynolds said, and their numbers and size are high.

The last two trips were 125 and 152.

Reynolds said water was so clear they were having to use 4-pound line instead of 8-pound to get bit.

Shiners are getting hard to get and some stores are selling Israeli carp for bait, he said.

“Not sure if that’s good for the lake or not, and people are starting to question it,” Reynolds said.

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Joe Joslin is a syndicated outdoor columnist, tournament angler and pro guide on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn. His column appears Wednesdays. Contact him at 463-3848 or

joejoslinoutdoors@yahoo.com or visit www.joejoslinoutdoors.com