A new Toledo Bend

The Bassmaster Elite Series, TroKar Battle on the Bayou, on Toledo Bend will mark the halfway point in the eight-event regular season.

The Bassmaster Elite Series field was on Toledo Bend on Monday morning for the first of three days of practice for the TroKar Battle on the Bayou. The April 14-17 event will mark the halfway point in the eight-event regular season, and the halfway point in the 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race.

AOY leader Alton Jones, a five-time Bassmaster winner (including the 2008 Bassmaster Classic), said he last competed on Toledo Bend in 2003. Ditto for AOY runner-up Terry Scroggins, as far as Bassmaster events go.

But any potential disadvantage may only exist on paper. Jones pointed out that fishing conditions at Toledo are so skewed from normal, he has just as good a chance there as anyone who competed there recently.

"It's about 8 feet low, so it will be a 'new' lake for me, just like for everybody else," Jones said.