Whenever there’s a tournament on Toledo Bend or Sam Rayburn, Todd Faircloth will be considered one of the favorites. He grew up fishing these two big Texas bass factories.
So it was no surprise to see Faircloth weigh one of the seven 20-pound bags on Day 1. Faircloth caught a 5-pounder today at 1:22, according to BASSTrakk, which has moved him up to 3rd place in the unofficial standings with 15-13. As many days as Faircloth has spent here, the size of Toledo Bend continues to astound him.
“Some of the creeks on this lake are as big as some lakes,” he said. “I’ve fished this lake since I was 12 years old. I came over here before (tournament) cut-off, and I ran a boat lane I’ve never run before in my life. I could live here the rest of my life and not see it all.”
Toledo Bend at full pool covers 185,000 acres. When a lake is this big, it further accents the fact that largemouth bass spawn at various times, and not in one big wave.
“You’ll have major pushes, but you have to keep that in mind,” Faircloth said. “I caught some post-spawn and I caught some pre-spawn fish (Thursday). If you can get in that zone where they’re coming and going, your opportunities are better.”
Despite his familiarity with this lake, Faircloth has qualified to fish on the final day only once, in 2014, when he finished 9th. His other Elite Series performances on Toledo Bend were 57th in ’16, 15th in ’12 and 17th in ’11. However, it will surprise no one if Faircloth contends for the title this week.
“I’m known as a grass fisherman,” he said. “Whenever it’s around, I feel pretty comfortable.”
Photo by Bassmaster Marshal Lawson Tilghman