Toledo Bend is “off” from what it was a year ago. That was a constant theme in angler interviews after practice and before the start of the Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend presented by Econo Lodge. There were lots of reasons given for the apparent decline from 2016 in this top-ranked bass fishery, including fishing pressure and loss of aquatic vegetation. Storms and unstable weather during practice further decreased any sense of optimism.
Fortunately for this reporter, he stumbled upon one voice of reason – none other than Kevin VanDam, who said, “What I’ve learned at every one of these (pre-tournament) meetings is these dudes are always whining, ‘Oh, it’s tough. We’re not going to catch ‘em.’
“And they blast them every single time. I don’t see how this is much different. It’s the best lake in the country. So I’m pretty sure they’re going to blast ‘em.”
Truer words have never been spoken. As you can see from the following comparison, Toledo Bend might be down a fraction from Day 1 of this tournament last year, but not enough to cause widespread panic.
| May 12, 2016 | April 6, 2017 | |
| Total anglers | 108 | 110 |
| Bass weighed-in | 517 | 524 |
| Total weight | 1,556-6 | 1,472-1 |
| Ave. bass weighed-in | 3.01 lbs. | 2.81 lbs. |
| 5-bass limits | 99 | 97 |
| Big bag | 29-5 | 25-1 |
| Big bass | 8-5 | 9-10 |
| 12th place | 20-0 | 18-3 |
| 25th place | 17-11 | 16-7 |
| 50th place | 14-11 | 13-12 |
| 75th place | 12-6 | 11-13 |