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Toledo Bend Reservoir Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Toledo Bend: the Sabine River Authority's 65-mile reservoir on the Texas-Louisiana line, with hydrilla, timber and a TPWD-managed bass fishery.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Lake level
167.85 ft -4.15 vs pool
Air / High
83 / 87 F
Wind
NE 2 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08025350, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Toledo Bend Reservoir offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The gauge reads 167.85 ft, 4.15 ft below pool, easing 0.38 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 2 mph, falling pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 87. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:52 AM-11:52 AM and 10:19 PM-12:19 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

CrappieGood

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassGood

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 85 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Texas requires a fishing licence from age 17, from $30.00 for residents. What a Texas licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with TPWD before you keep anything. The season dates for Texas, read off the agency, are on the Texas seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Toledo Bend Reservoir near Burkeville.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08025350. Conservation pool is 172 ft.

168.58169.93171.27pool 172167.85 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp83 F
High / Low87 / 48 F
WindNE 2-5 mph
Pressure1019.6 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:23 / 18:33
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Toledo Bend Reservoir this week

The best day on Toledo Bend Reservoir this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:52 AM-11:52 AM and 10:19 PM-12:19 AM
Minor period
4:13 AM-5:13 AM
Sun
07:23 to 18:33
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Toledo Bend Reservoir: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

When to come: the Toledo Bend Reservoir calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
Smallmouth bass
Striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Toledo Bend Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 86 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Texas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

TPWD (read today): residents of Texas or Louisiana licensed in their state, or holders of a nonresident license from either state, may fish any part of the boundary lakes and rivers inland from Sabine Pass. Limits for black bass, catfish, crappie and white bass apply on both sides: largemouth and smallmouth 14-inch minimum, 8 a day in any combination; striped bass 5 a day, only 2 of 30 inches or more. Some other rules, including alligator gar, differ between the states. A fish consumption advisory is in effect.

Access

On the Texas side, the Sabine River Authority's Pendleton Park Recreation Area on State Highway 21, just before the state-line bridge, has a 4-lane boat ramp with floating dock. The authority runs other Texas-side recreation areas around the lake.

About this water

Sabine River reservoir impounded in 1967, 181,600 acres (TPWD) or 185,000 acres (Sabine River Authority), on the Texas-Louisiana border.

Fishing Toledo Bend Reservoir: the full guide

Size and setting

The Sabine River Authority of Texas describes Toledo Bend as about 65 miles long, covering parts of Newton, Sabine, Shelby and Panola counties in Texas and Sabine and DeSoto parishes in Louisiana. The authority calls it the largest man-made body of water in the South and fifth in the nation by surface area, at 185,000 acres; TPWD's lake page lists 181,600 acres, a maximum depth of 110 feet and impoundment in 1967.

Cover and species

Hydrilla is the main plant, with native coontail, eelgrass, pondweed and lily pads also present, says TPWD. The lower lake is usually clear, and fish hold on vegetation edges, flats, humps and creek channels; in the upper third, where plants thin out, timber, brush, laydowns and creek channels provide the cover. TPWD rates largemouth bass the most popular game fish, with good year-round crappie and catfish fishing, and maintains striped bass with annual stockings because they seldom spawn successfully here.

Seasons for bass

TPWD says bass are easiest to catch in fall, winter and spring, when cooler water keeps them active and shallow. In summer the bite concentrates in early morning, late evening and at night, and as the sun rises bass move to vegetation edges, deep ledges and creek channels. Man-made fish habitat is mapped in TPWD's Habitat Structure Viewer, with downloadable GPS coordinates.

Common questions

Do I need both Texas and Louisiana licenses?

No, according to TPWD: a resident license from either state, or a nonresident license issued by either state, covers any part of the boundary waters inland from the Sabine Pass line.

What are the bass limits?

TPWD lists a 14-inch minimum for largemouth and smallmouth and 8 black bass a day, and says these limits apply on both the Texas and Louisiana portions.

Is the lake stocked with stripers?

Yes. TPWD maintains striped bass with annual stockings because conditions at Toledo Bend usually prevent a successful natural spawn.

Is fishing good at Toledo Bend Reservoir right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Sam Rayburn Reservoir36 miBlack Lake50 miLake Nacogdoches64 miLake Bistineau68 miRed River69 miCaney Lake80 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 08025350 β€” Toledo Bend Reservoir near Burkeville
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 17:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 31.5016, -93.7366 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 7, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 7, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.