Toledo Bend & Lake Fork Bass Tracking with Telemetry Study Update with Todd Driscoll TP&W Biologist

Texas Park and Wildlife biologist Todd Driscoll shares with us what they have observed over the first 5 months of tracking bass with radio telemetry on Toledo Bend and Lake Fork. They are tracking both shallow and deep bass, 3 to 8 pounds every other week and observing what those fish do, how they react to boat noise, where they rest, where they feed, how they react to baits, survival rates, every thing we tournament bass fisherman want to know. This is part one of five or six total videos in the update Todd gives us 5 months into their two year study.
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[@williamriley2528]

Where the hell do you get water like that...???? Perfectly friggin' still....! ie... GLASS...!

[@johnkoons7163]

Thanks Ken! Good stuff!

[@joshuafoster6764]

I hate the fact I didn’t know I could do this as a career when I was younger.

[@dwyneguitreau853]

Awesome video man can't wait to see the rest thanks

[@kevinclark4154]

Dang Ken what a cliff hanger!

[@kevinwhiteman667]

This is so cool and yes it’s gonna make us better fisherman and increase livescope sales through the roof.

[@markzarzour5862]

Looking forward to part 2. When is that supposed to be coming out? Thanks Ken

[@KenSmithFishing]

it's out!

[@josht8071]

Todd speaks about casting on these fish they are monitoring, he said 10 cast with a worm, and the try the spoon/drop shot. I would really like to know if the fish won't strike either baits, and stay in position. Make a cast with some live shiners or perch. He said that with more pressure they stop biting lures. If you put a bluegill in front of them and no bite. Then you'll know for sure the are not feeding.

[@KenSmithFishing]

I had same thought, actually you'll hear me asking him about live bait and he waves it off, they are interested in how the fish react to us as sport fisherman, plus it's just a time thing, they are tracking a lot of fish and only get to go over there every other week for one day

[@EverythingBassin14]

What’s the deal with the ulm hat? I live in Monroe and wondering if u went to school there

[@KenSmithFishing]

One of the fishing team parents gave it to me and I like it!

[@therrellthomas9486]

Ken. Maybe I missed any reference to the potential effects of grass and or vegetation being killed by the state and or others? Was there any talk of that by the scientist concerning fish population struggles on Toledo bend and other lakes? Forgive me if I missed it. Seems to go straight to the low hanging fruit of potential angler pressure.

[@murrayntexas]

Great question 👍

[@KenSmithFishing]

Therrell, we talked about grass/habitat a little bit, and what I recall is that they have not (and I think never) sprayed to kill hydrilla. I know they will spray hycinth and giant salvania, but generally that's been up north (same at Rayburn). The loss of grass is from the high water, when the water comes up really quick early in the year it kills the grass because it can't get sunlight

[@l8tapex]

Fishing pressure..... More boaters, more money competition/tournys, better technology, better baits and technique.

[@austinsjunk]

If only the lake still had ridiculous amounts of hydrilla to break up all the underwater noise and give all levels of the food chain a place to hide. Kinda like it had in 2015-2016 when the lake was rated #1.

[@derrickhouse7063]

Dangumit Ken stopped right when it was getting good haha. goodness gracious Todd is a wealth of knowledge. Be sure next time you see him I along with plenty of others I'm sure appreciate the time he took to pass this knowledge along. It would be great if more scientists across the country could get on board and do these studies all over. The amount of data would be absolutely incredible.

[@KenSmithFishing]

I want his job....

[@ethandenson1114]

Ken, please find out how to donate directly to a study like this or funding that would help not just Texas Parks and Wildlife but also help Todd Driscoll himself. Would love to donate to a good organization or his team project directly!

[@KenSmithFishing]

Ethan I will ask

[@morrisonoutdoors8477]

Going to be an awesome series!! If you get chance ask him about how long would it take for Toledo Bend to get its bass numbers back up. Years? Thanks for the videos. Love the channel

[@danscholes9132]

Great stuff! I can't wait for the rest of the series. Big thanks to Texas parks and wildlife for sharing, to you, and your sponsors.

[@bobbyspang]

I’m so glad Todd is a fisherman! I think that is so important for him to understand the big picture and come up with these types of studies!!

[@KenSmithFishing]

completely agree!

[@southtexasbassin6744]

I was fishing a highschool tournament this past weekend and a big loud race boat came within 100 foot of my boat and went right over the brushpile.. I told my dad that probably will shut the fish off...within that same cast I caught a six pounder on the spot.

[@bigfish2827]

I’m looking forward to this

[@glennschramm9692]

I wish or state fishing dept (Michigan) would be this involved

[@The_Garmin_Guru]

Don’t be fooled Louisiana department of wildlife and fisheries is horrible

[@jarrodmcmillan7503]

Great stuff Ken. Thanks for following up on this study. If I recall, Todd hypothesized that many of the fish were suspending in the deep timber. Can’t wait to see the rest of this discussion.

[@cmarler1414]

Great information! Was looking forward to this video Ken. Appreciate the time and resources you have put into this.

[@BenEaddy]

Ken, thanks for spearheading the delivery of this information to us Texas bass fishermen. No one else is giving us this type of info. Hat's off to you. Very eye opening, indeed. I've always speculated that my 3 Humminbird MEGA Chirp units don't exactly attract the bass I'm trying to catch..

[@larrymosby5029]

Very interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing the next episode.

[@robertjacobsfishing]

Brilliant video Ken! One of your best so far. Can't wait for part 2.

[@Showmethefish]

I would like to see a start to a no graph no sonar tournament for at least a yr or two, and see how the results turn out.. Great job Ken .. always good videos

[@1961fireguy]

I think the side imaging and live scope type depth finders have a lot to do with it. The beam on a basic depth finder is straight down and cover a pretty small area but the side scan is going out horizontal and travels a long way. Interesting stuff!

[@murrayntexas]

Glad I was blessed to fish in the 80’s! Don’t think it will ever come close

[@jamesatkinson9833]

Great Information. I do believe bass do push off sometimes and come back after everything settles down over a period of time. Like a reset.. I have had this experience during tournaments and especially on large events.

[@tracynewman5246]

👍. Looking forward to the rest of the segments

[@shanehamilton6708]

It’s going to be interesting to see if some of those bass stay shallow through the winter, like 5-8 foot of water. I myself have zero confidence in shallow water when water temps or high 40’s low 50’s. Great video series!

[@KenSmithFishing]

Shane, this still blows me away but January a couple of years ago we hit a group of fish that were literally schooling on a sandy point, inside the grass line in 3-5 feet of water, 48 degree water temp, caught several small fish and one about 6

[@kensimpson8581]

This is very interesting, looking forward to seeing this

[@jaydoman7540]

Fascinating JUICE! I’m looking forward to the rest of the series! 20-30% is much more than most had any comprehension of! Anxious for the next segments & waiting, NOT SO PATIENTLY! 😜👍😎🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@louiswooley966]

Scientific fishing! Hes a smart guy, firefighter look lol

[@bassneckfishing2505]

Wow ! Good info thanks this should help us bass Fisherman

[@rdaniel3451]

Very interesting; looking forward to more!

[@tommygriffin9849]

Outstanding, great job Ken. Keep us informed on this.

[@billroberts9385]

Very interesting, did he mention his success rate on catching the fish after he identified them? Looking forward to part 2.

[@KenSmithFishing]

yes we talk about it later

[@davidmaeker4841]

Great stuff, Thanks Ken!!

[@skippeel4219]

Great interview. Thanks to Todd Driscoll for sharing the study results. I highly value the biologic data that informs what I am experiencing on the water. Kudos to the Texas Parks & Wildlife inland fisheries division. Sarah needs to give you a trim, Ken.

[@KenSmithFishing]

It's even worse now, my haircut lady went on vacation for a couple weeks

[@skippeel4219]

@@KenSmithFishing I suggest you consider a pony tail. You can tuck it under your cap while zooming when necessary. The bass and your fishing friends will not mind. Take care, stay safe.