Toledo Bend & Lake Fork Tracking Bass with Telemetry Study Update Video 4

FINALLY PROOF as to whether outboard motor noise, trolling motors or electronics spook bass, large bass, tournament quality bass 3 to 8 pounds! Texas Parks Wildlife Regional Fisheries Biologist Todd Driscoll shares with us what they are learning from tracking bass in Toledo Bend on the Texas/Louisiana border and in the legendary big bass factory Lake Fork. This is the 4th or the 5 videos we shot a few weeks ago with Todd sharing what they are learning with us.
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They are tracking both shallow and deep bass, 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 two of five or six total videos in the update Todd gives us 5 months into their two year study.
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[@robertlane370]

46% of the time it didn't...... is what he said and 24% were around the shad schools. I bet within 10 minutes some of that 29% returns to the same cover after the engine is off. Just like I said it doesn't matter over deep brush piles on lakes with lots of recreational traffic. Smaller lakes with lots of year around traffic it doesn't make any difference. I idle over every brush pile that I fish in water 12ft and deeper and catch giants out of them in the summer tournaments. Caught a 10.79 and 7.5 back to back after idling over it. . I win tournaments fishing them. I've driven over one and had two wake boats driving back and forth within 75 yards on each side and caught a 9.5 lber as they were passing by. The boat traffic makes the shad panic and this triggers the big fish to eat. Bass are ambush feeders.. Large Core lakes with lower recreation traffic per acre are more effected by boat traffic than a 5000-15,000 acre lake that has constant recreation traffic www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/kvd-bass-fishing-tips-on-busy-high-traffic-lakes/336008

[@Showmethefish]

Great stuff Ken I always like your style of talking points and production of you video's their very informative ..But.. I'm a poor boy fisherman.. I don't have all the fancy stuff.. I put the trolling motor down and get after it and use my experience.. I beat most of the guy's any given day .. Pictures are proof... I see most guys with their heads down all day like playing a video game...I guess it's the new generation of fishing... We need to start a yearly no graph tournament..and see how good of a fisherman are ya...lol..

[@jinxthecat3822]

Good information. I still and will always be against Livescope. Takes the mystery and magic out of fishing. Plus I will be dammed if I'm going to be staring at a piece of electronics while I'm outside in the great outdoors doing something that is primal. Like a teenage girl with her head in her phone.

[@lionelserna190]

Be interested to know how the bass move with the two type of trolling motors. Regular and brushless!

[@JeepersCreepers2013]

That's really too bad. When I was growing up on Toledo Bend in the 70s and I would go fishing with my Dad, the bass would school up like sand bass and chase shad to the surface. There was also tons of vegetation in there. I guess that was probably 10 years or so after impoundment so it was really new, but there was so much fish in that lake back then. Stripers, Largemouth, and Crappie. Pendleton Harbor was like the Mecca of bass fishing back then.

[@KenSmithFishing]

You know I always said I'd rather win on Toledo the Rayburn and fortunately I have!

[@billroberts9385]

Todd will know what you mean!

[@craiggrubbs157]

Could it be that 24% of the time that the boat moves the shad and the bass move with them?

[@KenSmithFishing]

I think the boat moves them, but that's what I've always thought

[@EverythingBassin14]

Do you think maybe the reason wind helps the bite so much has a lot more to do with hiding boat noises other than the idea of it blowing up the plankton and the baitfish following?

[@KenSmithFishing]

Nick I think it's a combination of all of that and I think it makes the fake stuff we are throwing harder to distinguish from the real stuff. I also think it has something to do with barometric pressure....so now you've given me a rabbit hole to go investigate

[@bmf88]

Ken Smith 2020. 🤣🤣

[@redrum5130]

If we remember. Last year on lake Athens. Ott Defoe asked a observing boater to idle over the spot he was fishing ( at the bridge). Stirring up the bait fish ( presumably) Defoe then proceeded to crush the bass. Resulting in a run away victory.

[@robertlane370]

He also found that spot by watching my buddy catch a 6lber on a crankbait as Ott was idling under the bridge. My friend told him he could have the spot if he wanted it. He put his rod down and watched him catch them.

[@moncorp1]

Livescoping for studies, for tournaments....yes. For general fishing....no. We're getting to the point where you're taking the sport out of it. And fish may haul but when you idle over them, but they come back. Just a matter of how long it takes. You even pointed out in one of the earlier videos that fish get caught, released and can then be seen with livescan going right back to where they were before.

[@bayoustateoutdoors9650]

Rayburn is full of grass, what happened to all the grass in Toledo?.....carp?

[@KenSmithFishing]

High water

[@bayoustateoutdoors9650]

Ken Smith Well.....Rayburn had crazy high water a year ago

[@edwardbonner2982]

I enjoy all your videos..however I didn't realize that you know the chet and his Family .I live only 5 miles up river from where the tragic accent happened. I've none chet and his father Chester Slayton for years. Just goes to show how small the world is! Thank you .. Ye

[@jarrett7977]

Will the data that Mr. Driscoll is holding be published to the public?? It would be amazing to read that stuff

[@KenSmithFishing]

I'm sure it will, but remember it's a 2 year program

[@jarrett7977]

@@KenSmithFishing oh wow, thank you for keeping us updated on it!

[@rickvann3489]

Fish on the Flats are there because of ideal situations arrived for plankton or other hatching source coming up from softer bottom. Current flow from wind, boat, etc. Traffic also redirects things. Flats are just now being recognized but they always have been fished by the good anglers and overlooked by everyone else. Ken let these guys finishing their thoughts...lol

[@rickvann3489]

So 79% of the bass are catchable in a brush. He used a 1/2oz Texas rig should had thrown drop shots from long ways off or other finesse baits.

[@josephpepper4690]

Well, explains why I do better on my flats in Toledo than hammering cover/structure. Somewhat agree, and disagree with outboard noise. I fished the Kissimmee Chain in Florida for 15 plus years, Toho, Kissimmee, etc.. and I applied the living next to an airport analogy. Fish, in heavily fished bodies of water, run over since they were fry, get accustomed to, and almost expect "noise" as a "natural" part of their environment. I have long believed it's what we do and how we do it while we're in their yard so to speak, that determines how they'll behave and react.

[@robertlane370]

I agree 100% with you. That's been my experience also.

[@rickvann3489]

No Ken at best you could possibly spook off a bass 29% of the time from the brush pile.

[@markrawlings1496]

An option, this entire video series can be summarized in one simple chart like you are using on the boat reviews.

[@mrm6610]

Good work Ken! I hope none of my buddies watch this 😂 great info keep it coming.

[@alanmcnally7268]

Good stuff Ken and appreciate both keeping it going all the way thru all the season transitions

[@daviddawson5136]

You should ask him about efforts to get grass growing in some of these lakes where it has died off since he agreed that it is beneficial.

[@KenSmithFishing]

to my knowledge I don't think they have made any efforts to add grass, but it will naturally come back, we just need steady water levels from Jan-April or May

[@Showmethefish]

Let nature take it course

[@kylemcafee9880]

Wonder if using the hydrowave will negatively affect things?

[@KenSmithFishing]

when they were new everybody I know had one, funny how many of us have quit adding them to our boats, I haven't had one on last 2 boats, I just didn't see any difference

[@markeustice618]

Great stuff! I’m with you I turn mine off a lot of time on heavy pressured schools.

[@keithray9194]

Todd brings up a point I've thought so many times idling out offshore. The shad tend to relate to an edge but not using that edge. I've always wondered about that and what the fish are doing to eat those shad

[@morganrhorer2571]

What % of Housen would you say is an “indiscriminate flat”? I would think it’s a very high number. If it’s 80%, then you’re basically saying 60% of the offshore fish live on 20% of the area, which is structure. That’s still a pretty good gathering of fish. Then you’ve got that 40% relating to brush piles and such on flats.

[@KenSmithFishing]

Morgan good point, said another way still the most likely place to get bit but also the most pressured fish

[@BenEaddy]

"Indescript flats".... WITH COVER!! Not a lightning bolt moment, right?

[@KenSmithFishing]

Ben question is how to target those fish, which goes back to my video with Kevin Lasyone where he targets bug stumps, doesn't care where they are if he sees one he'll mark it and fish it

[@jeffkitchens79]

Awesome content! Keep em coming. Good job!

[@derrickhouse7063]

I wonder if out of the 29% of fish that moves are bigger/older fish, and the one that stay put are your juvenile fish that hasn't been caught before? in other words it would be really cool to know the percentage of the age/size of fish that move compared to the ones that stay. there are so many unknown variables and circumstances at play, all of this is fascinating. thanks to Todd he is pioneering the research to understand bass on a deeper level. it is absolutely great and hopefully his research will spark others to join in .

[@KenSmithFishing]

Derrick the one thing to remember here is all of the fish in the study are pretty much 3 lbs and up, so they are all fish we want to catch in a tournament, but to your point I suspect juvenile fish are more likely to stay put, from pond fishing we all know fish get hook shy pretty quick after getting caught

[@cjfishtales2238]

Incredibly interesting. Another KZbin channel, "Fish The Moment " just did a video on how he's starting to see fish hanging out in what he calls "do nothing " flats. He's huge into electronics.

[@KenSmithFishing]

Yep, I think he mentions my video in that one, or the one he did before

[@dennysheraka1655]

this series and the boat reviews are the best things on the internet !

[@KenSmithFishing]

Denny thanks, that's high praise!

[@rockyraab8290]

Just to throw a kink in the chain of thought, while motor noise may or may not scare fish, it has long been known that a moving shadow definitely does. The shadow of a boat has spooked many fish.

[@KenSmithFishing]

wow Rocky you are right, fish are super spooky of birds as we've all seen, that's an interesting thought!

[@tomgates5696]

I wish I could give more than 1 thumbs up. Good stuff!

[@KenSmithFishing]

thanks Tom, comments are great as well!

[@bassneckfishing2505]

Thanks Ken for that very very helpful information i needed that it will make me a great bass fisherman

[@KenSmithFishing]

You bet

[@nutechlures6130]

threadfin shad are very channel oriented unless something has pushed them out of the channel, most of the time. they will move up shallow on a flat late in the afternoon to warm up. big flats offer a much bigger feeding table than a point, but there is still a highway for the bass to follow to get there. you may not ever understand where that highway is, and the highway can very well be the shad group itself. they use big shad schools as a shade layer. many bass just follow the food. they just stay near the kitchen. typically it is very hard to catch a good bass vertically above 35ft. above 35 you have to cast to them. most of the time many bass are on the move and do not stay in one spot. fishing for a single bass is very hard to get them to bite with no competition around. good reason that i spend very little time fishing for singles. some of what i say comes from 50 plus years of fishing. part of it is from underwater observation, and watching bass in an aquarium. big bass do spook from noise, especially when shallow.

[@KenSmithFishing]

makes what the young guy did over there last spring targeting those giant bass suspended out in open water with his live scope even more impressive

[@nutechlures6130]

@@KenSmithFishing i am not a young guy (68). i learned to catch these suspended off shore bass decades ago. bass make a living eating. they just never get far from the kitchen. find the kitchen, find the bass. you will find shad without bass, but rarely find bass without shad. one other parting shot. on these highland lake such as table rock, bull shoals, these mid fall and winter tournaments, a spoon in the hands of a pro can not be beat.

[@lifesadventure3661]

Very interesting. It was predicted back in the early 80's that the fish would, in time, learn to ignore noise baits and that "learning" would be passed to their offspring. Great video Ken.

[@robertlane370]

Not part of that video indicated that😂

[@pastorbillyedgar4986]

Great content

[@billroberts9385]

Interesting stuff, tell Todd EMAW.

[@KenSmithFishing]

EMAW???

[@ajkelty1]

Great video Ken!

[@ogles824]

First off Ken I want to thank you for what you do; enjoy the boat test and fishing advice. I fished out of bass boats for the better part of 3 decades and spent a ton of time on Fork in the 90’s. Raising a family I had to switch over to a 14 foot jon boat and currently fish out of that and spend time on Fork with this rig when time and weather allow it. It’s just rigged with a transom mount trolling motor and a Lowrance 4x fishfinder. The main thing I’ve noticed; having so much more stealth, is that I seeing tons more fish than I saw fishing out of a bass boat. From what I’m seeing it’s almost as if Fork is over populated with fish. They are literally everywhere. I’m getting bit a lot more too. I have almost zero noise and my boat doesn’t appear to be a neon sign like a metal flaked bass boat. Im watching your boat reviews because I’m going to buy another bass boat sometime in 2021 and I am seriously considering an aluminum rig because I feel I have a lot more stealth and definitely have a lot more shallow water capability. I’ve owned 3 tournament level fiberglass boat and a Tracker aluminum boat as well and I caught more fish out of the Tracker and won more money out of it than the other three combined and I owned it the least amount of time. My dad was big on being quiet and the years have taught me he was right.......

[@KenSmithFishing]

Do you think that maybe you are more effective because you focus on an area without the desire or ability to go running all over the lake?

[@ogles824]

Ken I did just as much running in the aluminum boat as I did in the fiberglass rigs when I was in a tournament, but that being said when I bought the aluminum rig it was partly because I had gotten married and had to set up a household from scratch so we had to cut expenses. I did a lot of trips to Fork where I figured out where I wanted to fish and put in at a ramp and fished close to that area to save fuel. I made a tank of gas last and entire spring and summer one year, but when I fished tournaments I ran like normal.

[@alexjackson2007]

Ken Can you do a Livescope video in the future?

[@KenSmithFishing]

Alex I will, still learning the technology and want to be good with it when I do

[@alexjackson2007]

@@KenSmithFishing Thanks Ken. You are connected with the Garmin Guru..Todd Driscoll. 😁

[@jeremypeveto807]

Ken I have had my live scope since last November. Anytime I approach a brush pile I shut down 200 feet out and troll in with the live scope. I have learned so much about fish habits since then. I have had fish react to a drop shot from 10+ feet away. I have also caught a ton of fish that were up in the water column by raising my drop shot to them and dropping it as soon they react. More times than not if they chase it they bite it or one at the bottom will bite it. I am guessing from the competitive nature of bass.

[@robertlane370]

If the commit to going down after it..they almost always eat it. In my experience.

[@jeremypeveto807]

@@robertlane370 almost always is correct. Sometimes if there are a couple at the bottom that have been ignoring it before will beat the one chasing it to the bite. But if he catches before it hits the bottom the fight is on. I find it amazing for my simple brain.

[@bartgrider6895]

Excellent stuff

[@terrybueltel8703]

This is so interesting! Thanks for putting this together!

[@KenSmithFishing]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rkmrbig]

Awesome video. Keep up the good work. Take Care

[@KenSmithFishing]

Thanks, will do!

[@kensimpson8581]

Thats interesting stuff. That tells me the fish know when they hear your bait splash in the water they know something is not right.

[@robertlane370]

They hear other fish hit the surface after bait fish every day..

[@kensimpson8581]

@@robertlane370 your correct, I'm talking about when your bait spooks the fish

[@kevinwhiteman667]

This IS fascinating in learning about their behavior. And you’re right when the fall comes, then winter and then into the spring and be able to track and see what these fish do could ultimately dispel what some might consider old myths or standards that maybe weren’t exactly spot on or more importantly, confirm ideas around movement and how fish react to many pressure elements.

[@KenSmithFishing]

I'm really curious to see if their ranges get bigger or change, I'm thinking they don't, but curious to see