By now, most bass anglers know that Toledo Bend Reservoir has been named as the Number 1 Bass Fishing Lake in the Nation by Bassmaster magazine for a second year in a row.

The higher production of lunkers and high spring tournament results such as 38.15 lbs. for 5 fish, and catches as large as 42 lbs. kept the largest man-made lake in the South number one for a second year.

Through August 2016, 819 double-digit bass have been caught, entered into the Texas and Louisiana lunker program, and released back into the lake to continue the trophy legacy.

Hundreds of tournaments have been held annually on Toledo Bend, and even national circuits including Bassmaster and FLW have made regular stops.

The big question: Why? First is the structure of the lake. “This is a very unusual lake by the very nature of what it is,” long-time guide John Dean Jr. noted. “It’s a flooded forest.”

Kristie Butler, lead biologist at the Louisiana Booker-Fowler Hatchery describes the lake as an ideal habitat with ideal fish genes creating environment for bass.

Toledo Bend Lake Country’s Linda Curtis-Sparks, who has championed the reservoir since 1989, noted this structure as one of the things that makes the lake so productive.

Catching a Toledo Bend trophy bass in the Dog Days of Summer:

The pros suggest switching to big artificial lures. At this time of the year the bait fish have become fat and sassy; they are large. The bass feed on big profiles.

Toledo Bend fishing guide, John Dean, likes a Zoom Old Monster 10-inch red bug plastic worm. Plum apple and June Bug/red colors are not bad either.

Dean says deep milfoil or coontail grass, if you can find some on Toledo Bend, could produce a lunker.

Jason Sealock, a Bassmaster professional, recommends starting your hunt for big bass on main lake points and along big secondary points in creeks and bays.

Both agree that in late summer there could be plenty of big bass in the 29-35 foot depths. A jigging spoon is good choice for the fish.

Sealock likes large swimbaits, such as the soft plastic Huddleston, Rago 999 Line Thru, Berkley Slim Shad andBerkley Swim Shad. In hard baits he likes a Bull Shad and a Spro BBZ-1.

A 10-inch worm might seem big. Until you put a much larger, thicker 12- or 14-inch worm next to it. “You don’t have to always just drag them along,” advises Sealock. A lift and drop and even stroking the worm way off the bottom and letting it swim back works great. Sometimes swimming those big worms around grass or slowly over a deep point works wonders.

Deep diving crankbaits such as the Strike King 10XD and the Lucky Craft SKT dive deep and catch big bass.

A big bass will attack a big bait on the top. The Heddon Chug’n Spooks, Ima Big Stick, Big Smithwick Redfins and other big topwater lures that the saltwater guides like to use could produce the trophy that you are looking for.

If you don’t have any “trophy” big baits in your arsenal, now would be a good time to purchase a couple, fish them on Toledo Bend, and see what happens. Fishing a big lure is slow going and it takes a lot of patience. It can also be tiring on the body, but you could end up with something big.