The Louisiana-Texas line follows the old Sabine River channel down through the middle of Toledo Bend. Nearly 42 percent of the 186,000-acre reservoir sits in Texas, so anglers must comply with two sets of laws.

Anglers with either state license can fish anywhere in the sprawling reservoir, but in Louisiana waters, anglers can keep up to 50 crappie per day of any size, regardless of where they launch or which license they carry. In Texas waters, anglers may still keep 50 crappie per day in any combination of black and white crappie, but each must measure at least 10 inches long. People may legally catch a Louisiana limit of 9-inch fish, but they could get in trouble if stopped in Texas waters with undersize fish at the wrong time. And from Dec. 1 through the end of February each year, anglers in Texas waters must keep the first 50 crappie they catch, regardless of size.

This spring, anglers throughout Toledo Bend should find the fishing great, as several good spawning years have produced a lot of large fish. Crappie generally begin spawning when water temperatures reach about 65 degrees, but different parts of the lake warm at different rates, so the spawn might stretch across several months.

Historically, Toledo Bend crappie spawn in April, when water warms in shallow coves on the northern end of the lake. At the deep, clear southern end, crappie might spawn as late as June.

In a deep lake like Toledo Bend, crappie often gather in large schools in early spring. They suspend beneath baitfish along the edges of the old Sabine River channel and other major creeks. The Chicken Coop area, a deep channel along the Texas side of the channel just north of Pendleton Bridge, can often turn out excellent catches.

SALINE/LARTO COMPLEX
East of Toledo Bend lies the 8,000-acre Saline-Larto area. A complex of swamps, lakes and bayous between Lake Larto and Saline Lake near Pineville, it typically yields up some of the largest crappie in the state. Anglers often fill limits, with some slabs exceeding 3 pounds.

"The Saline-Larto area is a good area for crappie," reported David Hickman, an LDWF fisheries biologist in Ferriday. "It's probably one of the best areas in the state for big crappie. It regularly produces many 2 1/2-pound fish, with some well over 3 pounds.

"It's a healthy system. Crappie have unbelievable growth rates in that system -- one of the highest I've ever seen. Fish have a tremendous amount of food and are not overpopulated. The crappie had a good spawn in 2005, so it should be a good year in 2006 if we get some high water this spring."

Weirs throughout the system hold water at managed levels, but floods from the nearby Red or Black rivers or the Catahoula Lake Diversion Canal can cause water to back into low areas. High water can restock the lake with fish from the rivers, and high-quality angling often occurs as the water level falls.

"The complex gets its water from several bayous that drain into the system," Hickman said. "When the water rises above some weirs along the Diversion Canal between Catahoula Lake and Black River, some water can enter the system. It also gets some water when the Red River backs up.