In search of big bags as Toyota Series action begins on frosty Sam Rayburn

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Southwestern Division anglers will be on the hunt for wintertime mega bags at Sam Rayburn. Photo by Rob Matsuura.
January 23, 2025 • Joel Shangle • Toyota Series

BROOKELAND, Texas Winter weather has been the subject of many posts this week on the bass-fishing socials as practice for tournaments throughout the usually-temperate South have been hampered by sub-freezing temperatures, snow, and icy roads and boat ramps. Scrolling Instagram for 15 minutes will show you plenty of photos of frigid conditions on lakes from Georgia to Texas and all points in between.

Sam Rayburn Reservoir has been no exception. A wildly unusual temperature plunge into the low teens and a blanket of snow greeted anglers in the days before Thursday’s kickoff to the Jan. 23-25 Southwestern Division opener of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season. Thankfully, the worst of the arctic blast has moved through East Texas, leaving behind a tournament forecast of highs in the mid-50s and nighttime lows rising to a more reasonable 48 degrees by Saturday.

A 22-degree takeoff out of Umphrey Family Pavilion in Brookeland Thursday morning for Day 1 wasn’t exactly balmy for the 116 boaters and Strike King co-anglers competing, but nothing will warm you up faster than the prospect of a 25-plus-pound bag. History shows that Sam Rayburn can (and will) produce them this time of year:

  • Texas pro Wyatt Frankens claimed his first Phoenix Bass Fishing League win three weeks ago on Sam Rayburn with 29 pounds, 1 ounce.
  • Fellow Texan Hayden Heck won an early-January 2024 BFL here with 29-3; one year earlier, Heck  laid the lumber with 28-11 to win the 2023 Cowboy Division opener.
  • Marshall Hughes brought a 38-7 mega bag to the scales at the early February Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event at Sam Rayburn in 2024.
  • It took 26-1 for Tennessee pro Michael Neal to win the 2022 Pro Circuit event here in late January of 2022 (that was when weights were zeroed before the final day).
  • Texas pro Derek Mundy brought in the MEGA Sam Rayburn mega-bag in early January of 2021 with 40-10 in the BFL opener.
  • Oh, also: The most recent Texas ShareLunker out of Sam Rayburn was a 13 1/2-pounder caught a couple of days before Thanksgiving.

But while there’s plenty of big-fish pedigree at Sam Rayburn, water temperatures in the upper 40s will likely offer a full set of challenges, according to Mundy.

“Water has been around 46, 47ish – that tends to make things tougher,” said Mundy, who isn’t fishing this event due to a conflict in his work schedule. “(Fish) just don’t want to bite as well when it gets below 50. Those cold fronts can be really good because they seem to hit the ‘reset’ button – fish bite good after they reset, but it can be tougher if the water stays cold while they’re resetting.”

Follow the action

Takeoff will commence at 7:30 a.m. CT Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Umphrey Family Pavilion in Brookeland. Weigh-ins will take place at the same location, starting at 3:30 p.m. daily. Fans are invited to attend in person and can also stay connected by following the live weigh-in livestreams and daily updates on MajorLeagueFishing.com.