Are the daily limits pretty high down there? Is the water clean enough that you feel good about eating a lot of the fish?
I got so frustrated fisnhing up here since the limits are really low, and really complicated. I'm kind of casual about stuff like this and it turned me off. I'd rather eat fish than most things, and catching it is jsut behind eating it.
Ha
I've never heard of any type of advisories against eating fish from Toledo Bend. I know lots of people who do just that, myself included. I eat fish from most of the waters here in NW LA that I fish, with a few exceptions. There is a power plant lake just across the TX state line that is contaminated with I believe selenium, and is unsafe to eat from, but still has great bass fishing.
I'm primarily a bass angler, with crappie (called "white perch" in most of LA and "sac a lait" further south in the state), running a close second. Many people here fish for nothing but catfish, and I do some of that too. Louisiana limits on black bass are comparatively liberal, with a state-wide limit of 10 per day. Some waters have more restrictions, but absent those special rules, the 10 fish limit applies.
Crappie limits in Louisiana are 50 per day statewide. Catfish, not sure but it's liberal. Fish are abundant here and in east Texas and don't seem to be threatened by the huge number of fish hooks in the water year round.
For border lakes like Toledo Bend and Caddo Lake (bordering LA & TX), the limits that apply depend on where you get out of your boat at. If you step out on the TX side of the lake, then you'd best only have a TX limit. In Texas, the usual state limit is 5 bass or 25 crappie. In both states, certain lakes have a "slot" limit imposed on largemouth bass. For instance...all fish, up to the 5 or 8 fish limit, may be kept if 14 inches or under. Also, possibly 2 fish over 18" may be kept, with all fish falling between those two lengths required to be released.
Whatever the combination of sizes, the total retained has to be no more than the daily limit.
I should add that the designated limits on Toledo Bend are a little different than some other LA regs, in that instead of 10 bass per day, you can only keep 8 on the LA side of the lake, with a 14" minimum size. On the TX side of the lake, the limit is 5 fish (bass) per day with the same 14" limit.
If you like to catch, keep and eat freshwater fish, this is the place to be. I don't know if there's another state in the U.S. with a 10 fish daily limit on bass. That being said, I don't keep and eat all that many bass, but do occaisionally. I much prefer the delicious sweet taste of good ol' white perch. It's not unusual to catch them between 2 & 3 lbs apiece 'round here. Gotta love it!
p.s. I forgot to mention that one very popular local border lake, known for trophy-sized bass has seen some fish-eating advisory posted regarding eating fish from a specific area of the lake due to an old army ammunition facility that used to operate in the area. That would be Caddo Lake, north of Shreveport. I've caught tons of fish there, and have eaten a number of them. The lake is big, and the small bay where the advisory applied is located in a somewhat remote area. The authority who issued the advisory didn't seem to think the problem was bad enough to put the whole lake on alert. Some fish, primarily bottom feeders are much more likely to ingest toxic substances than others, I think.