river-rat

Watermelon Red Glitter and Watermelon Gold Glitter

My primary spinnerbait for the past 20+ years has been a single #4 1/2 or #5 gold colorado Hildebrandt blade on a 7/16 and 1/2 ounce spinnerbait I make myself. I use this mainly in the Atchafalaya Basin and anytime I'm faced with heavily stained water. I also use a 5/8 ounce single spin for night fishing.

Years ago a friend turned me on the using a black spinnerbait with black nickel blades when faced with these conditions. It's worked for me in the Atchafalaya Basin and the fresh water marshes south of Morgan City, LA.

Gene Larew 4" Salt Craw - Black-Blue Glitter/Blue Claws Zoom Big Salty Chunk - Flippin Blue, Flippin Purple, Black/Red Glitter Rage Craw - Sapphire Blue, Junebug Those 3 listed will cover all my needs on my home waters

I wish I had a good report to give but it's been really tough this week. Most people I talk to out on the lake are telling me they are experiencing the same thing. The few fish I've caught since last Saturday morning were on a swing jig with a Little Dipper swim bait and a Carolina Rig with a watermelon red baby brush hog. I'm not giving up just yet. I've still got two more days to figure things out.

Today was a lot different than yesterday. I launched at Jack's 944 and fished in Housen Bay. I tried jerkbaits, chatterbaits, and Texas rigged lizards and baby brush hogs with no success. I was finally able to catch 5 short fish on a Carolina rig fishing points on the south side of Housen. I'm thinking about going over the Sam Rayburn tomorrow and fish either the Mill Creek or San Augustine areas.

I had a decent day in Six Mile Creek. Started at daylight and the fish were all over a jerkbait. I was throwing a #450 A.C. Shiner and a Redfin both gold with black back/orange belly. Also caught fish on a watermelon/red glitter lizard Texas rigged. I had nine 14" fish by 10:45 and at least that many short fish. Nothing of any great size. Later in the morning I caught one over 4#'s on a Berkley Choppo. Around noon the sky's cleared and it got tough. But no complaints. I'll be here until next Saturday and will hopefully have some good reports.

When I start seeing bass fry in the shallows, I throw a gold floating jerkbaits and prop baits. What I'm trying to do is mimic a bluegill which will be feeding on the bass fry and the bass will be trying to protect the bass fry. Any of the following have worked for me. Just remember, some days they prefer a certain jerkbait or prop bait over another. Jerkbaits Cordell Redfin Smithwick Rogue Bomber Long A A.C. Shiner (#350 or #450) Bagley Bang-O-Lure Prop Baits Cordell Boy Howdy Johnny Rattler Rapala X-Rap They will hit a frog or buzzbait at times also.

Many years ago I was fishing a bayou in the Atchafalaya Basin and was within about 100 yards before it entered a large lake. The last piece of cover before entering the lake is a large solitary stump in about 4 feet of water. I have caught numerous 3-5 lb. largemouths off that single stump over the years. Sometimes the following day another will move in and take up residence. Another example is Lake Verrett which I fish quite a bit. The lake is completely surrounded be cypress trees. There are some of stretches of trees where the water depth on the outside tree line will go from 2'-3' to 4'-5' for about 50-60 yards and then go back to 2'-3'. The deeper areas consistently will produce fish year after year.

Please understand that I am not saying I only fish around the times of moon rise and moon set. A normal trip for me is daylight to dark or dusk to dawn. I'm only pointing out that my records indicate the fish seem to be more active during the 2 hour period surrounding either moon rise or moon set.

A study was done by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in 2012 and it was found that most largemouth bass in the Atchafalaya Basin do not live much past 5 years.

I'm definitely in the school that believes the moon has an influence on fishing success. For example, I've been keeping a fishing log for over 35 years. I always want to know when moon rise and moon set occurs because my records show that that there is a one hour window on each side of either when I find the fish most active. I've gotten to the point where I time my night fishing around the moon's rise or set because that's when I catch most of my fish that particular night.

I'm partial to the following when using a swimming worm. Zoom UV Speed Worm Bitter's Bait and Tackle - Bitter's Vibe Charlie's Worms 8" Swimming worm

Has happened to me several times. Feel like a real dumb@ss when I have done it.

I tend to stay with the following listed mostly. Rage Craw (Jig trailer or Texas Rig) Rage Bug (Texas Rig) Sweet Beaver (Texas Rig) Flipping Tube (Texas Rig) Gene Larew Salt Craw (Jig trailer or Texas Rig)

I still use both the Spence Scout and the Cordell plastic model which was also called a Scout. They are excellent lures for shallow water with heavy wooden cover.

One thing I forgot to mention. Remove the skirt and then put it back on backwards. You will get more movement out of the skirt when positioned like that.

That is correct.

My first choice is a Biffle Bug followed by the Strike King Rage Bug

I'm usually using one of the following on a black & blue chatterbait. Sapphire Blue - Zoom Double Tail Fat Albert Grub or Rage Craw Blue Bug - Rage Craw Black Blue Flake Yamamoto Zako I haven' tried this but a fishing buddy of mine says he has been doing really well using a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw in the Cajun Craw color as a trailer on a black & blue chatterbait. It looks really weird but he swears by it. I have not tried it yet but I'm sure I'll give it a go soon.

The H&H spinnerbait is made in my hometown of Baton Rouge and was one of the first lures I started using back in the early 60's. I still use it when bass a feeding on small shad and I need a smaller profile lure. I don't change the hooks on the H&H. You will hang up more with the free-swinging double hook but I have never found a replacement that's any better. I do use a small file to sharpen the hooks though. I'm very careful around any cover they could hang up on. One tip -- make sure the hook points are facing upwards.

It just so happens that the owner of Slam Dunk lures is a close relative of mine. I fish with him on a fairly regular basis. The Bass Trap spinnerbait and the Thumper Jigs were probably the most used lures around here for quite a few years and won many tournaments. He first started Humdinger lures back in the early 1980's and then sold it to a local fisherman. He then started Slam Dunk Lures a couple of years later. I still have quite a few of the sacalait color skirts. They can be a killer in the Lake Verrett and Atchafalaya Basins.

Agree 100%

I've been using Oldham Jigs for more than 20 years and I fish areas with a lot of grass. I use both the Eye-Max Jig and the Trailer Hitch Jig. The Eye-Max has the stouter hook but both come through grass easily and the price is very reasonable. I can assure Terry Oldham makes a first class product. Oldham Jigs

Absolutely. I still use a Devil's Horse in a color called Dragonfly that has been out of production for many years. It's still one of my best producers. Also I'm still using Johnson Silver Minnows, Snagless Sally's and Arbogast Mudbugs.