river-rat

I don't plan my trips around the barometric pressure, but I want to know if it's rising or falling. I can say that fishing gets very tough for me when the pressure reaches 30.30 or more after a cold front. It doesn't stop me from going, but it does make fish much more slowly and deliberately.

There are two things that really get under my skin where I mostly fish here in south Louisiana. First, In the Atchafalaya Basin the water hyacinth problem is out of control. It's not unusual to have a hyacinth raft so completely thick and matted that it can stretch for hundreds of yards, if not more, from bank to bank and completely close off canals and natural bayous. the only way to get through them is with a Gator-Tail or airboat, neither of which I own. I have run through them with an aluminum tunnel hull I have but the outboard will most likely over-heat at some point sometimes even more that once. And then there is the problem of coming back through the raft to get back to the landing. I have not seen the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spray for hyacinths in years so it's a never ending problem. The other thing is that private clubs have begun to put gates and posted canals in the marshes from Morgan City all the way down to Venice LA. Areas that we fished for years is now off-limits to the general public. And according to the laws in Louisiana it's legal.

I'm from south Louisiana also. All I do is power fish. In fact, I don't own a spinning rod for bass fishing.

The Eye Max Jig made by Oldham's Jigs excels as a grass jig. I have been using them for years and highly recommend them for punching mats. You can view them on their website Oldham's Jigs. I seldom use a skirted weight for for punching. I prefer to to use a straight Texas rig with a 3/4 - 1 oz. weight.

As much as I would like to say a jig, I too have to go with a Texas rigged plastic bait.

I have little need to use the electronics since the depth rarely exceeds 5 feet in the Atchafalaya Basin and marshes in south Louisiana. I will however have the GPS and depth finder on split screen on the console of my boat turned on. I run so much shallow water I'm more comfortable knowing the depth of the water I'm running. The last thing you want to do is run aground on a sand bar. That's like dropping your boat off the trailer in a parking lot. There have been a few times I have had to have someone pull me off a sand bar.

When I’m focusing on bluegill beds I like a top water prop bait like a Devils Horse or a Black Label Balsa Tease bait in bluegill color. Also a Smithwick Rogue or Cordell Redfin in gold with an orange belly works too.

I have been focusing on the area around Lake Boeuf in south Louisiana. Currently a frog early in the day and then punching grass the remainder of the day.

I start the day with two eggs, oatmeal, non-fat yogurt with fresh blueberries, and a strong cup of dark roast coffee with chickory. Once I'm on the water I'll have a couple of Clif bars during the day.

Oldham's Jigs for me also.

I can't imagine in what world I would have to be in to not have a curly tail or ribbon tail worm on a Texas Rig on the deck of my boat. It's one of my mainstays. I would have to check but I think I only have 3 packs of straight tail worms in my boat.

Actually, the first one shown is a Johnny Rattler. It's very similiar to a Hub's Chub Rattalur, both of which are some of my favorite topwater lures. I own quite a few of each one.

I’ve been going into the Atchafalaya Basin my entire life (I’m 72) and have fished it from one end to the other. Back in 1997 I was fishing in a pipeline canal that I had fished in for years. I came to where it intersected with a small natural bayou where I would usually turn right (south) to run out to another area. On this day I noticed that there was a decent current coming in from the left side which I knew was coming from the Intercoastal Canal about a mile to the northeast. To be honest I had never considered fishing in this direction because I had figured it was too shallow to hold any fish. Anyway, I decided to check it out just to see if there was anything of interest. The water was about 2’ or less in some places but this little bayou was absolutely loaded with shad and largemouths up to 4 lbs. I could not believe that I had passed this up so many times. It was barely wide enough to turn the boat around but if I threw a spinnerbait or red shad worm next to even the smallest piece of cover it was game on. The fishing stayed excellent for a good while until the water rose from the spring floods up north but it never returned to what I enjoyed that summer and fall. Sadly, the little bayou is now too silted in to get into during the low water periods during the summer and fall.

I have 9 Falcon Lowriders I use for everything from topwater to Carolina Rigs. Never had a problem with any of them.

One of the best lures I've used when fishing the south end of the Atchafalaya Basin and the marshes below Morgan City, LA is a purple spinnerbait with purple blades. And a buzz bait in the same color combination will produce at times. Also, I have had success when using a black, blue, and purple jig with a Flippin Purple Zoom Big Salty Chunk. My brother-in-law swears by a Tequila Sunrise worm which is black and purple. I'm not sure if he has used any other color for years.

I have the utmost confidence in the jig, but like it's been pointed out there are some days the bass just don't want it. For that reason, I always have a flipping tube in the boat and will rotate between the two to find out if there is a preference of one over the other. My advice is to not over-think using a jig with too many sizes and trailers. Keep it simple until you get enough experience at which point you can expand on what you have learned. Also, if you are determined to learn how to fish a jig, go out for a period of time with nothing but jigs.

I've always got at least one rod with a flipping tube tied on. They catch fish and I rarely see anyone else fishing them. I use a 4" Right Bite Flipping tube or a Strike King Denny Brauer Flipping tube. I have also used the 5" Right Bite tube on lakes like Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, and Caney Lake with some success.

Have to agree with this statement 100%.

You are absolutely correct. I still use most of the ones listed. Even the Hawaiian Wiggler that I tricked out with a slight change.

if I’m limited to my childhood (under 18) my tacklebox was stocked with the following Arbogast #2 Hawaiian Wiggler (double spinner) Jitterbug Hula Popper Al Foss Shimmy Wiggler Snagless Sally (always with an Uncle Josh Pork Frog trailer) Smithwick Devils Horse and Buck n Bawl Rapala H& H spinnerbait Creme Worm Uncle Josh Pork Frogs and Black Widow Eel (on a weedless hook or jig head) Johnson Silver Minnow And whatever else I could abscond out of my Grandfather’s and Dad’s tacklebox

My Dad used to say that just because we were going bass "fishing" that did not necessarily mean we were going bass "catching". I don't care how many years you may have been fishing for bass, there are days when you just can't buy a strike to save your life. You can either get down about it or you can learn from it.

I haven't used a split ring on jerkbaits in years. I tie a Rapala Loop knot because I think it gives the bait more freedom of motion. It's more a confidence thing than anything else. And I've never had this knot break.

I have a good number of Bagley Honey B's that were made when Mr. Jim Bagley still owned the company. I still use them when I want a smaller presentation. I throw them on a 6 1/2 foot medium action baitcaster with 12 lb. test Big Game. The shallow diver in Tennessee Shad and the deep diver in red crawfish have produced some nice fish over the years. My biggest on the Honey B weighed 6 lbs. 7 ozs. on the deep diver in red crawfish.

I've been using AC Shiners for years and can assure you they catch fish. They are my favorite balsa wood floating jerkbait. My experience is using them as a topwater bait for largemouths. I use the #450 size in gold/black back/orange belly or silver/black back. Thankfully I have a good supply of each.