Natchitoches angler catches 10.65-pounder at Toledo Bend

Dranguet uses V&M fluke with chartreuse tail in Six Mile area to land 60th lunker of the season

Buzz Dranguet and his fishing partner Jimmy Mitchell didn’t plan on keeping any bass last Friday at Toledo Bend, but that was before they landed a lunker in the Six Mile area.

They were scouting for the Association of Louisiana Bass Clubs’ Best Six tournament, and launched from Big Bass Marina that morning.

Casting spinnerbaits and topwaters on points, the anglers caught a couple of 2 ½-pounders, which they released.

“Guide Kevin Jeane told us earlier to fish an area in Six Mile where we could catch some quality fish,” Dranguet said.

It was 9:30 a.m. when the anglers arrived at the location, and Dranguet began casting a V&M fluke with a chartreuse tail in some grass. He was throwing the fluke on 30-pound braid spooled onto a Shimano reel which was seated on a 6 ½-foot  Shimano rod.

Fifteen minutes later, Dranguet saw a fish swirl in the water and immediately hit his bait.

“I set the hook and I thought it was a big old gar at first,” he said. “The fish ran into deeper water and then it jumped.

“Both Jimmy and I looked at each other with our jaws flopping. And then the bass jumped another four to five times.”

After a good battle, the bass wound up on the deck of the boat and weighed 10.8 pounds on Drangguet’s handheld scale.

They placed the bass in the livewell and fished later into the afternoon before arriving at Toledo Town and Tackle around 3 p.m. to officially enter the bass into the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program.

The bass officially weighed 10.65 pounds, and Dranguet was qualified to receive a free replica of the fish from the Toledo Bend Lake Association since the bass was at least 10 pounds, and was tagged and released back into Toledo Bend waters.

Dranguet’s bass was the 60th bass entered into the program this season.

About Chris Berzas 368 Articles
Chris Berzas has fished and hunted in the Bayou State ever since he could hold a rod and shoot a shotgun. Berzas has been a freelancer featured in newspapers, magazines, television and DVDs since 1989.