Atchafalaya Basin bass fishing still good despite Hurricane Isaac

Courtesy of Kelly Wheat

The key to catching bass — lots of bass — in the Atachafalaya Basin is finding good, moving water. Local angler Kelly Wheat found the fishing fantastic after Hurricane Isaac blew through the area.

When Hurricane Isaac blew through South Louisiana in late August, anglers across the region waiting for the inevitable fish kills. And, true to form, there were areas in which fish turned belly up.

The Atchafalaya Basin was no exception, but there were still bass to be caught, one local tournament angler found during a trip that ended with nearly 100 fish being boated.

"Most places you go in the Spillway you will catch fish,” Kelly Wheat said. “The key is finding the good water.

“You can tell if its bad water — it's black, and it stinks."

Wheat said the east side of the Lake Verret and Belle River areas were mostly dead when he viewed the area last week.

Inside the Spillway, Wheat explored Bayou Mallet and the bayous running off of it until he found good clean water with some movement in it, and the bass began to stack up.

"Once you find the good water, its all about knowing what to look for,” he said. “People should fish the grass along the bank, divots in the bank and points at intersections of the canasl where clean water is moving.”

And the bass have been biting on almost everything an angler can throw, from spinnerbaits and crankbaits to plastic worms, Wheat said. His preference is a Delta Lure spinnerbait with gold willow-leaf blades and a chartreuse/blue skirt.

"The main thing that I want to stress, though, is to get away from the black, stinky water,” Wheat said. “Try to find good, moving water and you will catch fish."