There’s something about the Atchafalaya Basin that acts like a magnet to draw bass anglers in November.
No one enjoys going there this time of year more than Logan Latuso. The Gonzales bass angler began fishing the Atchafalaya Basin as a boy with his father, Robbie Latuso, also of Gonzales, and returns there as often as possible in November during the offseason for the Bassmaster Elite Series.
Latuso, who celebrated his 31st birthday Oct. 6, looks forward to tapping the bass population long before and long after Thanksgiving in the midsection of the nation’s last great overflow swamp. He also enjoys fishing for bass in the Venice area this month, but the Spillway is right there near the Latuso family’s camp on Belle River.
“I fish it all,” he said. “I feel like November is just a good month. The middle of the Basin is where I focus the most.”
The specific areas that garner most of his attention in the Atchafalaya Basin are from Bayou Long to Murphy Lake and Cross Bayou.
Transition phase
The pro bass fisherman will be entering his third season as an Elite when the tour kicks off Feb. 25 at St. Johns River in Florida, where he finished 10th in April 2024.
Until the season opener, chances are high his Bass Cat will be in the Atchafalaya Basin starting late October through November and well into December. He’ll probe 1- to 3-foot depths, mostly, as he focuses on areas away from a fast-moving current.
“The Basin’s pretty stable that time of year,” he said. “The water starts cooling off and the bass start feeding. It’s a great time to fish. It’s fun.
“In November, fish are getting more in the transition phase, out of super strong current and into bayous and canals, the mouth of spawning areas. I do think they spawn as early as late December. I feel like the bigger fish spawn first.”
It’s a big plus that typically, he said, there is much, much less bass fishing pressure this time of year because many outdoorsmen take to the woods, swamps and marsh to turn their attention to hunting ducks, deer, squirrels and rabbits.
Latuso usually fishes moving baits around cypress trees, cypress knees and laydowns in his favorite area between the East Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee and West Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee.
The majority of the time the personable bass pro will rely on three artificial lures, a 3/8-ounce chartreuse/blue/white Delta Lures Thunder Jig with a pearl Missile Baits Shock Wave, a 3/8-ounce chartreuse/blue/white Delta Lures Spinnerbait with Colorado/Willowleaf blades and a 3/8-ounce all black Delta Lures Buzz Bait.
“If there’s any type of grass — hydrilla, coontail — you can always punch mats,” he said.
It won’t be long before he tows his boat to the Belle River Landing.