One year has passed since Hurricane Rita tore through Southwest Louisiana. The Atchafalaya Basin area was hit especially hard, and there haven’t been very many successful fishing trips between then and now. Things are slowly getting better, though, and The Wax Lake area is starting to come around. “The water has been real low since the storm,” said Region 9 biologist Mike Walker. “The fish kill, low water and summer heat put a damper on the bass fishing for while. Anglers might start having a little more success, though, once the water starts cooling this fall.”
Rocky Roussel from Morgan City has been fishing the area regularly since the storm, and he has seen the fishing slowly getting better. He fished the Wal-Mart BFL Super Tournament on Sept. 23 and 24, and he found some decent fish in The Wax.
“The best areas for me were the outside curves in the little bayous,” Roussel said. “The fish are stacked up in laydowns in that deeper water. I caught about 25 fish on this pattern on Sunday.”
Roussel’s primary pattern was allowing the current to drift a Texas-rigged junebug or redbug Brush Hog under the laydowns. It was a natural presentation that the bass just couldn’t resist.
“You’ve got to have that current, though,” Roussel explained. “It doesn’t matter which way it’s going as long as it’s moving. Everything is based on the tide around The Wax. Of course, that means that it can drop out on you in a hurry. If you’re fishing shallow structure, and it drops out on you, head to those deeper outside bends.”
Roussel also suggested that a strong key to getting bit is to fish stained water. Look for spots where the marsh is bleeding black water into muddy water in a canal. The resulting mix should be just about right.
Fishing may continue to be up and down for a while in the Atchafalaya Basin until it gets a good flush from high water in the spring. The low water has nearly as much affect on the water as a fish kill would. It reduces the spawn and the survival of the fish.
“I don’t think you have that problem as much in an area like The Wax,” Roussel said. “The tide flows through so much that it’s constantly getting flushed. And when the water falls out, you can get in one of those skinny little bayous and get bit.”