Often fishermen are faced with a decision of picking among several places they can go bass fishing. But there’s a special place for bass anglers to choose, especially those who enjoy catching bass on buzz baits, bladed jigs and soft plastics, either flippin’ or punchin’.
The Lake Verret area, specifically Bayou Magazille, is where Clint “Red” Singleton goes to fish with his favorite go-to artificial lures and techniques in September. The Patterson outdoorsman said, sure, he’ll fish the cypress trees in the lake itself whenever and wherever baitfish are present.
However, Singleton, 43, said, “Bayou Magazille’s pretty good that time of year. It’s usually where shad are holding fish.
“It’s always better when it’s moving water; always better with a falling tide than no tide or up tide. I always do better when it’s a falling tide.”
He’s a member of the highly competitive St. Mary Elite bass club and finished in the Top 3 in 2021 competition.
Closer to Grassy
You’ll see his blue and white Ranger bass boat more often than not fishing along Bayou Magazille closer to the Grassy Lake side than to Flat Lake. And first thing in the morning or during the last hour or two of the day, he’ll be throwing a ¼-ounce white Megastrike Cavitron buzz bait with a nickel blade in and around all the shady hidey holes bass love.
He’ll also really work over docks and drains with his favorite buzz bait.
“It’s hard to find. But they run real slow. When a fish gets it, they love it. When they got it, they got it,” Singleton said.
If bass lay off the buzz bait, he’ll turn to flippin’ a June bug/Red Zoom Speed Craw on a 3/0 hook under a ¼-ounce worm weight. He flips where cut grass is near deeper water and around the end of boat docks in and around pilings and other structures.
He stays on the lookout for vegetation mats, too.
“If I run across a mat or hyacinths I’ll usually punch it,” he said. “For the most part there are not a lot of mats, but if they’ve got some mats, I punch.”
Singleton, co-owner of Singleton & Howard Cement in Morgan City, likes to punch with a black/blue or Hematoma (depending on the water color) Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver on a No.4 Mustad Triple X hook tied to 65-pound Beyond Braid braided line with a 1-ounce tungsten weight.
A black/blue bladed jig, his backup, is always at the ready if all else goes south. He likes a 3/8-ounce model and uses a sapphire blue Zoom Speed Craw as a soft plastic trailer.
He prefers 3 – 4 foot depths most of the time and slightly stained to stained water.
“I don’t really like to fish clear water,” he said. “To be honest with you, fish are really spooky (in clear water).”
As the summer wore on, he could hardly wait to get to fish it in September.
