Bussey Brake has staked a claim to being one of the state’s premier trophy bass fisheries.
And last week did nothing to change that.
On Friday, Feb. 23, Randy Gauntt of Natchitoches boated a 12.14-pound lunker bass, and the next day, Wesley Banks of Monterrey put an 11.46-pound trophy in his boat.
Both fish came off “isolated” bushes in 7 to 8 feet of water, and both hit soft-plastic creature baits rigged Texas-style and flipped into the heavy cover.
Gauntt was fishing with Juddy Hamous of Natchitoches close to the reservoir’s northwestern boundary. The pair started fishing through areas where Gauntt has traditionally had success (including a 10.84-pound fish last fall), but a strong northerly wind was messing things up.
“We were going up for the weekend, and we got there between 8:30 and 9 on Friday,” Gauntt said. “We fished where I always fish, but the wind was howling. I told him we could go to the northwest corner of the lake, and even with the north wind blowing hard, we could get out of the wind a little bit.”
Called his shot
Gauntt and Hamous got in the right neighborhood. Shortly before 2:30 p.m., they saw a row of willow trees along the boating channel, and some scattered, isolated bushes a good ways out in the lake. But before they could fish them, Gauntt watched as another boat fished through the area. Once that boat had passed, Gauntt headed to one of the bushes, which he said had a big “hole” in the middle.
“I called my shot,” he said. “I said, ‘If there’s a big bass living anywhere near here, he’s going to be in this big bush.’ I flipped in the middle of it, and before it hit the bottom, I saw the line jump and felt a tick. I figured my buddy had bumped me – you know, to mess with me – but I turned around and he was looking the other way.
“I set the hook, and all hell broke loose.”
A big one
Gauntt was fishing a hematoma-colored Sweet Beaver on 30-pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon, spooled on a Daiwa Tatula Elite flipping/pitching reel, matched with a 7-foot-7 heavy action Trika flipping stick.
“I told my buddy, ‘Get the net; it’s a big one.’ I knew it was a big fish,” Gauntt said. “But she was wrapped up in the bottom of the bush and in the top of the bush – it was a big ol’ bush. I was a little worried, because I usually never flip fluorocarbon – always braid.
“I just waited until she finally got loose from the bottom, then I got her to the top, and I held her against the bush until we could get over there. Then, she came free and he got her in the net.
“The guy who had just fished past us watched it all. He was a good sport. He and his wife came over to look at her after it was over.”
Gauntt and Hamous fished another 90 minutes before Gauntt couldn’t stand it anymore.
“I finally told my buddy, ‘I can’t take it any more,’” Gauntt said. “I was so worried about her in the livewell, I couldn’t fish for going back and checking on her.”
Gauntt headed to the lake office and got the fish weighed on certified scales at 12.14 pounds – his best bass ever. The portable scales in his boat had weighed her between 11.90 and 11.20 pounds. The fish was 25 ½ inches long and 22 inches in girth.
Banks’ story
Banks had a similar story behind his big bass – although the actual “catch” was much easier. He was fishing with his father, Billy Banks, from Calhoun, and they had caught three bass on the northwest end of the lake before making a move to a mid-lake area around 11 a.m.
“Man, the boat ramp was just full, and I wanted to try and do something different, get away from other people, away from the crowd, so we started on the northwest end, then moved to a different area closer to mid-lake. I got tired of playing bumper boats,” he said. “I was targeting isolated bushes, bushes that were off by themselves.”
One more time
Wesley Banks flipped one bush in 7 to 8 feet of water that looked promising, in fact, flipped it three times, with a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog in green pumpkin Texas-rigged with a ⅜-ounce Tungsten weighed on a Cashion rod and Shimano reel spooled with 25-pound Seaguar Invizx fluorocarbon.
“To the edge, the middle and the back,” he said. “I told my dad, ‘I’m going to flip it one more time,’ and I flipped in front of the bush. When I clicked the reel and picked it up, it felt heavy. I don’t know if it ever got to the bottom.
“I set the hook and said, ‘It’s a giant.’ We were in my dad’s white perch boat, and all we had was his white perch net, so I brought her around to the side and lipped her. From cast to catch, it was probably only 30 or 40 seconds, so quick – one of the fastest I’ve ever had. I got her out of the bush pretty quick.
“I was using a heavy flipping stick and a reel with a fast retrieve so I can get them out as quickly as possible. Everything happened perfectly. It was a ‘meant-to-be’ catch.”
Banks and his father headed to the lake office and got the fish weighed on certified scales at 11.46 pounds. He remembers the fish measuring longer than 25 inches, but without a soft, flexible tape, he didn’t get a girth measurement.
“Man, I was so worked up, I didn’t even really think about getting a girth,” he said. “I just wanted to get the fish back in the water. We weighed her, and I released her back where I caught her.”
