Some bites result in fish; others, um, not so much
With a couple hours to kill, my son Joel and I took on one of the toughest fisheries in the state — the Tchefuncte River — in search of bass and crappie, called sac-a-lait locally.
The afternoon fishing trip, on the only moderate day of the week, couldn’t have gotten started much better, even though water temperatures were colder than a Wisconsin snow storm (maybe a slight exaggeration). We threw big baits in search of big bites from big fish, and we got a handful of those hits.
Lures used included Reaction Innovations Sweet Beavers (blue/black) and Z-Man CrossEyez Flipping Jigs with Matrix Craw trailers.
Air temperatures began in the mid-50s, but quickly retreated into the 40s. Water temperatures ranged from 52 to 56 degrees, and clarity was poor.
The cypress-lined Tchefuncte River runs roughly north-south through western St. Tammany Parish, terminating at Lake Pontchartrain near the town of Madisonville. Bass fishing throughout the region should pick up considerably this week as temperatures moderate following the coldest weather of the decade.
Additionally, crappie (sac-a-lait) should begin to move up to the spawning beds within the next few weeks. Micro-jigs in 1/32- or 1/16-ounce teamed with soft-plastics under pegged or sliding corks will deliver the bites.
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