Abbeville angler catches dozens of bass during his first trip downriver
Damein Clements is a die-hard bass angler, but he had never been to Venice until he and buddy Caleb Sumrall launched there last weekend to scout for a tournament.
Clements was blown away, seemingly catching bass on every cast.
“We absolutely slaughered them,” he said. “I had heard about Venice before, but I thought it was exaggerated.
“It was too good to be true: In two days in two boats, we caught 107. That was insane.”
Clements said he and Sumrall fished in separate boats to cover as much water as possible, but they met up often — and Clements had a limit every time.
“The first day I filled my livewell up seven different times with 10 fish,” he said. “I would show (Sumrall) the size of the fish and throw them out.”
Not surprising to Venice veterans, the bass Clements caught were clones that almost always weighed between 2 and 2.75 pounds.
The pair of anglers were fishing in Delta National Wildlife Refuge, pitching the flooded canes in the canals.
Every fish was caught on a Missile D Bomb threaded on a Mustad Triple Grip Flipping Hook under a 1-ounce tungsten weight. Clements used 65-pound braid.
“Color did not matter,” Clements said. “You could throw any color and they would bite.”
What did matter, however, was the topography of the waterbottom.
“You wanted a bank with 1 to 1 1/2 feet of water in the canes, dropping to 4 feet deep,” Clements said. “You wanted that drop, and you wanted moving water.
“My guess is they would go in the canes and feed, and then go out and hang on the drops.”
But bites came in the thicket of the canes.
He also said he found best success in the swings of bayous and on points, both of which were hit with moving water.
Adding to the day’s action was the potential to set the hook on something a bit larger than bass.
“When it really got fun was when you hooked a 20-inch redfish,” Clements said. “Your toes would jump when you set the hook.”
