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Anglers looking to fish in a less confusing situation than the open-and-closed coastal waters need look no farther than the interior marshes that just happen to be crawling with bass. As this past weekend’s Media Bass South Teams tournament proved, there is plenty action in the marsh.
The winning team brought in a 5-bass limit weighing 25 pounds. Although the tournament was based in Des Allemands, the winning team reportedly made the run over to the Tank Ponds in Lake Cataouatche.
Catching marsh bass isn’t that much different than catching redfish, but it is entirely different from catching speckled trout. If you’re not familiar with catching marsh bass, Lockport angler Chris Carlos has a few pointers for you.
Carlos, half of the winning team that also included Raceland angler Chris Babin, says one of the keys to consistently catching marsh bass this time of year is covering water until you find some good fish that are willing to bite.
“I see a lot of people pitching and flipping this time of year,” said Carlos. You can catch fish that way, but I think you have to use a tactic that allows you to cover a little more water, so you can find out exactly where the fish are holding.”
Carlos believes bass congregate on structure to the point that you can catch 25 pounds in one spot but only catch 8 pounds if you moved 50 yards down the bank.
“You could be on fish in one spot, but if you move too far off that spot you won’t catch anything,” Carlos continued. “If you’re flipping the spot where the fish are, you can slam them. But if you’re pitching the spot where they’re not, you can pitch all you want… you won’t catch them.”
To find these tight concentrations of marsh bass, Carlos says he likes throwing a spinnerbait. However, rather than crawl it across the bottom or pull it through the middle of the water, he holds his rod up high and reels fast enough to keep his bait just under the water’s surface.
“I like to fish my spinnerbait so that it throws a little wake on the surface,” Carlos concluded. “That’s a great way to find thick concentrations of active bass. Keep fishing until the bite slows down, and then turn around and go right back to where you started catching them. A lot of times you can keep making a big circle on them and pick up some fish every time you work back through them.”
If the spinnerbait bite completely dies, then it’s time to pick up a Texas rigged soft plastic and start pitching and flipping. At least you’ll know you’re pitching the right spot, and you can often mop up any left over bass that weren’t active enough to chase your spinnerbait.
