If you’re a sac-a-lait fisherman hoping to get your hands on a mess of sac-a-lait this month, there are some perennial spring hotspots to check out this time of year at Henderson Lake. It hinges a lot on the water level.
A 43-year-old Lafayette outdoorsman, who started fishing the lake with his father when he was eight, knows fishing success during the spawn is at its best when the Atchafalaya River stage at Butte La Rose is around 12.0- or 13.0-feet. If it’s any higher than that, it spreads out the fish on the wide expanse flats above and below Interstate 10.
“I want it (Atchafalaya River stage) to stay between 12, 13 feet,” said Derek James Picard, who has won or placed in many sac-a-lait tournaments on the lake in St. Martin Parish.
Barring higher water conditions, Picard fishes shallow depths around the base of cypress trees and the edge of cypress tree islands in North Bigeux and South Bigeux. Other shallow-water cypress tree areas that typically hold sac-a-lait in March include North Pelba and Bayou Loin, he said.
“You can only catch them (consistently) when the water’s around 12, 13, in Begnaud,” he said from experience.
Rising temps
Another one of his favorite places to fish during the spawn is an area that used to be known as “the old ski course” — Bay Tienne.
Picard, who owns Picard Fishing and Electronic Services, said those areas heat up first, literally, when the average water temperature creeps into the 70s.
Water conditions permitting, he said, “We typically fish 1- to 3-feet deep around cypress trees along the bank. Begnaud’s got some cypress trees along the edge of the island.”
His go-to bait for sac-a-lait is a hair jig or tube jig. What color(s)?
“Colors can vary on different water conditions,” Picard said. “In muddy water, I like using black and pink and black and red. If the water is not too muddy, I will use a solid white jig or a solid chartreuse.”
To find pre-spawners before they hit the beds, probe deeper water with shallow water nearby. The use of forward facing sonar makes all the difference in the world around hardwood on or close to the bottom, he said. LiveScope definitely helps eliminate a lot of water and pinpoints the fish faster.
If Henderson Lake’s sac-a-lait aren’t cooperating, you might want to try another perennial spring hotspot on the west side of the West Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee, where Bayou Amy can consistently give up slabs around cypress trees and cypress knees in 1- to 6-foot depths.
“I usually target the deeper cypress trees first and move shallower using black and red hair jigs and tube jigs,” Picard said.
