When December rolls around, bass pro Tyler Rivet puts his spinning combos to work in the fertile waters around his hometown of Raceland.
However, Rivet won’t be targeting bass with those outfits. He’ll be trying to outwit sac-a-lait, known in other reaches of the country as crappie or white perch.
“That time of year, you just have to have 20 bags (of soft plastics) on deck until you figure them out. I swear, sometimes I think they’re more picky than bass,” said Rivet, who stocks up on Southern Pro Stinger Shad and Bobby Garland Baby Shad.
While nearby Lockport and the vast Bayou Black area are viable crappie-fishing destinations in December, Rivet’s favorite is Lake Boeuf in northern Lafourche Parish. A 2022 Bassmaster Classic qualifier who had a sterling college career at Nicholls State, Rivet, 27, grew up fishing there, launching right behind his house.
“I’ll be using LiveScope. It’s amazing. I was catching them down there 14 feet down last time I went fishing. It’s definitely fun…. It’s crazy,” Rivet said
He calls it his fun time, either fishing alone or going with his buddies.
“It gives me a break from bass fishing,” he said.
Lake Boeuf, as well as Lockport and Bayou Black, satisfy his appetite for putting slabs in the boat. He points anglers to the canals around Lake Boeuf.
Surprising to some fishermen, they might catch spawning fish in Lake Boeuf, he said. “Sac-a-lait always spawn the first of January or even December, sometimes.”
Lures
His favorite color combo for soft plastics is chartreuse/blue, but he also likes silver, which he believes represents a shad or shiner, and, sometimes, pink.
A 1/16-ounce or 1/32-ounce jighead is best, he said, tied to a 10-pound fluorocarbon leader that’s 10-foot-8, tied to 10-pound braid. He uses the same spinning outfits he uses to catch bass.
If the weather’s warm, he’ll fish “cut grass” along a deep canal’s shoreline. If it’s cold, he’ll adjust the cork to a depth of 4 feet and target structure off the bank in deeper water.
“That time of year, one day you catch two, the next day you go back and catch 100. Find one, you find them all,” he said.
