Local expert discovers hungry fish have moved into the lake, but there’s a secret to catching them
On Monday, April 23, Mike White of Paradis confirmed that sac-a-lait have moved into Lake Des Allemands.
“Every year they show up in the lake in May. I have been searching for them for the past two weeks and finally found them yesterday. But I stopped at three different spots before I found them,” said White, who has patterned the popular panfish after 30 years of fishing.
He found the fish on the east side of Lake Des Allemands.
“They like deep water so I’m fishing cypress trees and stumps in 4 to 5 feet,” he said.
White’s targeting the deepest water in the area with structure. His bait of choice is a blue and white jig with a brown Crappie Psychic trailer.
The key to catching these fish, according to White, is to fish a shaded area or to fish on a cloudy day.
“Sac-a-lait have very sensitive eyes and do not like sunlight,” he said.
The avid angler says the fish won’t bite under sunny conditions so he prefers to fish on overcast days.
Des Allemands isn’t the only place to catch crappie this way. According to White, the fish should have moved into a similar pattern in the following areas and they should remain there throughout the summer: Lafitte, Bayou Black Copasaw and Lake Salvador.
