“I don’t have any fancy jig poles or expensive ultralights,” John Langlois growled.
He defiantly brandished an inexpensive, push-button spincast rod and reel in his fist.
“It’s not fancy; it’s what I like,” Langlois explained. “It’s amazing what you can do with a Zebco and a couple of corks.”
Langlois carries four spincast reels in his boat: two are Shakespeare Synergys and two are Zebco 33s.
“Jig poles are boring,” Langlois said. “I like reeling fish in — more action. Reeling is the bomb.
“I think I’m hyper.”
His hands shook constantly. I asked if that was because of being hyperactive.
“If they aren’t shaking, I’ve had a couple of margaritas,” he said.
As for terminal gear, Langlois’ bread-and-butter lure is a 1/32-ounce tube jig. Favorite colors are black-and-chartreuse, blue-and-white, and red-and-white — in that order.
He invariably tips his tube jig hook with a tiny piece of commercially sold Canadian night crawlers available at any freshwater bait stand in Louisiana.
He explained his logic.
“With this rig, I can catch multiple species of fish,” Langlois said. “The jig appeals more to sac-a-lait. The worm appeals to bluegills, chinquapins and goggle-eyes.”
Langlois sets the jig 2½ feet below a round, chartreuse-and-yellow hard-plastic, rattling, snap-on cork.
“I like this cork because it has a rattle in it and it’s purty,’” he smirked. “I’m old-school.”
He fishes this rig with short pops and bounces, mixed with strategic pauses. Often he allows it float untended, letting wave action give movement to the jig.
Another rod will be rigged with a jighead — but without the plastic tube. Instead, he wads a gob of cold worms on the hook.
The cork is set deep enough to allow the bait to rest on the bottom, where any passing catfish is likely to find it.
This rod is not actively fished, although he keeps a sharp eye on its cork. It also is a very effective for catching bottom-tending chinquapin, he explained.
Langlois never overlooks opportunities to add largemouth bass to his ice chest. So a third rod is rigged with a Carolina-rigged soft-plastic, a favorite being Zoom Baby Brush Hog.
