Action expected to heat up in the next 10 days, local angler says
Poverty Point Reservoir State Park is home to six of the state’s Top 10 white crappie, including the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 fish which were all caught during a spawning slab-fest last spring on the 2,700-acre lake north of Delhi.
But the action this year – hampered by poorly-timed fronts and cool, rainy days — hasn’t produced any new records — yet.
However, local angler Dwayne Hosea, who caught a 3.14-pounder on Feb. 20, said he thinks things are just about to break loose.
“The best is yet to come. Within about the next 10 days, if the weather warms up a little bit, it’ll be wide open,” he said. “The weather has really got us messed up this year. The fish have tried to come in on the banks, but the weather and cold rain moves them back out. They’ve been in and out a couple different times.
“When I caught that fish (the 3.14-pounder), they were on the verge of really getting ready to do something. Then we had 2 ½ inches of rain and it turned a little cooler, and it just scattered them and moved them back out. It’s been that way the last three weeks or so.”
Water temperatures have actually dipped some in the last few days, Hosea reported, but the fish are still moving — and anglers are following them up near the bank.
“We were catching all male fish last week on the bank, but we’re starting to catch some females now, just away from the bank in about 2 ½ or 3 feet of water,” he said. “Everybody moved to the shallows within 5 or 6 or 10 feet of water. The females are out there staging waiting to come to the bank.”
Hosea said he caught the 3.14-pounder with a blue thunder Bobby Garland Swim’R on an ⅛-ounce jighead in about 4 feet of water. A 10-acre spot in the cove near the North Marina would be a great place to target in the next few weeks, he said.
Dwayne’s twin brother, Twayne, caught the Poverty Point record crappie and the state’s new No. 2 fish last February when he reeled in a 3.52-pound slab. Dwayne Hosea reeled in a 3.48-pounder just days later for the state’s new No. 3-ranked white crappie.
“We’re after that 4-pounder now,” Hosea said with a chuckle. “We’ve already got No. 2 and No. 3 in the state.”