Monroe’s David Greene will be the first to admit that you can’t have a bad day fishing on the Bayou D’Arbonne trail even if you don’t get a bite because it’s one of the most scenic and interesting places he has ever kayaked.
But he’ll also admit that he never goes without trying.
“I love to catch bass there,” Greene said. “You can’t hardly beat the topwater bite there around the trees or run-outs first thing in the morning.
“When you catch a big old bass on a topwater, you are right there. It’s a challenge to get them in the boat.”
Some of the best topwaters on Bayou D’Arbonne include Pop-R’s, Devil’s Horses, Tiny Torpedoes, Super Spook Jrs. and various plastic frogs.
Setting the hook on a big bass in a kayak can be challenging, Greene admitted.
“Just keep your butt in the seat and you’ll be fine,” he said. “Don’t get too excited and start trying to sit or stand up,0 or you’ll be in trouble.”
Fellow kayak club member John Bradford said the allure of kayak fishing is the challenge.
“I have fished a long time, and I got into kayak fishing because it was a new way to enjoy catching bass,” Bradford said. “It puts you up close and personal with them, and there’s the challenge of knowing you are doing it all by yourself, including paddling your way to and from the fish.
“My best advice is go as often as you can and stay as long as you can. It’s you against the fish.”
Greene’s latest adventures involve learning to catch crappie on the trail.
“I just take those little swim baits and roll them slowly in the deeper water,” he said. “When you catch one, you’ll know where they are at. Just go back and forth in that area, and you can catch a mess of good fish in a hurry.
“Hardly anybody does that in the summer, so you can have it pretty much to yourself.”
His favorite colors for crappie swim baits and small Road Runner-type lures include blue and baby bass.
Bradford also loves to fish small crankbaits, but he said they pull the kayak too much and make fishing too much work.