The marshes of Terrebonne Parish are huge, and offer endless fishing opportunities. Like the fingers of a hand, five major bayous extend toward the Gulf of Mexico from Houma, easily the largest town in the parish.
From east to west they are Bayou Pointe au Chien, Bayou Terrebonne, Bayou Petite Caillou, Bayou Grand Caillou and Bayou du Large.
Launching at the fishing community of Theriot, Bayou Sauveur can be accessed by running southward in Bayou du Large and then eastward after the road paralleling the bayou ends.
Once Fontenot reached the bayou, he turned north to fish. Bayou Sauveur runs in a north-south direction, almost in the same direction as Highway 315 and Bayou du Large.
Soft plastics are most productive here in the winter, Fontenot said.
“Some differences in brands exist; all will work,” he explained. “Some, like Matrix or Bayou Chub, seem softer and have more action, but they might not last as long.
“As for color, some days any color will work. Other days all the popular colors will work. Sometimes you have to try everything. If the water is dirtier, I use darker baits. If the water is clearer, I use lighter baits.
“Popular colors here are black-and-chartreuse, avocado with red flake, purple-and-chartreuse, and any bunker colors. The first two are my favorites. I use a lot of tandem rigs with soft plastics so that I can test different colors.”
During the course of the fishing day, Fontenot and Lance Dupre used a rainbow of colors and at least five different brands of soft plastics.
They all worked.
Dupre fished with ¼-ounce jigheads and Fontenot used 3/8-ounce heads, which he said is kind of standard for the area.
During deep cold snaps, however, Fontenot will step down to smaller plastics and ¼-ounce heads. When water currents are strong, he will move up to ½-ounce heads.
