http://www.LouisianaSportsman.com April 2015 | Louisiana Sportsman 207
rods and reels are well suited for bass. If you’re primarily a bass
fisherman, you should consider upgrading to heavier rods and
line.
Don’t overlook fly equipment. Bass and reds make for excel-
lent sport on a fly rod.
Bass tend to orient to cover more than trout and reds, so pay
particular attention to any stumps, grass beds or other struc-
ture you encounter.
Bass in the Delacroix and Reggio areas is old news.
Although the population took a hit following Katrina, it has
since rebounded nicely. Launching at the commercial launches
or combat launching off the side of the road provide access to
the interior marshes teeming with bass and redfish.
The fresher water spurs vast areas of grass growth. By late sum-
mer, some of these areas seem impenetrable, but the fish are still
there. Using weedless baits like spoons, worms and weedless
topwater frogs becomes a necessity — a productive necessity.
However, winter knocks back the grass, and early spring
fishing provides more open-water areas. Popping corks, treble-
hooked crankbaits and spinnerbaits can be worked without
fouling, and will attract anything swimming in the marsh.
Bass are now being caught where they are least expected. The
marshes of Hopedale, Shell Beach and even the shores of lakes
Borgne and Pontchartrain are giving up bass to kayak anglers’
fish bags.
It’s not uncommon to alternate bass, reds and trout on sub-
sequent casts. You might
also encounter an occasional
flounder or two.
There’s really no strategy
to specifically target a par-
ticular species; they all can
be caught in the same place,
using the same bait and tech-
nique.
Although standard bass
fishing works, the chance
that a toothy trout or bruiser
red will also smash your bait
calls for a few upgrades. For
instance, spinnerbaits for
bass use much lighter wire
that will be destroyed by the
crushers of a redfish.
Most lures designed and
marketed for redfish use
heavier wire and hooks, but
the lures will catch bass too
— and last much longer.
There’s no need to change
your planning strategy; any
day that you think will be a
good day for trout and reds
will also be a good day for
bass. Marsh bass are influ-
enced by tides as are trout
and reds, so days with good
tidal movement generallyproduce better action.
One thing to take into consideration, however, is the bass
spawn that is distinctly different from trout or reds. Unlike
their saltier neighbors, bass utilize beds for spawning. Male
bass find locations to build beds for the larger females to use
for spawning.
In early spring, during the prespawn, male bass cruise shallow
areas near shore to find bed sites. As the water warms, both
males and females can be found in these shallow areas.
However, if fronts are still occurring, weather changes can
quickly cause a retreat to nearby deeper water.
During warm-weather stretches, use faster baits like jerk baits
or spinners to quickly cover more water and locate the fish. If
a recent front has cooled things down, switch to a Carolina- or
Texas-rigged plastic worm or lizard. Fish slowly in the deeper
areas near the spawning beds.
If bass have actually started to spawn and are on the beds,
sight fishing can be very productive if you have the ability to
stand and fish in your kayak. Dropping a creature-type soft plas-
tic onto a bass bed will usually draw explosive, defensive strikes.
If you can’t stand or the water is too dark for sight fishing,
back off the shore a bit and slowly swim a soft plastic down the
shoreline where it can intersect unseen beds.
Next time you paddle to your favorite redfish spot, plan on also
adding some bass to your bag. This “fresh” new approach to
coastal kayak fishing is a welcome and delicious change of pace. ■Ridiculously Stable.
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