L_S_2015_04_

248 Louisiana Sportsman^ | April 2015

Morgan City Area

Some extra-nice catches of bass were being recorded in late

January, February and early March in the prime waterways

around Morgan City.

That success should continue and even improve in late March

and April, according to Bill McCarty, who caught some hefty

five-fish limits in contests in the weeks leading into March

There was no shortage of potential hotspots for this time of

year, when many bass spawn or have spawned, said the avid

outdoorsman who owns oilfield-related WHM Services and

serves on the St. Mary Parish School Board.

“It depends a whole lot on the river stage, how much it comes

up, how much water from up north ( flows downstream),”

McCarty said, talking about the Atchafalaya River stage, which

was low all winter.

The river began rising a little the first week of March.

If or when the river gets over 4.5 feet, the bassin’ success drops

significantly, meaning bassers should look to the southwest,

south or east of Morgan City.

McCarty’s destination if that happens probably would be the

Bayou Black area. He’d be looking for pipeline canals with grass

beds or scattered grass in them — places like Bluebird Canal,

Turtle Bayou, Trapper’s Canal and the Orange Grove area.

Two artificials effective in those areas are hollow-bodied plas-

tic frogs and Horny Toads, he said, as well as small chartreuse/

white or black/white spinnerbaits.

To the west, Belle Isle and Quintana Canal can be prime

for bass, and watermelon/red or june-bug soft plastics like

creature baits and his favorite soft-plastic jerkbaits often do a

number on the bass.

Around nearby Stephensville, McCarty likes to fish around

cypress trees in Lake Verret

with a watermelon/red Brush

Hog or shallow-diving char-

treuse/black or black/white

crankbait.

If the river’s over 4.5 feet at

Morgan City, try areas with

high banks, such as Orange

Barrel Canal, some of the

Shell Cuts and Bayou Mallet.

Another alternative is Bayou

Teche at Patterson, where

bass become more active this

time of year, McCarty said. He

noting some yearly hotspots

include the “people side” on

the Berwick end of the Teche.

Fish with Senkos or Flukes

around the docks and piers,

as well as buzz baits, small

spinnerbaits and plastic

worms there, and in and

around any grass beds.

If the river stage is under

4.5 feet, McCarty said he

probably would start in the

Bayou Sorrell area, then go to

the Shell Cuts, Logan Canal,

Zig-Zag Canal, and then try

Grand Lake.

His favorite Spillway arti-

ficial lures are chartreuse/

white or white buzz baits

early, big-bladed spinnerbaits

and watermelon/red Brush

Hogs.

For sac-a-lait, his No. 1 stop

would be the main canals in

the Bayou Black area, such as

School Board Canal. Closer to

Morgan City, he prefers fish-

ing the outside trees in Grassy

Southcentral

fishing forecast continued

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