http://www.LouisianaSportsman.com April 2015 | Louisiana Sportsman 57
Before tying the knot, he pulls through enough line to leave
about a 6-inch tag end from which he’ll tie a No. 8 cricket hook.
“This rig lets me fish right along the bottom, but the leader gets
the bait away from the sinker,” Cormier explained. “You need a
long-shank hook because the fish might swallow the hook and I
need to get it out.”
Artificials
From small tubes, to tiny crawfish bodies, soft plastics on 3/16-
ounce jigheads will tempt any redear.
DOA’s 2-inch shrimp looks a lot like the grass shrimp panfish
love, so pulling this bait across the right spots on a split-shot rig
or a light Carolina rig will surely get some attention.
“One of my favorite artificials is a 1/32-ounce beetle spin,” Cormier
said. “If the fish are sluggish, I may tip it with a piece of worm.
They seem to hit it off the bottom as it’s coming back up.”
In the Atchafalaya Basin, McCardy has developed a dependable
technique that enables him to hold an enticing bait in the target
zone around those cypress roots.
“I use a brown-and-orange hair jig, and I tip it with a chartreuse
(Berkley Powerbait) Crappie Nibble,” McCardy said. “I fish the
jig under a slip cork. We’ll peg the cork so the jig is 2 to 5 feet
beneath the cork, depending on the river level.
“If I have someone on the boat that doesn’t want to use the
Crappie Nibble, I can usually out-fish them 8 or 10-to-1 by tip-
ping my jig.”
Casting to the base of a cypress tree, McCarty gives his cork a pop
to make the jig hop, action that
grabs fish’s attention.
Flies
Cormier mostly uses heavily
weighted flies and little micro jig
flies that reach bottom quickly.
Among his favorites are the
Fluff Butt and the Bead Head
Hare’s Ear. Made of rabbit fur,
the latter sports a lot of subtle
motion that fish seem to like.
For all of his fly work, Cormier
uses a 5-weight rod because it
affords him optimal flexibility
with the types of flies he uses.
A standard floating line does
the trick, even for bottom-
oriented fish.
“There’s no need to get
down deeper than 4 to 5 feet
because the most-active fish
will be in the first few feet off
the bottom,” he said. “So if you
use a long-enough leader,
you’ll be fine.
If I need to reach deeper,
I’ll use a sink tip connector
because it’s just easier to work
with.”
Slowly stripping the fly, Cormier expects most strikes to occur
right on the strip. He’ll typically count down to about 10 before
he starts stripping.
In most cases, that initial movement is what flips the switch.
“In clear water, I’ve watched (chinquapin) gather around the fly
and look at it,” Cormier said. “As soon as you move it, one will rush
out and grab it.”7035 Airline Hwy • 225.357.3118 • Fax 225.357.3807
http://www.boatsunlimitedla.com
Certified Master
YaMaha teChniCian On-sitenow
stocking
Key West
Boats
210Br
230Br
Come See Us
At The
LoUiSiAnA
SporTSmAn Show
march 12th-15thSinking flies are best for shellcracker, but bed-
ding fish will smack a popper.