saint romain

I'd prep my cleaning boards and electric knife

How do bass react to brackish water? I usually fish on some local rivers that run into Lake Ponchatrain (a salt water lake), for those who are familiar with southern LA. I've never caught bass, or even tried to, out in the middle of the lake but I know water in Ruddock (some swampy canals inbetween Lake Ponchatrain and Lake Marupas, which is a smaller more "brackish" lake) and even closer to the mouth's of most of the rivers get pretty "brackish" and I've caught fish in both places. So what happens to the fish when the water gets a little salty? I would imagine the fish to choose a lesser salty area, but I was just wondering if anyone knew if the fish WOULD NOT or could possibly move into the lake under certain conditions.

Some articles are sort of hard to find, and one of these were articles about barometric pressure. From what I've read I would associate "high pressure" with "dense cover" or possibly "lock-jaw," and "low pressure" with "activity" or "feeding." There's more to come into play because there are stable and unstable conditions and they all affect the fish. I read something that Bill Dance wrote, about the bladder sack is what is being affected by the pressure? Not sure. I'm like the other guys...I fish when I can no matter what the barometer says.

I made the switch to a BC when I was about your age, somewhere in there (not that I'm much older at 20)...its hard to pick up any kind of other reel after, I fished with ambassadeurs for the longest time...finally bought another spinning setup

this may not constitute as a "weirdest catch" but most definately my top "weirdest sight"...rode my 4wheeler to a interstate pond by my house, about 2 miles away...i pull up where i usually park, look through the woods by the bank and see a guy in what looks like a diaper but i think it was just undies (just undies, no shirt socks pants anything), smoking a cig talking to someone fully clothed like nothing was "odd"...lets just say i was creeped out didnt fish that day

i think thats because the wind blows the plankton, which some filter feeding baitfish follow for food, which the bass follow...for food i think wind is a good thing, can be frustrating, but its also kind of hard to cast accurately in the dang wind...ive been throwing at least 1/4 ounce larger spinnerbaits than normal and now i can get it where i think a wittle fishy might be

There are around 10 articles about pre-spawn on this site alone (top left). I would start out looking for coves that offer spawning flats, then fish the drop offs or shelves nearest to it. I just got into throwing jigs a lot, so its pretty much what I throw. Pay attention to your lake or body of water though, offer something/colors that the lake holds and the fish eat such as bluegill, shad, and crawfish. General weather + pressure could affect where you fish as well. Heres one of the articles: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fishing_the_pre-spawn.html

Makes sense. Thanks

Did a quick search and couldn't really find anything... The situation: All of the local rivers are about 3ft+ higher than normal, and you can't even see half of the launches. I'd seen a few big schools of baby fish, but not many so I imagine spawn was starting up, then 6.8 inches of rain in 2-3 days and a pretty nice cold front. The bite was good and now it seems I'm fishing a 20minute window. What affect did the high water have? Did they move way in the cypress trees and grass? Or did they move to deeper water? I can't decide because I caught two way in the trees/grass, and two in 10ft of water. Pretty much, what affect does pretty quick rising water levels from rain/northern ice melting have on bass?

slick stick

I know confidence comes from catching fish, but how do you gain confidence in baits that you've fished once or twice but really never caught much? Suppose you're out one day just trying new things, using baits/colors/presentations that "by the books" are solid, but you've never used them, and don't even get bit? Would you just give up with that bait?

beetle spins

I think the only thing that will change on Cataouatche is every fish will see a 1.5 Strike Kind KVD crank. Once Louisiana Sportsman wrote Cataouatche had "more 8lb bass" per square acre than Toledo bend or possibly any other body of water in Louisiana, there has been a lot of big fish taken out and put on walls. This was 2-3 years ago. Its not the first time anglers down here have heard of this lake, and fished it, possibly a few more out-of-staters though.

Ha, I've read some really good ones on here. There's more information on here than one could ever ask for. Sometimes its kind of hard once you are wondering about a certain situation, and thumbing through all of those articles its pretty rough. But you learn a lot of information while thumbing...I don't open an article and not read it.

AS SOON as he hits it, hold the rod at 10 o'clock and reel the slack until you feel him, drop the rod to about 7 o'clock and set the hook in the opposite direction you think he is swimming (you can get a general idea from the swirl or line moving). When you drop to 7 you are giving it some slack so you can just slam that hook into his mouth all at once and not give him a chance to do anything. I would definately suggest some braid, I use PowerPro. I would use a minimum of a 6'6" medium heavy rod, and thats a minimum.

I'm 20 and I'm getting a boat as well. If you have 5k saved up, don't impulse buy the first thing that comes along. I check LouisianaSportsman.com and I know there is a MississippiSportsman and probably every state (I'm not sure), which have classifieds. Also, the killer deals are on craigslist. Just always be sure to test drive the boat, check the transom and try to negotiate. Most prices are like 5,000$ OBO. I like to wheel and deal, but buying from dealers it usually doesn't work on used boats (i found that out)

Bassin' is probably similar. Pretty much a bunch of articles, check out the ones at the top left of your screen...they're more informative and you see less advertising. Even though an article from bassin' caught me my biggest bass :

Tchefuncte or w.e is one of the larger rivers around the area. Gets a decent amount of pressure, I think theres a weekly tournament held there. Mostly pleasure boaters though, river gets deep and I'm almost positive sturgeon have been caught in it. If you take HWY 22 to the drawbridge from Mandeville, a launch is on your right. Take a left at Baddeaux's (the road RIGHT after it) and follow it all the way down, it brings you to the lake and some decent fishing with another launch. Its a little more "shady" down there though. PS: Baddeaux's is the little burger shop

Yeah, I hear nothing but good about Pearl River. A lot of the guys from down here in the Ponchatoula/Hammond area fish it. I've never been though.

I'm glad I don't have that problem. Its been in the upper 70's for about a week here in Louisiana

I've been reading articles on here pretty much this whole winter. Its really hard to choose the best article on here, but which article has helped you the most? I liked this one, a lot. http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/bass-behavior.html

No threads on here?!?! Okhissa is one of the coolest lakes I've fished. My first outing I used spinner baits the whole time (a few years ago) and we did ok with 3 fish in the slot weighing 3lbs a peice. But I'm just now getting some opportunities to fish this body of water again. Since then, I've read many articles on this website...and I mean many, and I'm going to go back a lot more confident with about 3-5 baits that I think will do the job. I'm thinking of swimming a jig kind of deep (15ish feet) and coming back with a carolina rigged crawfish bait. Does anyone fish this lake often? If so, what might you suggest?

first, its weird that louisiana is categorized with "Central USA" but it is due to toledo bend and lake caddo i believe(which means you are in the wrong forum for a louisiana question, i just so happen to be fishing mississippi a lot and saw this) . Anywho, i used to live in mandeville and there are some FANTASTIC fishing ponds there. I've caught most of my big fish in some of these ponds. I am about to buy a boat, so if you know how, PM (private message) me and I'll give you the hookup on some secret spots good luck with the traffic in mandeville though, its picked up tremendously

approach appearance finish

I'm in.