There are no speckled trout feeding. No redfish cruising the marsh banks. No flounder setting up ambush under the Highway 11 Bridge. No sheephead grubbing barnacles off the railroad trestle pilings
And no drum rooting up blue crabs from deep holes in Lake Pontchartain or Harvey’s Cut.
See, the long and the short of it all is. . .nothing is biting right now!
At least not with any regularity or predictability!
“You know what you gotta do when this kind of thing happens, Frank?” Capt. Kenny Kreeger queried? “You find a ditch, or a stream, or a canal, or a bayou, or a riverbank run-off, or even a semi-choice pond. And you pitch a tiny gold long-shank hook baited with a worm or cricket under a split-shot under a weighted cork.
”And you pitch it amidst structure—limbs and branches and lilly pads—in the cleanest water you can find. Because until The Big Chill is gone, the only thing you’re gonna catch are bream, perch, bluegills, or whatever else you want to call these little panfish.
“And don’t get all bent out of shape when your friends and neighbors begin to harass you about ketchin’ dem little biddy fish! You just tell them that dem little biddy perch when scaled, gutted, and fried whole in a black cast iron skillet tastes a whole lot better than the NoName Fish Sticks they’re gonna have to suffer through at their house!”
But unless you’re a panfish aficionado, there is a methodology mandated by this piscatorial sport. Or to put it yet another way, “you gotta know where to find these little taste treats with fins.
“I’m sorry to say that you won’t find a paperback book called Where To Find Monster Bluegills In Your Neighborhood!” Kreeger continued. “Panfishing requires a lot of laid-back scouting. . .and not in places where you figure you should go first.
“Of course, using your boat, habitats under overhanging tree limbs where you have an equal mix of sunlight and shade is an obvious spot. But don’t—again in your boat—overlook slow-moving bayous or canals where you’ll find a lot of boat docks, boat houses, boat slips, and the proverbial downed tree. Panfish, like all freshwater species must have places to hide from bigger predatory fish—these numerous pilings in the water serve this purpose well.”
Kreeger went on to explain that it’s also possible to catch yo’sef a mess of perch from the bank:
1—Tidal bayous and ditches that border on roadways, especially in and around waterfront property usually are really productive bankfishing places (just ask permission to fish these spots from the landowners before you get other there and start casting).
2—Roadside ponds, many more than you would often suspect, many times support good populations of perch and bream Don’t discount any of them until after you’ve stopped alongside of them and beat the water to a froth casting for a sample. For this reason alone, between now and, say, June I recommend that you keep a lightweight rod and reel (preferably a closed-face one) in your truck or car so that you can “stop and test” whenever you spot a spot that looks promising. By the way, the best way to find new ponds like these is by keeping a close eye on your automobile GPS unit. Landlocked water usually shows up as “blue areas” on your navigator screen. Check them out!
3—And once you do find a place you can fish unhindered, keep your mouth shut and don’t go telling everybody about it. I know your Momma told you to be kind and share, but neither your Momma nor mine was talking about fishing spots! Can I have an “Amen?”
So what are your preferred baits?
“You can’t go wrong with earthworms,” Capt. Kenny divulged. “Just check them out before you buy them. Many bait shops sell red worms, sometimes called red wigglers. Pot the top on the canister to make sure they’re not all scrawny—the little bitty ones are hard to put on your hook.
“Nightcrawlers are a good choice, but some of them are too big for perch fishing. If you pop the top and the worms in the can look like baby anacondas, leave them on the shelf. I also like to use just pieces of nightcrawlers when I fish with them.
“Of course, remember that when all else fails, t’aint no perch around gonna turn up its nose at live crickets! Carry a regulation cricket cage in your truck or trunk and put about a dozen or so live crickets in it once or twice a week (along with a piece of potato to keep them alive). Then when on your way to or from work, stop alongside a likely spot, bait up and make a couple of casts, and see what happens. Didn’t think of that, huh?”
All of this information,, though, is pertinent only through mid-April and early June. That’s when the bigger bream, bass, goggle-eye, and sac-a-lait start taking over the cat-bird seat. That’s when the bigger guys show up.
Meanwhile, though, if you don’t know how to do this kind of “perchjerkin” and you want to learn from someone who does, feel free to call Capt. Kenny at4 985-643-2944 and ask him to guide you on a perch trip. You’ll once again remember just how peaceful and quiet a real fishing trip can be.
Next week, we’ll hopefully find a few trout and reds showing up at Golden Meadow. I’ll rendezvous with Capt. John “Hawkeye”
Aucoin next Thursday and we’ll see what happens. I’ll let you know right here as soon as we get back to the dock.
Meanwhile, remember that “the fishin’ is always good—it’s just that sometimes the catchin’ sucks!”
Frank Davis
