What with saltwater levels low all over the Southeast Louisiana coastal marshes, and because where there is water it’s the color of Ovaltine, Frank Davis and his fishing team today pulled a complete 180 when time came to decide “where” to fish this morning and “what” to fish for.
It didn’t take much deliberation, though, because freshwater bass and bluegill angling quickly won out handily over saltwater trout and redfish action, once general consideration of the four game fish species was considered.
“May and June are by-far the best time of year to get after the big bass and bluegills,” Capt. Mike Helmer explained to my five-man crew as we circled one of the largest of the Crown Point freshwater stocked ponds. “But you know when you’re supposed to get out and sample the potential? Right! In later January and early to mid-February.
“This time of year gives you an indicator, albeit not a very significant one, as to which species of fish will be sufficient enough to support a population. It also gives you the official litmus tesr as to how the season will turn out by next fall.”
Helmer noted that rafts of bass, bream, and sac-a-lait this time of year are keenly aware of their habitats, their position in the order of things, their food chain availability, and just about everything else supported by the tenents of nature.
“Now don’t go expecting to rack up the numbers—both bass and bream—that you’d easily stash away in the ice chest in late Spring,” Emile Hebert, one of the locals who owns some of the major ponds along the fringe of the Jean Lafitte Preserve in Lower Barataria. “What you’ll get now is a sampling of what is to come. In other words, if it takes 8 to 10 casts to produce just once bass or bream, you get some idea as to whether the prime season will be hot or cold. If your landing ratio, however, is higher than 8 to 10 to 1, more like, say, four fish in 8 casts, then you know how to configure what, when, where, and how to fish come Spring.
“Yeah—it’s fish science for the most part, but a successful angler needs to at least understand the basic modus operandi for catching freshwater out of prime season. And if he does, his prime-time spring and summer catches will be grounds for serious bragging.”
Now here’s what you need to know to get your share of this early freshwater action:
1—Scout out and locate a pond you like.
2—Find out who owns it and then ask permission to fish in it.
3—Keep in mind that most “farm ponds” are rather deep—10 to 30 feet for the most part, so be ready to fish them deep.
4—Offer to share what you catch with the landowner, provided he allows harvest from his pond. If he doesn’t, let him know that you are happy to comply with his “catch-n-release” policy.
5—Plan on rigging plastic worms or spinner-baits for bass and plastic tube jigs or small beetles for bream. If you’d prefer to use live or market bait, be sure you also get permission to do that from the landowner before your first cast.
6—Use your GPS in your car to find “borrow pits,” deep-water pits dug alongside roads and highways for sub-surface “fill.” Many of them seem to go un-managed and present themselves as productive hotspots where the public might be able to fish. Do your homework though, and find out who owns the property before you attempt to haul a limit out of ‘em.
This morning my fishing team and I worked over the water on the farm tract belonging to Emile Hebert near Crown Point. Even for the off season, and even with lots of rain this past week that served to dilute the naturally-occurring pond water, we did fairly well, bringing home enough bass and bull bream for a decent fish fry.
“Of course, Frank, my pond isn’t like many of those you find in these areas,” Emile cautioned, “because I stock my pond and I manage it with fish feeders and I practice catch and release. For that reason, I, and folks I invite to fish my pond as guests, generally make pretty decent catches in prime season.”
Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back into my regular saltwater haunts next week (I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the water will clear up enough for trout and redfish to find my lures). The schedule notes that I’ll be fishing Lake Pontchartrain with Capt. Kenny Kreeger. I’ll let you know the situation the moment we get back to the dock.
Meanwhile, be courteous wherever you fish and always exercise caution whether your fishing a pond or the open Gulf of Mexico.
Tight lines and good times to ya,
Frank Davis
