RAIN SLOWS IMPROVING BITE

 

Last updated 6/6/2017 at Noon



The weekend deluge that soaked the area Sunday got started a day early for me. Karen and I were in Grand Lake, about fifteen miles south of Lake Charles attending her family reunion Saturday morning when the bottom dropped out.Unfortunately, we were only half way across the parking lot when the skies opened up.

I always enjoy visiting with Sammy Faulk, a veteran guide on Big Lake, at these annual events and he said that their bite had really taken a hit with all of the fresh water. “As a matter of fact, a lot of our guides are making the run over to Sabine every day because they think your bite is better.”

Can you imagine that?Our bite was indeed improving prior to this latest round of local flooding, but at least temporarily, we are once again having to deal with even more fresh water.Sunday’s 24 hour monsoon did us no favors.

I also got all the details concerning Jerry Matney’s second place finish in last month’s Big Bass Splash tournament on Toledo Bend and they once again supported the notion of “I’d rather be lucky than good”.Karen’s cousin, Beth Tilley, said that her husband’s fishing partner invited his brother to drive in from Dewey, Oklahoma and fish the tournament with them.

“He had never fished a bass tournament in his life,” said Beth.“They paid his entry fee, took him down to the dock the evening before to practice and showed him one of their best spots to fish.” Matney cashed in on their generosity by catching the second big bass of the tournament!

His 10.56 pound bass earned him a fully rigged Triton bass boat, a Dodge Ram truck and $2000 cash.Now you know why the tournament has been such a huge success over the years.You only need to be very lucky for one cast. For those of you that may be concerned as to how appreciative he was, before returning to Oklahoma, he gave his brother the boat!

While local saltwater anglers wait out the effects of yet another round of flooding, the visiting Bassmaster pros are simply tweaking game plans to compensate for higher water.Unlike trout, flounder and redfish that can’t handle mega doses of fresh water, the bass simply relocate on existing structure and are still more concerned with their next meal than survival.

The consensus among local bass fishermen that spend most of their fishing time on the river or in the bayous is that the pros are going to like what they find.A break in the weather would help not only the pros, but the huge crowds on hand to watch the weigh-ins as well!

At least one visiting pro that was willing to share a little bit of what he found while scouting, can’t understand why we fish for anything other than bass.“I had never caught a redfish, but they are like bass on steroids.”

He also couldn’t understand why more locals don’t pitch jigs at reds.“I fished four drains off a marsh canal and caught at least one red in every cut,” shared the visiting pro.“The bad news is that I never caught the first keeper bass.”

Hats off to Cindy McGee, Randy Hebert and the volunteers that once again made last weekend’s Wounded Warriors tournament a big success.The tournament was hosted out of the Chenier Camp and was attended by 15 Wounded Warriors and 85 local anglers.

The S.A.L.T. Club team handled the weigh-in.Considering the weather they had to endure, the catching part was very respectable.All ten places were filled in every category which is unusual in itself.The winning trout was nearly six pounds and both the redfish and flounder were solid fish as well.

This tournament has become an annual event and one that you do not want to miss in the future. Fishing with and in support of these Wounded Warriors is a guaranteed day on the water that you will never forget!

Do not forget that the CCA S.T.A.R. tournament is officially underway and will run until Labor Day.Aside from the fact that you will be supporting the only organization concerned with helping the recreational angler, every trip might result in a great pay day.

The kids have a shot at a $50,000 scholarships while you could win a new boat, pickup truck or possibly both.Brady Lentz said it best, “The tournament makes that split second before you set the hook even more exciting every time!”

 

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