Keith Lusher 04.11.23
As the calendar turns to April, issues are winding down for anglers who get pleasure from concentrating on sac-a-lait within the shallows in Louisiana. This month, the bayou state noticed a comparatively early spawn introduced on by an abnormally heat February.
Ray Miller of Madisonville, La. fishes the rivers alongside the North shore of Lake Pontchartrain and stated the spawn was accented by the moon section this spring.
“Those few weeks of warm weather combined with the full moon made those fish go crazy,” Miller stated.
The sac-a-lat in South Louisiana will usually transfer from the deeper principal channels of the rivers and bayous and work their means again into the dead-end canals and sloughs the place the water isn’t shifting as a lot. “When these fish spawn they’re looking for still water, and wood to lay their eggs on. The moving water in the main rivers don’t allow them to do this so they have to move back into areas with less current,” he stated.
During the spawn, Miller makes use of a black and gold hand-tied 1/32-ounce hair jig rigged 2 toes beneath a sliding cork.“I grew up cork-fishing, nothing brings out the inner kid in me like a popping cork during the spawn. There’s just something about watching that cork go under and setting the hook and a big sac-a-lait,” Miller stated.
While most fishermen inventory one or two various kinds of corks of their sort out field, Miller has over 10 differing types in his sort out field.
“I like to say that I have a cork fetish because of how many different sizes and shapes I have in my box, but they all come in handy, ” stated Miller.
While he prefers to fish with a hair jig in the course of the spawn, generally the fish simply received’t Bite synthetic and Miller is compelled to go one other route. When the sac-a-lait are temperamental, he brings alongside a bucket of shiners. He rigs them about 2 toes underneath a slip cork and provides a split-shot midway down between the cork and the hook. “The split-shot keeps the shiner in check. If I don’t have the split-shot on there the shiner swims all over and ends up getting caught in the branches along the shoreline,” he stated.
Miller stated one of the best time to fish this previous month when fishing the spawn was earlier than and after the complete moon. “My best day was three days before the full moon and three days after the full moon this past March,” he stated
What’s in Store for April?
Miller has not too long ago bought Garmin LiveScope which permits him to see what’s happening beneath the water’s floor to a level like by no means earlier than. Miller stated he began to see some fish heading into the principle river after spawning as early as February. “Not all the fish spawn at once, some of them get an early start and are back in the main river as early as the beginning of March,” he stated.
As the calendar turns from March to April, Miller is beginning to get again to his regular routine of deep-jigging the principle rivers in 15-30 toes of water. “The spawn’s all but over for us down here in Louisiana. There still may be a few fish in the canals but for the most part, they are moving back into the main river,” he stated.
Miller has been catching fish by finding fallen bushes and fishing the canopies of these bushes.
“If you look along the shoreline, you can spot big trees that have fallen in,” Miller stated. “If you follow that tree trunk down into the water you can estimate where the canopy of that tree is and lower your jig down into it. It’s just a matter of time before you hit paydirt on one of them.” Miller has logged over 100 bushes within the Tchefuncte River and has a system the place he fishes one for 10 minutes after which strikes if nothing is biting. “I don’t give it long. If I don’t see any action, I’m out of there,” he stated. “I’ve had trips where I didn’t catch anything all morning and on my last stop, I found fish and it saved the day.”
Miller additionally recommends listening to your environment once you’re fishing, particularly the place you catch the fish. “I like to keep a journal of what I catch and where I catch to review for future trips. When you catch fish it’s important to write it down, chances are that you’ll come back to the spot the same time next year and find fish again,” he stated.
His deep jigging setup features a 10-foot jigging pole rigged with a tube jig referred to as a Lil’ Hustler Scale Head tube jig. Miller prefers a shade he describes as “puke” which is any shade mixture of orange, yellow, and brown. Miller has been catching a median of 25-30 fish a visit starting from 10-15 inches. He stated the fishing ought to enhance after the sac-a-lait are utterly down with the spawn and get again to regular in late April.
