Lake Verret

Lake Verret has always been one of my favorite lakes to fish here in South Louisiana. I remember driving from Houma to the Attakapas landing before the modern day improvements. The last part of the drive was a shell road that went through the swamp and the big cypress trees would create a kind of tunnel effect. It was a magical sight and at times the road would be a few inches under water which made the drive even more scenic. At the time, some of the residents that lived across the lake had no road access and a boat would pick up the children to bring them to a bus for school. The lake was absolutely a fantastic crappie and bluegill fishery. There were days I would be on the lake at daylight and still made it to work for 10am with a mess of sacs. Crappie wasn't the only fish in great abundance. Catfishing and big bull bream were plentiful also. Bass fishing wasn't my thing but the reports were always good and at times you could catch more than your share on a crappie pole. My personal best day was in May one year. There were torrential rains and the lake had flooded. The only access to the lake was to put a small john boat off the main road. On that spring day over 200 crappie were caught and released. A lot has changed over the years and those type of numbers are rare and seldom seen. But that being said, the lake can still give up some really nice fish and decent numbers at times. Not to mention a few years ago the number one state record white crappie came out of the lake in May. I decided to venture that way yesterday with my buddy, Tim Dusenbery. The water had come up from the rising rivers and was stained to muddy. Fished a bunch of structure starting from the south end up toward the shell beach side of the lake. Had to cover a lot of water to find them, but it paid off. Caught some quality fish which were fat and healthy. The key was not to give up on a spot. Some lay downs just looked right and we would circle them twice before moving on. Many times on the second pass, is when they would bite. The lake is pretty consistent depth wise and the majority of the fish were in 2 to 4 feet of water. Some were caught tight lining and some with cork and jig a foot and a half deep. I love jig heads with spinners and a 1/32oz chartreuse head with a solid blue and chartreuse jig tail was the choice today. Lake Verret and its vast cypress swamp not only makes for good fishing but for a scenic view as well. It is always a blessing getting to fish such a place. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Catching That Crappie Wave

Image
Every year, starting late winter, well-into late spring and even early summer, crappie begin their spawn. The wave starts here in the deep south and will continue as far north into Canada. It is perhaps the favorite time of year for crappie anglers. It's that time of year when even the novice of novice fishers can catch numbers of spawning fish. Just like clockwork, the spawn occurs here in the southern regions of the United States and progressively moves like a giant wave of crappie fishing heaven. Typically starting late January to mid February, the flurry begins and spreads north through the middle states from middle March through April. The wave continues north through April and May. So if you are a crappie enthusiust, and have time to travel, you can ride this crappie wave all the way to Canada. This may be a little far fetched for most of us, but it is possible to catch part of the ride by traveling a few hours north of where you are fishing. Perhaps the best example here in ...
Read more

Shallow Water Live Scoping

Image
Shallow water livescoping is not as easy or simple as one might think. The sheer amount of noise can make it difficult to spot the targeted fish you are trying to catch. When talking shallow, I mean 6 ft or less. So you have bought the coveted holy grail Garmin livescope or the new Lowrance Active Target. These innovations have changed the way fishers fish for certain. Deeper lakes/reservoirs are easier to navigate and spot brushpiles and fish. Shallow water seems to be more difficult. The settings are basically the same, usually noise rejection on low or medium. Then you adjust the gain and depths accordingly. Some scopers like to keep the bottom at the lower part of the screen which works fine in deep water. But sometimes in real shallow water, the view gets distorted and it's harder to see the fish. I like to put the depth at half or three quarter screen. These are only personal preferences that work for me. The key to catching more fish in real shallow water, is knowing what t...
Read more

Big Trout light tackle topwater

Image
With this warm weather here in south Louisiana, the top water fishing has been fantastic. For most folks using medium to heavy tackle would seem to be the best bet. But for me I op-out for the lightest tackle I can get away with. After all what is more exciting than hooking mule trout on 8-10 pound line with a medium to light weight 7ft spinning rod and a 1000 series spinning reel.. Crazy right? Most folks would think that, but that's exactly what I have caught over 40 fish with in the 3-6lb range these last two months. Plus this type of finesse fishing is great if you are using plastics or suspending baits. I prefer braided line also. but the key to using a light braid, is to have at least a 15-20 mono leader.. Those big trout have very sharp teeth and will slice through that braid better than any knife. As far as lures, that's a matter of preference. But a good topwater for the novice would be the mirrolure she-pup with high pitch rattles.. color seems to be secondary. Depend...
Read more