Sinking Brushpiles
Sac-a-lait fishermen often hold their cards close to the vest when it comes to giving away secret fishing spots. It is often the case that these fishermen develop personal relationships with certain spots as they have been fishing for decades. It can be as simple as a submerged log that always seems to hold fish, or it can be an entire treetop that stretches out 30 feet into the river. Whatever the case, these spots hold one thing in common: they all contain some kind of submerged structure.
I made a trip with Ray Miller of Madisonville to the Tchefuncte River and got to experience something of a new “fishing spot” being created right before my eyes. It all started when I received a text from Miller a week ago. It was a picture of a tree branch that was lying on Miller’s driveway. I wondered what the photo was meant to suggest so I gave him a call and simply asked, “What’s that?” He answered, “That’s my new fishing spot.” He then proceeded to explain how he was going to take a set of branches out on the river and sink them. This piqued my interest, and I was curious as to how the next day would transpire.
I met Miller at the 4th St. Boat Launch AKA Menetre Boat Launch in Covington near St. Pauls High School. Miller was backing down his flatboat and it was covered in branches, so much so that there was hardly any room to walk in the boat. As we motored down river we came upon the spot where Miller wanted to sink the three large branches. As we neared the spot Miller explained how he makes the brush piles so that they stand up in the water column and attract fish. “It’s a simple cinderblock that I tie onto the bottom of the branch. This holds the branch down on the bottom,” he said.
On the top of the branch, he ties on a two-liter soda bottle filled with air and sealed. “That makes the leafy section of the branch float. I find that fish react to horizontal structures better than if it’s just lying on the bottom,” he said.
As we pulled up to the set where he wanted to sink the branches, we both grabbed an end of the branch and tossed it overboard. We proceed to do the same with the other two branches. After this, we started fishing numerous spots in the river. It was an overcast day with cool temperatures, so Miller stopped at numerous spots in the main river where we were able to catch fish on just about every stop. The fish were suspended at around 10 feet and although they weren’t biting aggressively, we did manage to put a solid box of fish together using a Panfish Assassin Tony Shad in the Crystal Shad color.
The highlight of the day came when we doubled back on the river to check and see if any fish had found the brush pile that we sank earlier in the day. As Miller put his transducer down and pointed it towards the brush pile the branches were full of fish that had made it home. “Sometimes just a few hours is all it takes to attract the baitfish and sac-a-lait follow,” he said.
Needless to say, it was quite a productive morning of fishing as I was able to take home a box of sac-a-lait to clean for a future fish fry, but more importantly I learned that you don’t have to depend on your ability to find existing spots when you can easily take it upon yourself to create your own!
Tournament Results
The Bass Assassins fished Bayou Liberty and the air temperatures were amazing. The water was very high and falling. Water temps were in the low 80’s. These conditions gave way to some great fishing for all 13 anglers who showed up. Troy Ladner took home his fourth Bass Assassins win in a row. He brought in a 12.94-lb limit to beat the field. In second place was Eric Ciko with a 10.84 lb. limit. John Cahill rounded out the top three with a limit weighing 7.21 lbs. The big fish division went to John Seghers for his 5.24 lbs. bass.
Cool weather and incoming tides greeted the 25 anglers that fished the latest Double Nickel tournament at the East Pear River. The skies were overcast all morning which should have led to heavy bags at the weigh-in. However, the weights were low. In the end, it was Richard Alloto who took the top spot with 3-fish weighing 5.798 pounds. In second place was Jerry Bullock who weighed in 3 fish at 5.710 pounds. Bullock also had the big fish of the day: a 3.153-pound bass. Joe Frierson placed third with 5.567 pounds. Barry Lee placed second in the big bass division with a 3.119-pound fish.
Upcoming Tournaments
Pearl River Team Trails is holding its next tournament at Crawford’s Landing on Nov 11. For more information, please contact Charles Dauzat at 985-960-3260.
Liars and Lunkers will be holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on Oct 29. For more information, please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217.
Serenity Baptist Church is holding a bass tournament at the Manchac Boat Launch on Nov 4. There will be a $110 entry fee and $10 for a big bass pot. For more information, please contact Keith Wagner at 985-351-1656.
The Double Nickel Bass Club is holding its next tournament at the East Pearl River on October 24. For more information, please contact Dwain Crumby at 985-502-6006.
(Keith Lusher Jr. writes a weekly column. For more info, visit NorthshoreFishingReport.com. Contact Keith at keith@northshorefishingreport.com.)