Late spring means the bass spawn is past it peak but panfish and shad spawns are just beginning. Tactics for bass change during this time of year. Anglers also carry a few ultralight poles for added fun when bream beds or other panfish begin to gather to do their thing. Anglers should understand the weather can play havoc on any game plan. Passing fronts, deluges that muddy the water, and wind too strong the fly a kite in makes late spring a challenging time to be on the water.


Northshore
The Pearl finally feel below ten feet on the Pearl River, Louisiana gauge. However, the river will go right back above ten feet with recent rains. Strong winds can suck the water out of the marsh or blow muddy water into the ponds and bayous around the lake. Late spring is a tough time to find much less hope they will be around tournament day. A few recent trips produces nice catches of panfish like crappie and bream and lots of small bass. Reports from the area put a ten pound stringer as a nice day on the water. 
Liberty and Lacombe rise with hard south winds. Rainfall from passing front rarely put more than a stain into the water color. Reports have been good for panfish on the smaller bayous. Bass fishing is good on numbers but size is not part of the reports. Further west place like the Tickfaw and Tangipahoa Rivers are tough nuts to crack. Reports have been few and far between from those area. Wind and passing fronts are making fishing tough so hopefully a few weeks will improve the fishing in the area.
Spinnerbaits are good when the fishing is tough. Anglers can cover lots of water and fish several types of cover. Cypress trees, edge of the grass line, and tree tops are good place to roll a spinnerbait by. In muddy water spots like the Pearl, jig and pig is the best choice for putting five keepers in the boat. In areas with clean water and shad flicking everywhere, fishermen should break out topwaters like prop baits and walkers.

Basin
The river is above four feet on the Morgan City gauge. This means the Basin side (west side) is a tough place to catch fish because fish move into the woods to feed. Reports from the Verret side are considerably better than the west side. Bream on Cypress trees or bass along main lake shorelines are a few ways to find fish. The lower marsh still remains strong on the bass bites, too. For panfish the best choice is live crickets this time of year. A good tip is to try the Gulp crickets. They catch fish and are easier to catch than the live version. A few choices for bass anglers to try are spinnerbaits on trees or pitch soft plastics to the same trees. In the marsh areas, frogs early in the morning followed by weightless flukes or worms around grass patches. Again, passing fronts and high winds make many areas tough for anglers to find and catch fish.

Trout
When the weather allows, speckle trout are all over the bridges in the lake. From the Causeway to the Trestle, trout action is pretty steady for late spring. High winds may prevent a trip out in the lake or muddy the water so a trip may have to wait a few days. Selecting the right lures come down to water color and time of day. For clean water anglers can select Matrix Shad in clear colors like Holy Joely or Shrimp Creole. For bright sunny days that occur in late spring, a color like the Green Hornet does well because of the extra glitter in the bait. Another tactic is too slowly, and I mean slowly, drag a Gulp shrimp or Gulp Jerk Shad on a half-ounce jig head. Warning! If you jerk on the first tap when using a Gulp bait, you are going to miss the fish. Let the fish continue to tap on the bait and pull the rod down. A Gulp shrimp will produce when the bite slows down.

Conclusion
The weather is call Mother Nature for a reason. Weather controls so many factors in the fishing world. A strong wind can negate a tide or magnify it. Heavy rains can change a beautiful stretch of river into a mud hole. Fishing tactics this time of year will change as quickly as the weather. A prepared angler will find a way to catch fish. In late spring it may be schooling fish everywhere one day and not a bite the next.

The bass hot spots around south Louisiana have continued to produce some nice stringers and big fish. From the top lake in the US, Toledo Bend, to local marsh hotspots like Bayou Black, the bass fishing is on the incline. The reports on the number of bass per trip and size continues to improve across the area. Let’s hope April will continue the upward trend.

Northshore

With a few passing fronts dropping several inches of rain, the Northshore fishing goes from a mud hole to stained paradise. A recent trip during a Wednesday Evening Bass tournament proved to me the fishing in the Tchefuncte is on the rebound. It took ten pounds to win but several nice fish were brought in on a tough day. I fished as a guest but my fishing partner and I had a solid 11 pounds combined. If you head to the local rivers, stick to main river points and Lily pad fields. Buzzbaits are great early then switch to flipping plastics or a slow moving spinnerbait or chatterbait (white or shad pattern). The shad are thick on the lower end of the Tchefuncte so topwater baits will come into play very soon.

The Pearl and Tickfaw are other fun spots to hit with good stringers come of both systems. Of course, high muddy water changes the fishery and tactics angler need to use to catch big stringers. When the muddy floods the area, hit marsh area bayous and ponds for quicker action. When the river begins to drop, in it drains and jigs that catch fish.

Chef/Delacroix
Action has been hot for the marsh. Stringers vary with the weather but numbers are there. Frogs, swimming matrix shad, and light Texas rigs are good choices for ponds and bays across the region. If cloud cover happens, go to Pop Rs and spooks for big fish. Always look for grass when fishing the marsh. Add a point or a drain to the mix whenever possible.

Basin
Reports across the area a very good but the marsh spots seem to be producing right now. 16-18 pound stringers south of Hwy 90 are normal for most events in the area. The river may start to rise as we get rains up north and some snow melt. The Mississippi River is set to rise the next few weeks, too.  For area around Bayou Black, frogs and soft stick baits around grass have been top tactics in some of the reports I have received. For Basin anglers, try spinnerbaits around wood or plastic in and over grass. Deadends may have a few fish that are spawning but main bayous and points are better options after the early full moon this month.

Toledo Bend
The advice for Toledo Bend is to go. Anglers should plan a trip to the top lake in the country. It is in our backyard and usually fishes well in April. Bass are fairly shallow this month with the 4-8 ft depth range being the prime depth to fish. Anglers who find grass should try wacky worms, crankbaits, and Texas or Carolina rigged lizards.

Panfish
Several reports on Lake Runners (Chinquapins or red ears) around the Chef Pass and Pearl River marsh have come in. Anglers can throw a 1/16 ounce beetle spin around grass in ponds to locate some spawning bream. The goggle eyes along the northshore rivers should begin biting at the end of the month and when the rivers clean up. Crappie action has been fair but the spawn is just about done for the year. The Pearl stays colder longer so some crappie may stay shallow this month.