Keith Lusher Jr You may have to think back quite a ways to remember the age of the sparkle beetle here in south Louisiana. These days it’s hard to find a speckled trout fisherman throwing anything but a soft plastic bait with a paddle tail attached to it. But Lake Pontchartrain angler Buddy Hereford says the sparkle beetle has worked in the past and still does! “I used that rig in the deep water canals in the Biloxi Marsh for as long as I can remember,” Hereford says. Buddy just recently started using them at the Trestles in Slidell when he saw a troller picking up fish along the tracks. “I started using them at the Trestles a few years back after watching a troller catching fish every 5-8 pilings while I was catching nothing. When he was close, I noticed he was using a light colored lure with a dark lure as a trailer. I dug in the box and found a speck rig and hung a dark beetle on the last hook and started catching,” Buddy says. I recently had the chance to fish the train trestles with Buddy and witnessed his success with the double rig first hand. The day started out with a quick run to the bridge out of Bayou Liberty. Buddy started throwing a single chartreuse beetle on a 3/8 oz. head and I was using a Shu-Shu in the Gunmetal color. We settled into an area between the 174 marker and the drawbridge and 5 minutes into the trip I broke the ice with a beautiful 14 inch speck. That “here we go” excited feeling was felt by the entire boat and everyone began to have confidence in their next cast.
Buddy Hereford Out of the corner of my eye I saw Buddy lunge backwards and start to reel in. Another speck hit the floor and when I saw him leave it there, I knew we were in for a great trip. After a few more trout were flopping on the floor Hereford changed things up and tied on a speck rig with two sparkle beetles. Going into the trip we knew we would have to get on them early in order to put together a decent box because of the storm approaching, Buddy said the double rig would help us fill the ice chest quicker. That it did! On the grizzled veterans next cast, he slung two 14” trout over the gunwale. For the next hour Buddy turned back to back casts into fish, alternating with singles and doubles. Buddy says the double rig is a great way to figure out what color the fish want on a certain day. “Right now the darker of the two seem to be best. Last week with the dirty water, the bright chartreuse was best,” he says. Hereford says he expects the bite to continue. “Unless the water dirties up from the high rivers, the fish should remain thick in this area,” he says. Right now the mile marker 174 has been the hotspot. This presents a problem with boat traffic generally on the weekends, but Hereford say to use this to your advantage. “I think the mile markers are just a land mark and fisher people need land marks. 4-5 seasons back the ‘hot spot’ was from the south shore out to 177 and it was referenced by numbers on the face of the cement bridge parts. Early this spring the north shore out to the draw (MM173) and firebreaks 3-6 were stacked with boats. Now, the best area seems to be from the north draw all the way to 175. But these are just reference points. It’s not better catching there - it’s just a land mark,” Buddy says.
Upcoming Tournaments
A Thursday evening bass tournament will be held on the Tangipahoa River on Thursday, May 7 from 5-8 pm. For more information please call Richard Bennett at 985-981-3599.
The next Liars and Lunkers tournament will be May 17, at the East Pearl River. For more information, please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217.
Florida Parishes Bass Anglers will be holding their next tournament on May 9, at Bayou Liberty. For more information please call Kevin Williams at 985-502-6146 or Patrick Engerran at 985-474-6112.
Upcoming Tournaments
A Thursday evening bass tournament will be held on the Tangipahoa River on Thursday, May 7 from 5-8 pm. For more information please call Richard Bennett at 985-981-3599.
The next Liars and Lunkers tournament will be May 17, at the East Pearl River. For more information, please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217.
Florida Parishes Bass Anglers will be holding their next tournament on May 9, at Bayou Liberty. For more information please call Kevin Williams at 985-502-6146 or Patrick Engerran at 985-474-6112.
