Keith Lusher February is here, and at first glance the only see you might notice is muddy water and cold temperatures, none of which are favorable for fishing with one the exception to a certain kind of fish that we like to refer to down south as sac-au-lait! Martin Duvic has been fishing the Tchefuncte River for sac-au-lait since 1991 and says the fish are definitely there if you put in the time to find them.
Duvic displays his tailgate full of slabs On his last trip the conditions weren’t optimal “It was a great day on the water! Perfect conditions! Blue sky, gale force winds, rising barometer, and muddy water,” he jokes. On his last trip Martin tried his normal spots above Interstate 12, but didn’t have much luck due to the low water. “I went up above the bridge, there’s a couple of trees I like to hit up there when the water’s down, but I didn’t do very good up there. The water was still really muddy up there,” Duvic says. Martin decided to make a run south of Interstate 12 and that’s where he had better luck. “I caught probably 20 in one area tight-lining a green and black Mardi Gras hair and chartreuse tube on 1/16 oz. jig head. I Probably kept a dozen or two, with half of them being good river slabs,” Duvic says. The Tchefuncte veteran reminds anglers that the river can be tricky, but if you put in a little time, you can find the fish. “The place is full of them, it just takes time to learn the spots and see what they want,” Duvic says.
Bayou Lacombe
Jack Tucker of Madisonville usually fishes for sac-au-lait with live shiners, but after finding out the local bait shop was out of them, he was forced to improvise. “Time to start learning jig fishing!” Tucker said. He launched at the Main Street launch in Lacombe and headed up to the bridge at Hwy 90 where he started getting a few short strikes on a Black and Chartreuse Bobby Garland Grub. Jack decided to put a shorter grub on. “I got a lot of short strikes on black and chartreuse Bobby Garland grub so I put on a shorter one on trying to stop the short strikes and ended up stopping the bites altogether,” he joked. Tucker made the decision to run south to the camps on Lake Road and ended up catching 5 bass with the same setup. “Those five bass will be hitting the skillet tonight!” Tucker added.
NFR Radio Program
On Saturday, February 20, The Northshore Fishing Report will be taking to the airwaves for a special two hour program from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. on 3WL 1350 AM. Guests will be sac-au-lait enthusiasts John Guiliiot, Ray Miller, and Martin Duvic who will discuss various sac-au-lait fishing methods and recipes.
Nothshore Bass Series 2016 Season
The Northshore Bass Series is cranking up for the 2016 season and two tournament anglers have signed sponsors. The reigning 2014 and 2015 Northshore Bass Angler of the Year, Jason Pittman, will be sponsored by Dr. Nathan Brown and his Northshore Oral & Facial Surgery Practice for the 2016 NBS Season. Ken’s Bayou Archery & Arms of Slidell will be sponsoring the 2015 Season’s 6th place finisher, Charles Duazat. GotchaDecals.com will be sponsoring Jimmy Dorris for the 2016 season. Jimmy finished in the #4 spot last year and looks to challenge for the #1 spot in 2016. If any local businesses are interested in sponsoring a local tournament for the upcoming NBS Season please contact Keith at 985-373-5974 for more information.
Bayou Lacombe
Jack Tucker of Madisonville usually fishes for sac-au-lait with live shiners, but after finding out the local bait shop was out of them, he was forced to improvise. “Time to start learning jig fishing!” Tucker said. He launched at the Main Street launch in Lacombe and headed up to the bridge at Hwy 90 where he started getting a few short strikes on a Black and Chartreuse Bobby Garland Grub. Jack decided to put a shorter grub on. “I got a lot of short strikes on black and chartreuse Bobby Garland grub so I put on a shorter one on trying to stop the short strikes and ended up stopping the bites altogether,” he joked. Tucker made the decision to run south to the camps on Lake Road and ended up catching 5 bass with the same setup. “Those five bass will be hitting the skillet tonight!” Tucker added.
NFR Radio Program
On Saturday, February 20, The Northshore Fishing Report will be taking to the airwaves for a special two hour program from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. on 3WL 1350 AM. Guests will be sac-au-lait enthusiasts John Guiliiot, Ray Miller, and Martin Duvic who will discuss various sac-au-lait fishing methods and recipes.
Nothshore Bass Series 2016 Season
The Northshore Bass Series is cranking up for the 2016 season and two tournament anglers have signed sponsors. The reigning 2014 and 2015 Northshore Bass Angler of the Year, Jason Pittman, will be sponsored by Dr. Nathan Brown and his Northshore Oral & Facial Surgery Practice for the 2016 NBS Season. Ken’s Bayou Archery & Arms of Slidell will be sponsoring the 2015 Season’s 6th place finisher, Charles Duazat. GotchaDecals.com will be sponsoring Jimmy Dorris for the 2016 season. Jimmy finished in the #4 spot last year and looks to challenge for the #1 spot in 2016. If any local businesses are interested in sponsoring a local tournament for the upcoming NBS Season please contact Keith at 985-373-5974 for more information.
