 Keith Lusher Jr
The dry weather Combined with the warming temperatures, should be a good combination for Bayou Cane this month. In addition to a great bass bite, the perch and goggle eye bite is getting better. Pay attention to the fronts and key on the hours before the front when the barometric pressure is dropping. I've had a lot of success on Cane during these conditions. Find muddy water mixing with clear water spilling out of the march for active feeding bass. For the kayakers watch ou for alligators as they will be thawing out from last months Artic blast.
Bayou Castine is warming up and the frog-bite is back! Bayou Castine is a picture perfect waterway for throwing frogs. The small bayou is ultra-protected form winds making the waters surface like glass. Concentrate on the small cuts with duck-weed on top and throw Spro-Frogs in green and black into these cuts.
The Causeway should surprise this month as we've seen the spillway closed for 5 years now. Trolling will be an option in March and the jigging should pick up as the weather warms. Matrix on a 3/8 oz. jighead should work but remember to try different locations of the bridge and key in on where you catch your first trout as they usually follow a pattern on the bridge.
 Daniel Sissac Roger Sissac
March is here, and its first week will start with temperatures reaching the mid 70s; lows will be in the 40s and 50s. Why do I start by mentioning the temps? Bass in southeast Louisiana typically start spawning when water temps are in the 60s, possibly upper 50s (by “start spawning”, I mean that females will start developing eggs). Air temperature does not directly correlate to water temperature. Water temps are more stable and take a couple days to change, unlike air temps that could span ten or twenty degrees in a single day. This means that there must be a few consecutive days of opposing air temperatures (warm to cold or cold to warm) to affect water temperature. Water temps, as I am typing this, are in the upper 50s to very low 60s. As the month progresses, those numbers will climb. Bass are already feeling the urge to spawn. Females have been caught with developed eggs, and males are on the move to find their spawning zone. Where are the spawning zones? They are typically in shallow water near a hard bottom and preferably (their preference, not mine!) by some sort of cover. The best places to start looking are the subdivision canals. Males, the smaller of the breeding pair, will move shallower first to scout a suitable location to make a nest - the nests are usually a round clearing on the bottom where a “naturally” round clearing would not normally be. Some bass will start dropping eggs this month, but most will likely drop next month, depending on water temps. On warmer days, look for males to be in shallower water, especially flats. The females won’t be far away, but they usually stay in slightly deeper water until moving to a nest. So, that’s where they should be, but what do I use to catch them? When bass enter spawn mode, they become protectors. The fish will soon drop their brood and try to protect them, if possible. Consequently, any kind of soft plastic that looks like an egg-eater should be your first lure to fish; lizards, crawfish, and even creature baits should invoke the parental instinct of the bass. Color is not as important as placement and speed. I am a speed fisherman, but during the spawn, I have to slow my retrieve if I’m fishing nests. A bass won’t leave the nest to chase a lure that’s moving too fast or that is too far away. Slowly drag your choice of soft plastic (I hardly ever use lizards; I mostly use worms) along the bottom, especially if you can’t see the nests due to water clarity or wind. You don’t have to be targeting nests to catch spawning bass; blind casting, in the right locations, also can produce fish. For slightly bigger bass - the females - try in slightly deeper water near a flat or what you believe to be spawning water. I like to use a suspending jerk bait in a natural color while targeting the ladies.
The bream bite is getting better. They usually don’t start spawning until water temps are in the 70s; they also spawn in big colonies. The best places to find bream, this March of 2025, are near structure. Boat houses, pilings, and Cypress knees are surely holding bream. Sexee Shad in black/chartreuse has always put fish in the boat, even when my dad was using the second go-to for bream: crickets. Many other “baits” will catch bream, including bacon, corn (off the cob!), grubs, and earthworms - I don’t like having to deal with non-artificial baits, but you may differ. One bycatch of all the above baits is catfish, and Bayou Bonfouca has many. Some are big, so make sure your rig can handle them. While this isn’t directly tied to Bonfouca, trout are being caught on the trestles as of today (28 February). They are here to spawn, and usually don’t invade the bayous. Instead, they will stay by the trestles and rub against them to release the eggs. That said, some may stray into Bonfouca, so make a couple casts for them while on the water. My go-to is a Pearl white Berkley swimbait - Pearl white is the one without the black spot. For whatever reason, trout do not like the spotted one! 
 Ronald Pierre
Bass fishing on the Tangipahoa River system should get red hot in March. This month we should see a big influx of bass move into the shallows. Most bass will either be spawning or in post spawn mode by this time. Anglers should concentrate their efforts on fishing shallow backwaters off of the main river. Areas like Black Bayou, Stinky Bayou, Bedico Creek, Long, and Middle Bayous should heat up with both spawning and post spawn bass. These areas have good habitat that will draw in bass from long distances for the spawn. One major key to these areas is the abundance of grass, such as milfoil, eel grass, water lilies, and alligator grass. This grass is the base of their habitat, and offers bass food, ambush points, and shelter for bass to spawn and guard their young once they hatch. The grass in these areas can be so vast that it leaves anglers scratching their heads on where to start fishing. Areas I like to concentrate on are the inside bends of the bayous. These areas offer shallower, warmer flats that bass love to spawn on. Another key to look for are hard spots within the flats. Hard spots can be anything from an isolated stump, gravel, shells, or brush. Bass will build their nests right up next to these hard spots to spawn. Target these areas first to save time and to cover a lot of water. If you find an area that holds fish in the shallows during this time of year, make several passes throughout the day. Places like this are known to reload with fish as the day progresses and the water warms. Good lures to throw are lighter spinnerbaits that have a lot of vibration and flash, swim jigs, Texas rigged senkos, and soft plastic creature baits. Concentrate on fishing quickly and covering a lot of water early until you find fish. Once you find where bass are located settle into that area, slow down, picking every piece of cover apart, and get in tune with whatever hints these bass are giving up. The smallest subtleties will be a huge factor when piecing together the puzzle during the spawn.
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