Tough Fishing - South East Louisiana

[Missedone]

I usually fish from Jack Millers south to the Verret basin (I don't fish the marsh) and the east side of the Atchafalaya basin and have been fishing those areas for 45 plus years. The last several years I have found the bass fishing in those areas to be tough. I don't fish as much as a used to but talking to my fishing friends they are experiencing the same difficulty with the expectation of catching some spawning fish. I don't track tournaments very much but when I do see the results frequently you don't have to have a lot of weight to finish with a check. Is it just me, or are you experiencing the same issue?

[Gun Runner]

I usually fish from Jack Millers south to the Verret basin (I don't fish the marsh) and the east side of the Atchafalaya basin and have been fishing those areas for 45 plus years. The last several years I have found the bass fishing in those areas to be tough. I don't fish as much as a used to but talking to my fishing friends they are experiencing the same difficulty with the expectation of catching some spawning fish. I don't track tournaments very much but when I do see the results frequently you don't have to have a lot of weight to finish with a check. Is it just me, or are you experiencing the same issue?

Same for me ! I almost wish theyd bring back the 14" limit , I said ALMOST ! Its been tough the last few years and it seems like it got this way not long after they lifted the 14" slot .

[Missedone]

Same for me ! I almost wish theyd bring back the 14" limit , I said ALMOST ! Its been tough the last few years and it seems like it got this way not long after they lifted the 14" slot .

I would love to see the 14" limit back. For me, fishing was much better then for those under and over the size limit.

[marshman]

I don’t think size limit is affecting the basin fishing…. Bad water is affecting it… all the back waters are choked with salvinia…. The water comes up like it’s supposed to and falls like it’s supposed to but it pulls that bad water out…salvinia depletes the oxygen in the water.. bass just aren’t congregating in places they normally would… last several trips I’ve made over there fish I’ve caught were on the move… they run from bad water… better fishing will be in dirty water closer to the river or the inter coastal once the levels are down fishable…

thsts my theory anyway..

[Missedone]

I don’t think size limit is affecting the basin fishing…. Bad water is affecting it… all the back waters are choked with salvinia…. The water comes up like it’s supposed to and falls like it’s supposed to but it pulls that bad water out…salvinia depletes the oxygen in the water.. bass just aren’t congregating in places they normally would… last several trips I’ve made over there fish I’ve caught were on the move… they run from bad water… better fishing will be in dirty water closer to the river or the inter coastal once the levels are down fishable…

thsts my theory anyway..

I am not a biologist nor have I been trained in fisheries management but I do know what I have experienced. Bad water could be one factor but there is still something happening beyond black water. Places that I have fished for years that have good moving water, close to larger bodies of water are not producing the number or quality bass for me as they did when the 14 inch limit was in effect.

[SUSHII]

If you saw what went on during the spawn two years ago when the water was up on the levee there would be no question as to why the fishing is shit.

[Gun Runner]

If you saw what went on during the spawn two years ago when the water was up on the levee there would be no question as to why the fishing is shit.

Thats a fact to , they was picking them off like snipers !

[marshman]

Yes, there was definitely a mass kill on that levee…

[Bdog]

I would love to see the 14" limit back. For me, fishing was much better then for those under and over the size limit.

Same here.

[Lil Mo]

I always wondered if a true slot would help….something similar to the redfish slot but with appropriate size limits for bass.

[marshman]

I’ve just about given up on the basin… I know there is still good fish there but it’s too hard to make a 2 hour drive over there to go look for fish…. If I lived back over there, different story…

it’s too hard to not just stay over here and fish the marsh burning less than a gallon of gas and always always catch anywhere from 10 on a bad day to 50 in a couple hours on a good day….

[Missedone]

I’ve just about given up on the basin… I know there is still good fish there but it’s too hard to make a 2 hour drive over there to go look for fish…. If I lived back over there, different story…

it’s too hard to not just stay over here and fish the marsh burning less than a gallon of gas and always always catch anywhere from 10 on a bad day to 50 in a couple hours on a good day….

The sad part is that it is such a beautiful, unique place. Nothing like it in the world! I wish the bass fishing was managed better.

[marshman]

Well, it mostly always takes 15 pounds to get a check over there and anywhere from 16-20lbs to win so, the quality is there…. Also notice, it’s always the same handful of people that cash checks…. The fish in that basin are only in small areas.. water quality and dried up, or choked up backwaters and silted in main waters are a bigger problem than people keeping fish..(except for that massacre on the levee… that was a perfect storm that all the meateters took advantage of and raped that place taking advantage of all them fish running from bad water)

[Lil Mo]

I hit the Basin this past Saturday and only caught 2 bream and a catfish. I fished Bayou Sorrell area. Water was decent in only small stretches of the bayou. One thing I noticed, no grass just lillies.

[Bdog]

I was in the Basin Saturday as well. Caught round 15 goggle eye and one choupic.