With Toledo Bend gobbling up thousands of freshwater fishing hours during the past three weeks, it’s enough to believe The Bend’s fishery is alive and healthy.
Even high school anglers got in on this action with several bass weighing more than six pounds taken in two tournaments held there this month.
And, with the Major League Fishing tour hitting this reservoir this week, more anglers will prove why our state’s largest impoundment grabs so much attention.
But let’s not forget nearby waters: Chance Bergeron teamed with Brandon Garon to bring in a five-bass limit tipping the scales at 18 pounds, 13 ounces to win last Sunday’s annual Pointe Coupee Kiwanis tournament.
Meanwhile, in the Verret and Atchafalaya basins, the Junior Southwest Bassmasters were showing us the bass populations in those waters are eager enough to provide quality action. Most of the 25 young anglers and their “coaches” decided to fish on the Verret side. The Atchafalaya River’s rise made the choice easier.
JSB director Jim Breaux reported nearly all the young anglers caught at least one bass during the onset of another cold front, and that most of the action came on vibrating jigs, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and soft-plastic “creatures.”
And with the occasional reports on redfish and speckled trout — weather permitting, of course — spring’s first days hold promise for a steady procession of fishermen to the coast well into June.
All that leads to ...
The release of FishingBooker’s study showing Louisiana makes 2023’s top 10 in fishing among the 50 states — seventh up from ninth in the group’s initial report in 2022.
FishingBooker is a platform for booking fishing trips, and its study is based on “17 different criteria in Community, Facilities, Financial, and Geography” categories.
Our state totaled 101½ points — 210 is the max — and ranked Geography with 17½ out of 35 points and Financial, with 35 of 65 points, as its best scores.
Other comments included: “Going fishing here will be amazing but won’t break the bank! With endless marshes and uniquely rich inshore waters, it makes sense that the Bayou State is on this list.
“Louisiana has some of the best shallow-water angling you’ll find in the South. The numbers of redfish, black drum, speckled trout and flounder are astounding, and large specimens are almost always available. Go out into the Gulf (of Mexico), and you’ll come across red snapper, massive yellowfin tuna, wahoo, Mahi Mahi and billfish. All the A-listers in one place!”
With an expanded recreational red snapper season opening April 15 with a four-fish-per-day limit, the 2024 report could up the number.
Now, we just have to hope gasoline prices go down to make trips more affordable.
Even more, we can push for our state’s elected officials to recognize the importance of recreational fishing and help with financial incentives to add more and better access through more modern boat launches and marina facilities.
By the way, the top 10 went like this — Alaska (117 points), Florida (114), Delaware (108), Michigan (105½), South Carolina (102½), Maine (102), Louisiana (101½), Hawaii (101), Georgia (100) and North Carolina (99).
The complete report can be found on this website: fishingbooker.com/blog/best-us-fishing-states/
More on bass
Wildlife and Fisheries’ Inland Fisheries has completed its 2023 Louisiana Annual Tournament Report and Information Project. Search for the LATRIP webpage for the complete report on the 42 fishing locations and the 271 fishing tournaments reported between 2021 and 2023.
The project was started to help fishery biologists and managers “track trends in angling success rates over time while also promoting the quality fisheries of the Sportsman’s Paradise.”
Want to know more? Call Jeff Sibley at (318) 371-5294 or email: jsibley@wlf.la.gov.
The Redcrest
Gerald Spohrer, the national touring pro from Gonzales, finished seventh in last weekend’s REDCREST 2024, the end-of-the-season finale for the top anglers on the Major League Fishing series.
He won $18,000 for an 11-bass catch weighing 29 pounds, 9 ounces on Lay Lake near Birmingham, Alabama. Local pro Dustin Connell took the $300,000 top prize with a 28-bass catch weighing an even 83 pounds.
H4H big jump
Hunters for the Hungry director Julie Grunewald sent out a “thank you” to hunters and other donors who contributed 132,570 pounds of deer, hogs and other meats since last August.
The donations helped serve an estimated 530,000-plus plates to the hungry in our shelters and kitchens across our state.
Grunewald said that’s a 34% increase from 2022.
The H4H program continues to accepting hogs from hunters, and announced a plan to sponsor more feral hog-hunting tournaments this year.