Thread: Help!

I don't really know that area as I am from SW Louisiana but one thing I can tell you is SLOW DOWN your fishing! Most people fish way too fast and cruise right on by a potential spot. I have circled some brush 3 times before I got the 1st fish to bite. Good luck and stick with it, you will get it! To be fair though, summer time is the HARDEST time to catch sacs IMO!

My best advice is ask an experienced angler to tag along and look around when you're fishing. I learned to fish the marsh in Houma from my dad. When i moved to Youngsville, i teamed up with a co-worker from the area that has been fishing the Basin for 50 years. I've been doing this a long time, but i'm still learning.

Originally Posted by Raginkajun

I have spent decades fishing in the marshes for reds, specs and sheepsheads. I began freshwater fishing over a year ago, I catch bream and bass but I have want to catch sacalait. I have fished Toledo Bend, Lake Salvador, Lake Cataouchie, Lake Beouf, Lac Des Allemandes, Flat Lake, Lake Verret and Bayou Black. I have caught one sacalait and that was in Lake Beouf back in March. What can I possibly be doing wrong? Where is the best place to fish for sacalait in SE Louisiana? Researching this is difficult. Any help is greatly appreciated

I would disagree on the summer part. They're at least pretty consistent insofar as where they hang out...deeper water, usually. Post spawn seems to be the toughest for me. I 100% agree on slowing down, though, especially if you're marking bait, etc.

Just like any fishing, it's about location, conditions and bait/presentation (maybe least important). Read the reports here and on FB. You may not get an exact spot but you'll get an idea of where fish are staging. Pick a good weather day if you can-low pressure and cloudy are good. Then find a bait you like and stick with it until you can present it with some confidence. Color matters some days but you'll find that most bodies of water have a couple of colors that work well consistently.

Here's what works for me 95% of the time-single jig pole, 6 lb high vi line, hair jig with a nibble (chartreuse sparkle). My three favorite color hair jigs are orange/chartreuse, black/chartreuse, and pink/chartreuse. I'll drop it next to structure slowly until I get a bite. Then I'll try to stay that depth for the rest of the trip. I rarely jig it unless that's the only way they want it (less than 10% of the time). I have a tackle box full of crap that I bought when I first started and I've caught fish on most of the stuff but hair jigs are just so easy.

I'm no pro compared to the others here but always come home with mess of fish.

Knowing I was used to fishing for bass, specs, and reds, an old Cajun told me, "If you fish half as fast as you normally do, you are still fishing twice as fast as you should."