“Imagine starting your Louisiana Bass Fishing trip with that beautiful Coastal sunrise…”
Louisiana Bass
fishing
ranks right up there at the top of the list for hotspots in the entire United States. It is loads of fun, and there are plenty of bass out there for you to catch. Bass is probably the most sought after fish in the United States by some of the worlds greatest anglers.
There are many types of
Louisiana
bass fishing consisting of Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Stripped Bass, Sea Bass, etc.
Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Striped bass are probably the most common to the average angler.
They migrate around grass beds, Lilly pads, docks, piers, etc.
They do like cover, as they are the type of fish that hides, and then ambushes its prey once it gets too close. During cooler months, the bass tend to be in shallow water, trying to soak up the “rays” of the sun, and in the warmer months, they tend to dive deeper, seeking cooler water. In the deep water, they will most likely be on the side of a drop, or a hump (another way for cover).
Louisiana is a bit different than other parts of the country for the reason that in southern Louisiana, there are three types of water: Freshwater, Saltwater, and Brackish water. In the southern bays, bayous, canals, rivers, and lakes, there may be only a few feet difference in whether the water if fresh, or too salty for the bass, therefore; it is a general rule of thumb that most dead end canals and bayous will hold bass better because the saltwater is not rushing through like it may be doing in other rivers, and canals.
When you are Louisiana Bass fishing bayous and canals, you will want to pay attention the wind direction, and which way it has been blowing for the past several days.
When the wind blows out of the north, the water falls down out of the canals, which draws baitfish out of their shallow areas, which draws the bass out of its shallow waters, into some of the deeper, main rivers and bayous. If the wind has been blowing out of the north and suddenly turns around and blows out of the south, then the saltwater from the south will back up into the canals and bayous, driving the bass back up into those dead end canals, or possibly push them more north, to fresher waters.
The Atchafalaya Basin is one of the most popular hotspots for Louisiana Bass Fishing
Several years ago, in the early nineties, a couple of hurricanes (Lilli and Andrew) came through and the storm surge pushed a lot of saltwater north, killing a lot of species of freshwater fish, not only the great Louisiana Bass Fishing. Once the water was cleared up then the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fish decide that it would be good to restock the Atchafalaya Basin with 25,000 Florida Bass that were about 3”-6” and let them grow. They also let many anglers from the area take bags of about 50 bass and let them loose anywhere that they wanted as long as it was still in public waters, trying to reproduce the quality of fish that Louisiana Bass fishing was once used to. They seen a great deal of progress from this so in 2002, they decided to do it again except this time it was nearly 900,000! That is a lot of fish… but wait… that is not all. They also dropped 149,500 in Morgan City’s Lake Verret and another 10,000-11,000 in Grassy Lake. Now, I’m not sure how other states stock lakes, but as you can see, Louisiana is proud of it famous fishing, and wants to prolong the quality that it has to offer.
The Atchafalaya Basin offers some of the best Louisiana Bass Fishing in the entire state. Cypress trees stand out in the lake and they almost acts as markers for where there are drop-offs, or humps, which the bass like to migrate at. This basin is covered with grass beds that offer cover for the bass, and many Lilly pads as well. Not only do these places provide cover, but they help cool the water for the fish in the warmer months, seeing that the basin is on average 6-10 feet deep.
The Louisiana Delta holds fish for miles and miles.
Going down the Intercoastal Waterway though places like Lake Boeuf, Lake Cataouatche, Lake Salvador, and the Bayou Signette are home to many, many large bass. There are so many nooks and crannies through the Louisiana delta that boats and angler cannot get to that some say there are loads of fish there that have never even seen artificial bait. If you think about it, how big can a fish get if he is secluded from all boat traffic, and fisherman, and can prey of baitfish his whole life, and then an angler comes along and the fish doesn’t think twice about grabbing that spinnerbait/crankbait at sunrise for the simple fact that he thinks it is his next meal, unknowing that he could be your next trophy bass caught right in the heart of the Louisiana Gulf Coast! That paints a great picture doesn’t it?
They seem to gather at cooler places such as under camps, docks, and aquatic vegetation. Red shad, blue shad, and black shad have worked well for many anglers over the years under these docks, and camps, along with jigs and worms to trigger that instinctive bite reaction that bass have.
Pilings and bulkheads are another good spot for the bass to migrate. Usually the older the piling, the better. Wood seems to have more fish migrating than steel or concrete and this is because the steal and concrete shed the mussel and oysters that try to attach themselves to it. Old rotten piling can have many oysters or mussels attached to it that the fish is trying to feed on but that “Carolina rigged worm” bouncing around beside the piling/bulkhead seems way to easy to pass up for the bass. You need to fish these areas vertically because most of the time the bass will strike its prey while the prey is falling. Spinnerbaits work well in these areas too but you should fish them a little different, almost like a worm, giving the bait time to fall, and the bass to strike.
All types of fishing in Louisiana can be fun but do not abuse it. Louisiana has worked hard and spent a lot of money trying to keep the quality of the fishing areas nice for tourist/travelers, as well as the locals that lover to fish these areas day after day. Louisiana would love to share these areas with you to experience what it is like and see the sights that the Gulf Coast has to offer in Louisiana.
There are laws and limitations on Louisiana bass fishing that you should check with the locals of the area that you are fishing in or you could contact the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fish to find out what the regulations are in the area that you would like to visit.
When you are Louisiana Bass fishing bayous and canals, you will want to pay attention the wind direction, and which way it has been blowing for the past several days. 
