Rain hasn't slowed bass action on local scene

We got more than the shark did for a change! RECORD PHOTO: Dickie Colburn

You will just have to excuse local bass fishermen for hoping for yet another down pour not unlike the system that parked on top of us last Friday.The flooding conditions, depending on where you reside in Orange County, will make it even tougher on the trout fishermen for a few days, but the bass apparently found it very much to their liking!

Even before receiving several emails and phone calls from excited bass fishermen, we caught some exceptionally nice bass while looking for redfish in the bayous.On one trip we caught and released nine bass up to almost four pounds that were all keeper size fish.Even more surprising was the fact that we never caught the first small bass.

Trey Smith said that he and his partner decided to fish a local tournament Saturday following the monsoon and was both pleased and somewhat shocked by their winning catch.They fished one area all day and won the event with a seven pound stringer that could have been considerably larger had they not jumped off a four pounder.

Dillon Renee’limited both Saturday and Sunday fishing Cow and Adam’s bayou and said that he had also done well in the Conway’s area prior to the rain. I have no idea what any of these other folks were fishing with, but we caught our bass throwing three-inch Usual Suspects and Swimming Images in the middle of pods of shad running the shorelines.

It has been a long time since I set the hook on a fish in any of the local bayous and couldn’t tell whether it was a bass or a redfish for the first few cranks on the reel handle.The bass would eventually go airborne at some point, while the better redfish just continued to burrow deeper in the scattered moss.

For those of you that might have an opportunity to check out this bite for yourself this week, beware of floating debris, especially tires and timbers that are floating just beneath the surface.I saw much more of the lower unit killing stuff in Adams than in Cow Bayou, but we only fished as far north as the bridge on Roundbunch road.

Al l of the rain apparently didn’t bother the redfish population much either as the teams entered in the fourth Triangle Tailchaser’s event of the year put on a show Saturday.The coveted year end team championship will come down to the last tournament of the year and it will be a dog fight as less than one pound separates the top three teams.

Robbie and Justin Trahan won the Saturday event with three redfish that weighed 23.26 pounds.Jeremy Reeves and Daniel Metreyeon finished right behind them with 22.54 pounds with the third place check going to Jacob and Jeremiah Jordan with 20.57 pounds.The sixteen teams entered weighed in a total of 24 redfish that averaged 6.40 pounds per fish.

Jason Stutes and Justin Hawkins won the Premier Yamaha side pot for the heaviest flounder with a solid 3.82 pound flattie.A total of eight flounder were weighed in so they apparently didn’t let the fresh water bother them much either.

The championship for the year is based on a team’s best four out of five tournaments fished.All three teams in the hunt for the grand prize have posted weights in each of the first four events so each of them will be looking to cull their lowest total thus far.Corey Sattler and Joe Peddy currently lead the Jordan team by a scant eight one hundredths of a pound with a 79. 75 total.

Kevin and Michael Vaughan are right behind them with 78.92 pounds, but may well be in the best position of all three teams.Their total includes a 16.80 tournament that they can cull and make up that one pound difference by simply tying the leaders in the determining event.The bottom line is that it is going to be a shoot out and will make for an exciting final weigh-in!

The trout were doing their thing as well prior to the rain, but it has been tough the past few days.As expected, the ship channel and jetties south of the Causeway have provided the most consistent bite on an outgoing tide.I don’t know how long it will take for the bite on the north end of the lake to improve, but I have been surprised many times over the years by how rapidly it recovers.Don’t forget about the Cops Helping Kids tournament set for this weekend.The Captain’s meeting kicks off Friday night at the Pt.

Arthur Civic Center and will include raffles, door prizes and a steak dinner for every team entered in the event.Tony Viator says you can sign up as late as the Captain’s meeting, but signing up earlier will assure you of getting a gift pack as well!