Bites Changes A Little

If you were one of the few that stayed home and rode out Laura, you probably considered Hurricane Delta to be little more than a pre-game

warm-up. That is not to say that it wasn’t a little scary at times, but the loss of power proved to be the biggest inconvenience for folks still

in the process of putting things back together.

Delta’s wind certainly blew hard enough to peel blue tarps off a number of roofs, but Laura had already eliminated an incredible number of trees

and wooden fences all over Orange. The following morning was spent picking up scattered debris that had been piled on curbs and shutting

down generators one more time.

It is much easier to take care of those kinds of chores when there isn’t a cloud in the sky and a light north wind is already drying things

out. What a difference a single day makes!

I talked with some worn out returning Sulphur evacuees that were here in Orange filling up gas tanks and all but ready to move somewhere a little

further north like Canada. “We haven’t been able to do much more than tear down the rest of our home and just got power back last week,” said

an obviously frustrated Dad with four small kids, a parakeet, a gold fish and three barking dogs packed in his Tahoe.

“We have been living in two travel trailers, running two generators and I feel guilty because I get to go to work every day, catch a little news

on the television and shower before I go home. My wife is a basket case and I may have to put our lab’s shock collar on the kids if this goes on

much longer.”

Because we were fortunate enough to deal with only a weaker portion of Delta, runoff has not impacted area fishing as badly as did Laura.The

trout bite on the north end of the lake has slowed down, but the redfish and even a few flounder have shown no intention of moving south thus far.

Scott Tanner and Bill Mosely limited on reds and kept two very nice flounder fishing Gulp Curly tail grubs on quarter ounce jig heads Sunday

evening. They were fishing drains on the Louisiana side and Billy said they probably caught twenty reds that were in the slot.

Chad Kemp said they caught small trout under the birds in the lake before running to the jetties.It proved to be a good move as they

cleaned ten trout up to four pounds that evening. “The water didn’t look that good, but the fish were there,” said Chad. We were throwing purple

Lil’ Johns right up against the rocks, but the fish wouldn’t hit until the lure was four to six feet deep.”

“The white perch haven’t slowed down, but my bass bite has certainly changed,” reports James Hughes.Hughes guides for two corporations and

spends most of his time on the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend.

“When the lake level stabilized a little and the mornings were cool enough to wear a jacket, my clients were wearing two to four pound bass

out on shaky head worms and crankbaits every day.It was incredibly easy.”

“The weather warmed up and that bite just died for me,” he added.“The majority of my clients aren’t skilled enough to fish deep water stuff so

I am in trouble when it comes to executing a Plan B,” he added.“I think that deep water bite is back on again, but I can’t say for sure.”

Hughes said his saving grace has been a better than average white perch bite.“I love to eat crappie,” he pointed out, “but I don’t fish for

them. I have a young guide that occasionally helps me out and he has been keeping my guys happy fishing brush piles.They limited four days in

a row on some really pretty fish.” I hope your repairs are going well and you can find a little time to

take advantage of a bite that will continue to improve.In the meantime, wear your mask and stay as safe as possible!