Getting It Done Quickly

LCM bass clubbers, Dakota Posey and Brendon Brones, teamed up to take care of business early last Saturday. Their third place finish on Sam Rayburn qualified them for the FLW National High School Championship tournament set for this summer on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. The duo finished only one three-pound bass out of first with a 13-pound 1-ounce catch. The early qualification not only takes the pressure off the youngsters for the remainder of the upcoming season, but gives them

plenty of time to gather information on the lake as well. Congratulations to not only Dakota and Brendon, but the rest of the club as well as the Bears continue to be a force to be dealt with at every

tournament. Also, congratulations and a well-earned “thank you” to the adult Captains that accompany the anglers and volunteer both their time and boat! Ten year old twins, Carol and Darrel Porter, may have been disappointed with the lack of non-stop trout catching under the birds their Uncle had promised, but they still left the lake with smiles on their faces. Blake Leger was very concerned for the better part of the morning that his birthday present was going to be little more than a lot of boat riding.

“To their credit, they hung in there,” said Uncle Blake, “and I had all but given up when we saw a small school of shad on the surface just off the rocks on the south revetment wall.” A good fish immediately buried Darrel’s cork and his sister hooked up on her first cast as well. “I netted both of their reds at the same time,” he added, “and I was thanking Jesus while they compared their fish. Both fish were in the slot and both of twins finished the morning with their limits.” Blake said that when the fish were on the surface, they caught them on chicken on a chain Sea Shads under a cork and when the fish were down,

they still caught them with chrome Traps. “I had two worn out youngsters when the bite ended!”

“By the time we got back to the north end there were terns working everywhere as promised, but we never slowed down to check them out, said Blake. Dink trout weren’t going to get much respect after wrestling with reds for the better part of an hour. The birthday party that night included redfish on the half shell as well as two chocolate pies adorned with ten candles. “The kids love their Mom’s chocolate pie and so do I,” added the pleased Uncle with a sigh of relief. While local anglers continue to catch good numbers of bass and redfish in both Cow and Black’s Bayou on a variety of lures, it is hard to go

wrong with a three-inch Swim Bait or a quarter ounce spinner bait with a number three Colorado blade. Not only can you cover a lot of water quickly, but you can also fish different depths without changing lures. A shallow running crankbait continues to also work well, but it is not

quite as versatile as the other two. The spinner bait has been productive, especially on redfish, when employing a Gulp curly tail for the body. The other choice has been a four inch paddle tail like the Sea

Shad in red shad, morning glory and chartreuse-flake. Adding a little scent to the body also helps attract both redfish and an occasional flounder. Poking a few holes in the body before adding the

scent will make it last a lot longer! While very few local anglers are even talking about flounder, they are

still catching some very nice fish. Steve Wilson had two fish over four pounds fishing a jig tipped with shrimp Thursday morning. “I have caught my two fish limit every trip recently,” reported Wilson, “and I quit fishing for them as soon as I catch two keepers. On most days, at least one of them has been three-pounds or larger. ”Most of the local anglers I talk with agree that the two fish limit has helped, but it is even more effective when you keep only your first two keepers as Wilson does rather than culling. It is very difficult to successfully release a flounder that has been struggling in the live

well or lying in the bottom of an ice chest!