With the B.A.S.S. High School State qualifying tournament ahead Saturday, the Denham Springs-based Junior Southwest Bassmasters went to Doiron’s Landing in Stephensville for its October tournament Saturday and fared well.
Youth anglers and their adult fishing partners had the option of launching into Belle River to spend the day in the Verret Basin or drop into the other side of the levee into the Atchafalaya Basin.
Club manager Jim Breaux reported the winning stringers came from the Verret side. He said there were 14 five-bass limits and 24 of the youngsters weighed in at least one bass despite building winds, rain and an approaching cold front.
The heaviest bass came from Evan Maddie in the 15-18 age group — he beat the adult anglers, too — with a 3.56-pounder, and Hanson Chaney, in the same age group, topped the young anglers with a five-bass limit weighing 9.48 pounds.
It’s apparent both areas have enough bass on the smaller side and heavier bass are more difficult to find and catch.
This club produces more patterns from its catches than most other tournaments. Breaux reported bass were taken on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, frogs and some creature baits like Missile Baits’ D-Bombs and Speed Craws.
The club has openings for youngsters in three age groups, 7-10, 11-14 and 15-18. For more, call Breaux at (225) 772-3026 or his wife Cindy Breaux at (225) 772-3025.
Accuracy afield
If you’ve spent any time hunting deer — well, hunting with several other hunters — then you know the frustration of tracking deer one of the other guys swears he couldn’t have missed.
After several hours, and find nothing of a blood trail (and happening several times), you know one of two things happened.
Either the guy had “buck fever,” a condition that brings on shakes and severe sweating whenever a deer appears in gun range (and the bigger the buck the more shaking and sweating), OR, the guy didn’t properly sight-in his rifle.
And lots of times it’s the latter, because the shooter swears he had the crosshairs squarely on a kill zone when he pulled the trigger.
Depending on the weapon and the bullet, a couple of clicks up or down, right or left on any telescopic sight (no matter how expensive it is), and you’re going to miss a deer at 150 yards, maybe closer.
That’s why it’s important to take advantage of the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office offer to sight-in your rifle for the upcoming modern firearms deer-hunting season.
Check out the Outdoors Calendar for the specifics, and make sure your rifle is properly sighted-in for the season. It’s the proper way to hunt, and it’ll save you a lot of wear and tear on you and your hunting buddies.
Weekend conditions
If you came through last weekend’s rough coastal conditions, then it’s even more important to check what’s ahead this weekend, especially with LSU’s open date giving lots of us a shot at speckled trout and redfish moving into the marshes:
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Forecasts: nws.noaa.gov. Find the “Coastal/Great Lakes Forecasts by Zones – Gulf – New Orleans, La.” and a map with 13 different nearshore, offshore and Lake Pontchartrain wind and waves predictions for the next five days.
Weather Underground: wunderground.com. Current conditions, a 10-day forecast, and hour-by-hour predicted temperatures, winds, precipitation and barometric pressure.
National Weather Service’s River Forecast Center: water.weather.gov for river stages.