State Park Slabs
As the water temperatures rise across the Northshore, anglers are busting out the bobbers and jigs and heading for the shallows to target what is arguably the state’s best-tasting freshwater fish: the sac-a-lait.
Mike Long of Franklinton fishes from a kayak and opts for the “road less traveled” approach when it comes to catching sac-a-lait. “Our state parks have a lot to offer when it comes to catching sac-a-laot believe it or not,” he said. On his latest trip Long debated whether or not to make a trip to the pond but was quickly convinced after walking outside. “These were perfect March winds! I don’t like to use an anchor with my kayak so light winds are very appealing,” he said. After loading up his kayak into the back of his truck, he headed over to Bogue Chitto State Park. Upon arriving, he spotted other kayakers fishing the park’s ponds. “There were a few other fishermen out there but they were all fishing for bass,” he said. Long put his kayak in and started fishing the structure along the shoreline. “There were a lot of brush trees and old stumps that looked really good,” he said. Long was using a Matrix Mini Glo on a 1/32oz jig head under a weighted slip cork. “On my second cast that cork shot under and I began to battle a big sac-a-lait,” Long said. He fought the fish all while trying to reach for his net. As the fish neared it was clear that he wasn’t going to be able to net the slab so he flipped it into his kayak. I have a method I use called the Flip of Faith,” he joked. Long managed to flip the 15-inch slab into his kayak without a net. “That’s what you call skills,” he joked. At the end of the day, Long managed 15 keeper sac-a-lait each over 10 inches.
Long said the sac-a-lait have started moving up into the shallows in the State Park Ponds. “The sac-a-lait in the ponds will move up before the river fish do. I usually see some sac-a-lait push up and spawn on the full moon in February. With the large majority following in March and April and a few stragglers sometimes in May,” Long said. From now until the end of the spawn in April, Long said these fish will be moving up to spawn and back to deep water in waves. “The spawn is a tricky time to fish in my opinion. They travel with suitcases and change water column day to day. The park in Washington Parish is just one of many State Parks that are potential options for anglers looking to catch sac-a-lait in March.
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Ron Hindman of Slidell joins the NFR Studio to talk about his 11-pound trophy bass he caught in the West Pearl River
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