‘Wacky’ style fishing yields results in Gibson

The Mississippi River is on its way down and that usually means good fishing is on the way. The Atchafalaya Basin is slowly falling so red hot fishing is just around the corner as well. I’m sure some die hard bass anglers are already testing the waters. (Pun intended)

While the water is slowly falling in the northern most parts of the basin, down south the waters are fishable already and folks are taking advantage of the opportunity big time. Mark Kramer and I decided to take a well deserved day off and test the waters as well.

We headed to the town of Gibson to launch Mark’s boat in at Bob’s Bayou Black Marina. Hot weather was surely to be served up and there was a 40 percent chance of rain but mostly that wouldn’t happen until the afternoon. We weren’t planning to stay all day so our plan was to get an early start, hopefully catch our 10 bass limits and beat the rain back to Prairieville.

The tide was supposed to fall until about noon which is a really good thing in the marsh and we weren’t disappointed as on our first stop the current was pulling out really well. Mark’s choice of weapons will remain a secret as I had to sign a waiver before he would take me, (just kidding) so I’ll explain the two tactics that turned out successful for me.

Finesse fishing would be the name of the game today and the first choice was to try them “wacky” style. Fishing “wacky style” is one of the most effective do-nothing methods out there. Instead of hooking the worm on the head, this presentation hooks the worm in the middle and it falls tantalizingly slow. The bass can’t stand it!

Stanley Lures has built of the best hook systems on the market I’ve ever used for wacky fishing called the T-Wacky. The T-Wacky has a tear drop front weight design so the lure will fall naturally. All of the T-Wacky hooks come with a weed guard and are super sharp.

I paired it with a 6-inch Zoom finesse worm in a Gm Pumpkin Green color and it was on from the first cast. The water was falling so it positioned the fish just out of the current line. Any current break; grass, wood or a curve in the canal was the places where they were concentrated. If you caught one, he usually had some friends hanging with him.

We fished in that area until around 10:00 when the tide started to slow down. We landed 50 or so bass, then we decided to try and run some points and hit a few runouts. I decided to change to the well known Texas rig presentation but I knew I need to keep it small.

The chosen hook was a No. 1 Daiichi drop shot hook in the bleeding red hook and a 1/8 ounce “Baby Toe” tungsten worm weight. Tungsten weights have a very significant advantage over lead. Tungsten is denser than lead and are about 35 percent smaller in size so this allows for much easier fishing in the grass.

A local guy, Jacob Roberie, has just started up Cajun Tackle House that specializes in tungsten weights and offers hooks and will be introducing a line of rods as well. Tungsten is expensive but Jacob offers very reasonable pricing and you can order by phone (225 955-1465) or email at cajuntacklehouse@yahoo.com. Visit their website to view all they have to offer.

I used two different worms; a 4-inch unknown brown worm (I’ve had them so long I don’t remember) and a 6-inch Zoom trick worm that was dark brown. On my first cast after changing techniques I hooked a 3 ½ pounder that spit the hook right at the boat but I knew I was on to something.

This was one of those days that one might remember for a long time. We fished until almost 2:00 and caught bass from the first cast until we left. Moving water was one of the keys and downsizing our plastic lures was the other. We boated over a hundred bass and beat the rain back to the launch.

Gas for boat and truck; $75—Launch fee, ice, snacks & drinks; $20—a hundred or so plastic worms; not much—a near perfect day on the water enjoying God’s creation with a great friend; priceless.

Remember to keep the slack out and set the hook hard. So until next time have fun in the outdoors, be safe and may God truly bless you.