Article Image Alt Text

Dustin Gore of New Iberia with a 5-pound, 13-ounce Lake Fausse Pointe bass this past Saturday. (Submitted Photo/Courtesy of John K. Flores)

Lake Fausse Pointe is producing good catches of large mouths

Cody Pattillo and I trolled slowly along a canal off Lake Fausse Pointe this past Saturday. There’s not much about the lake that Pattillo doesn’t know about.
Originally from Loreauville, he grew up fishing it with his father.
With the front that came through Friday night, it appeared high pressure would dominate our morning outing, as the fish seemed to have a case of lockjaw.
In front of us were several boats that already had banged the banks prior to our passing, so we were simply trying to do some clean up duty.
Suddenly, an angler in the boat in front of us whooped, when his rod arched over dramatically. The fight took place so close to the bank, I first thought he must have been jigging for sac-a-lait.
But, like us, it was bass he was after.
We drew closer to watch the action, because clearly this was going to be a really big largemouth if the fisherman could land it.
Once he got it in his boat, the angler was trembling.
Come to find out, he’d only recently got into bass fishing and never caught one that big before.
He introduced himself, saying his name was Dustin Gore and then asked us if we happen to have a fish scale.
Pattillo, who is a tournament bass angler, offered him his.
The bass weighed 5-pounds and 13-ounces and was full of eggs.
We congratulated the angler and moved on to see if we could catch a lunker.
Lake Fausse Pointe is a 17,000-acre system in Iberia and St. Martin parishes. The lake is essentially a catch basin for northern runoff and is somewhat shallow compared to public systems north of I-10.
L o u i s i a n a Department of Wildlife and Fisheries District 6 Biologist Manager Jody David said, “It’s a place we’ve put quite a few Florida fingerlings in every couple of years. But, you don’t have a high percentage of them like we do in other places we’ve stocked. Even though it’s silted in places, they’re really starting to catch some nice fish – especially during the spring.”
D a v i d ’s w o r d s couldn’t be more true.
Though things were really slow, with no one really catching a lot of bass Saturday, I did witness three, 5-pound plus bass caught during the morning. One of the five-pounders was caught by local Patterson bass angler Gerald Foulcard. It was Foulcard who introduced Pattillo and I and followed us into the canal known to locals as the Dogleg.
F o u l c a r d ’s b a s s weighed 5-pounds, 4-ounces. It, too, was full of eggs.
What we surmised was the bass on a whole weren’t spawning in this region just yet but instead were staging. What’s more, the month of March looks to be spectacular as it gets underway.
Pattillo and I tossed white spinner baits, white buzz baits and jigs with creature baits fastened much of t h e m o r n i n g .
According to my guide, it would be all we needed as the spinner baits would mimic shad and the creature baits, crawfish.
In how to fish the Lake Fausse Pointe, Pattillo said, “During the spring, I fish the canals and smaller bayous off of the main lake, mainly because the water is stained colored and colder. The fish prefer to be in the canals. But, come summer, I move out into the lake, as the water gets stagnant and the bass prefer to be out in the open water in the grass beds.”
One of the nice things about Lake Fausse Pointe is the local state park. Lake Fausse Pointe State Park is a 6,000-acre area site in the Atchafalaya Basin. The park has 18 deluxe cabins with screened porches and docks. Additionally, there are 50 tent/RV sites with electricity and water.
It was while idling by these cabins that I saw the third 5-pounder of the morning c a u g h t . J o h n n y Maynor of Lafayette landed a 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth while fishing beneath the dock structure. Maynor was practicing for the Top Rod Tournament that took place this past Sunday. He immediately released the big fish after weighing it with Pattillo’s scale, hoping to come back to the docks the next day.
During the next several weeks, bass anglers should try to get on the water, as the spawn will be in full swing. It’s already started in places like Toledo Bend, where there have been several 10-pound lunker bass caught in the past couple weeks.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Flores is The Daily Review’s Outdoor Writer. If you wish to make a comment or have an anecdote, recipe or story you wish to share, you can contact Flores at 985-395-5586, gowiththeflo@ cox.net or visit his F a c e b o o k p a g e “ G o w i t h t h e f l o Outdoors.”

ST. MARY NOW

Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874

Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255