Catfish, bass bite on in Cataouatche

Bruce McDonald/Herald Guide

Pete Cassange with a 5 and a half-pound bass caught on a watermelon/red brush hog in Lake Cataouatche.

Last week Pete Cassange and I made an afternoon fishing trip to Lake Cataouatche and we decided to fish for catfish and then head towards the La Cypress Canal.

The week before, the sac-a-lait were in clear water hitting red/white/chartreuse mini jigs under a cork.

"I like to make a fishing trip to catch fish to eat. Catfish make for a good fishing trip," Cassange said.

So our game plan was in place. We would hook catfish first and then head to the La Cypress Canal to fish for bream and sac-a-lait.

We reached the first cut before the La Cypress Canal, dropped anchor and set out our Carolina rigs baited with earthworms. Within 10 minutes, we were catching catfish on both of our lines.

While we were reeling in foot-long catfish, Cassange noticed fish swirling and hitting bait around a grass bed. He threw a watermelon/red baby brush hog and quickly set the hook on a 3-pound bass. 

"Man that was quick, but I'm going to catch a big one this time." Cassange said.

We began to catch bass on the baby brush hog and speed craw in watermelon/red. Setting the catfish rods in the rod holders, the catfish biting slowed, but the bass continued to attack.

Around 5 p.m., Tony Taylor and Andre Cambre met us on the water. Cassange and I had boated 30 catfish and 20 bass, releasing most of the big bass because of bulging bellies. 

When Taylor and Cambre were in earshot, I yelled out "Put on a baby brush hog." 

Taylor was throwing top water and Cambre was throwing a white spinner bait. Cambre picked up a good 2-pound fish. Taylor switched over to the brush hog and set the hook on a small bass. Within an hour, Taylor and Cambre caught eight bass. 

Sticking to our game plan, I cranked up the Kenner VX and headed to the La Cypress Canal. The sun was setting and the condition in the La Cypress Canal looked good. We moved along the grass beds and started picking up bream on every cast.

Cassange and I were using the red/white/ chartreuse mini jig under a cork. We were catching bream, goggle-eye, chinquapin and a few sac-a-lait. As the sun set, we continued to fish and were selective with the fish we kept.

We stuck to the game plan and had a great day.