Fishing in Lake Cataouatche is outstanding this time of year – just ask St. Charles Parish District Judge Lauren Lemmon, who fell in love with the sport at a young age.
“As a child and one of six children, I grew up as a serious fisher woman with a passion for fishing in the Simoneaux Ponds,” she said.
That dedication has made Lemmon a formidable angler.
This past May, Lemmon and Julie Hebert were the second place team in the International Women’s Fishing Association. Ann Taylor, of Luling, took first place individual honors to win the IWFA fishing rodeo held in Venice.
“I have an unending passion and love for fishing,” Lemmon said. “My favorite fish to catch was sac-a-lait, but after fishing Lake Cataouatche recently, bass has become my No. 1 fish to catch.”
Lemmon and I set up a trip to fish Lake Cataouatche and we began by fishing the cut before the La. Cypress Canal. I caught several bass, who were hitting the watermelon/red baby brush hog on a ¼ ounce slip sinker with a #3 worm hook.
Lemmon was throwing a red/white/chartreuse mini jig under a cork and was catching bream. She continued to fish while I threw the baby brush hog. After a while, I boated five fish and Lemmon asked if she could use one of my baits.
I tied a Texas-style rig with a watermelon/red baby brush hog. With the rod in her hand, I told her to close her eyes. I lightly tapped the end of the rod tip and asked if she felt the tap.
We repeated the tap-tap-tap several times and I told her to set the hook hard because the hook is imbedded in the brush hog and makes it weedless.
From then on it was game time.
Within minutes and to my surprise, Lemmon was reeling in her first bass of many on the morning. I showed her how to bounce the bait off the bottom like a crawfish, pull the brush hog out the lilies and grass and let it drop, or swim the brush hog by a clump of grass and let it fall.
“I never knew how to do all these techniques but this is fun,” Lemmon said. “I am now a bass fish woman.”
We moved to the bulkheads in the middle of the Tank Ponds and immediately Lemmon caught a nice sac-a-lait at the end of the bulkhead using a red/white/chartreuse mini jig under a cork. We worked along the bulkheads picking up bream, goggle eye, chinquapin, catfish and bass.
The water is very clear on the western side of Lake Cataouatche due to the west winds, so we moved to the cement structure on the outer edge of the Tank Ponds.
Lemmon was throwing the mini jig and I continued fishing with the brush hog. Suddenly, Lemmon hooked a 10-pound catfish on the mini jig. Before I could put my rod down to help her, I felt a big tap and set the hook as a 7-or-8-pound redfish was stripping line off my reel.
We both had a big fish on and couldn’t help each other.
The redfish put up a good fight and got off my line. Lemmon fought her fish until the light line broke. We both looked at each other and started laughing. The two biggest fish of the day and we lost both of them.
But after it was all said and done, Lemmon told me that catching bass had been exciting.
“I learned how to work a watermelon/red baby brush hog and bass went crazy,” she said. “I like bouncing a worm or brush hog on the bottom like a crawfish, pulling them off a grass bed or lilies and letting it fall. Sometimes I’ll even swim a brush hog next to a clump of grass and let it fall.
“When I feel the tap-tap-tap on the line, I set the hook hard. If Kevin Van Dam can catch bass in Lake Cataouatche, so can I.”
During our fishing trip Lemmon kept a dozen bream, catfish and sac-a-lait for a good friend to eat. We practiced catch-n-release, told Boudreaux jokes, drank plenty of water and enjoyed the excellent morning fishing before we headed home.
What is biting in Lake Cataouatche?
Largemouth bass, bream, sac-a-lait, goggle-eye, chinquapin, catfish, hybrid bass, gaspergou, grinnels and redfish are all being caught in Cataouatche right now.
The best baits to use in the lake have been the watermelon/red baby brush hog, the booyah white/chartreuse gold tear drop spinner bait and chrome rattletrap in ¼ ounce size.
Bream are being caught on earthworms and crickets under a cork. To catch catfish, anchor 40 to 50 yards down current from the cuts and throw a ¾ ounce weight Carolina rig with a #3 hook baited with earthworms, chicken liver or shrimp.
Sac-a-lait like mini jigs in red/white/chartreuse, black/chartreuse, blue/white or black/white under a cork along the bulkheads in Lake Cataouatche and the Gulf Canal in Lake Salvador.
Top water is very productive for bass. watermelon/red ribbet and a gold rouge works well. The Booyah white/chartreuse spinner bait with gold blades and punching with dark colored worms, tubes and flukes in junebug, watermelon and red/black has also been very productive.
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