FLW preview: Different ballgame at Atchafalaya
Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Atchafalaya Basin, Feb. 11-14
The Wal-Mart FLW Tour is returning to Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin almost exactly a year after the tour’s first visit there in 2003, but don’t expect the same kind of fishing tournament in 2004. Conditions on the basin are considerably different this year, and that has many anglers scrambling to find bass and new ways to catch them.
A lot of water
At approximately 595,000 acres, the Atchafalaya Basin is the nation’s largest swamp wilderness, and it contains significant expanses of bottomland hardwoods, swamplands, bayous and backwater lakes. It is definitely the most expansive waterway system on the FLW Tour schedule.
Needless to say, the place fishes big, meaning there’s a lot of water for bass to occupy. Last year, the basin’s size was mitigated somewhat by a drop in water level that kept the fish, and thus many of the anglers, held up against the banks of the bayous.
It’s a different story this year, however, since anglers are saying the water levels are anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 feet higher than in 2003.
“Where the water has come up, it’s flooded the basin way back in there,” said pro Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va., who finished in second place at Atchafalaya in 2003. “There are acres and acres of what was dry land last year that are covered up with water now.”
“That’s the problem. There’s too much of it,” said pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., who finished third here in 2003. “Last year, everything was all along the bank because the fish didn’t have anywhere to go. Now, they could be anywhere. Everybody was talking about how huge this place was last year, but this year it’s way bigger. It’s just overwhelming because there’s so much water.”
Narrowing it down
Compounding the size issue is the seeming redistribution of the bass from last year to this year. In practice, Lefebre said he tried to fish the location where Paul Elias of Pachuta, Miss., won last year’s tournament, but he caught “almost nothing.” Chapman, too, returned to his moneymaking location from 2003 and caught a few fish, but he found the bite to be less than promising.
Still, Chapman said, “Unless I find something else that’s really good, I’m probably going to fish the same areas.”
And that’s the rub. With the already massive basin seemingly on high-water steroids for this year’s tournament, anglers might be left leaning on last year’s information just to find a place to start looking for this year’s winning bite.
As far as Lefebre is concerned, he’s divvied his options into three separate areas of the basin: Lake Verret, the spillway and the marsh.
“The first thing to do is focus on which area to fish because it’s so important here to be in the right place,” he said Friday. “On the Verret side, the water’s more stable and doesn’t get as muddied up by the rain. If the tournament was tomorrow, I’d probably fish there. In the spillway, they’re there but they’re hard to find, and those fish can be huge. And the marsh really seems to be affected by all the rain.”
Nasty weather
Besides the size of the site, the weather in southern Louisiana has been giving anglers fits in practice. Almost daily, cold, storm fronts and even a tornado warning Thursday have been pushing water and fish around the massive waterway. With water temperatures bouncing around the low- to mid-50-degree range, a consistent bite has yet to emerge.
“This is nothing like it was last year. With all the fronts coming through, the fishing’s changing on a daily basis,” Chapman said, adding that he’s used a variety of lures to catch the fish he has caught – from jigs and tubes to spinnerbaits. “I haven’t found two days in a row where they’ll eat the same thing. I talked to eight or nine guys today and everybody’s struggling.”
Still, the fish are smack in the prespawn stage and there are plenty of roe-laden females to be found. Last year the pros needed to catch over 13 pounds per day to make the first cut. Both Chapman and Lefebre expect much of the same situation next week despite the altered conditions.
“It’s a totally different ballgame,” Lefebre said. “I think it will be tough, but at the same time I think we’re going to see a few bigger sacks weighed in than last year.”
“If the water goes up by 5 degrees, you might see some really big stringers,” Chapman said. “But you’ve got to find them first.”
Lake facts and history
The word “Atchafalaya” refers to both a river and the large wetlands region; and the name itself derives from the Choctaw phrase hacha falaia, meaning “long river.” The river serves as a major distributary of the Mississippi and Red rivers, and runs through the swampy wetlands called the Atchafalaya Basin, which is about 20 miles in width and 150 miles in length.
Basically, the entire basin can be broken down into four distinct sections: To the north are woodlands and farmlands; the middle spillway section, which contains North America’s largest river basin swamp; the southern section, which boasts large areas of marshlands; and the delta region, where the Atchafalaya River empties into Atchafalaya Bay.
In total, the Atchafalaya Basin is reportedly home to more than 200 species of migratory birds, crabs, shrimp, frogs, snakes, beavers, raccoons, foxes, alligators and black bears. The area also yields approximately 23 million pounds of crawfish commercially each year. In addition, the basin also boasts one of the most healthy fish populations in the continental United States including great stores of bream, crappie, catfish, white bass, spotted bass and, of course, largemouth bass.
Catch all the action
The Atchafalaya Basin event is the second stop of the most lucrative FLW Tour season to date. Anglers take off at 7 a.m. Central time each day from Belle River Park Landing in Belle River except for Friday, when takeoff is at 8. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-in will also be held at Belle River beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 973 Highway 90 E. in Bayou Vista at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
Coverage of the Atchafalaya Basin tournament will be broadcast on the Outdoor Life Network on the “FLW Outdoors” television program. A tournament preview show featuring bass-fishing legend Hank Parker will air Feb. 29 at 1 p.m. Eastern time and March 4 at 5 p.m. Eastern time, and fishing fans can watch the tournament weigh-in with hosts Carlton Wing, Taylor Carr and Charlie Evans March 7 at 1 p.m. and March 11 at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Tournament veteran Larry Nixon will host a tournament wrap-up show March 14 at 1 p.m. Eastern time, and that show will re-air March 18 at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
You can also catch all the weigh-in action at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. The first weigh-in will be broadcast Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 3 p.m. Central time and will continue throughout all four days’ weigh-ins.
Previous FLW Atchafalaya Basin winner
2003 – Paul Elias, Pachuta, Miss.
Links:
Pundits’ Picks
Destination: Atchafalaya Basin
Pre-tournament press release
FLW Live