LAKE MAUREPAS
Between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is one of the largest expanses of wilderness wetlands in Louisiana; it consists of cypress swamps surrounding Lake Maurepas. No boat ramps launch directly into the lake, nor do any permanent dwellings (an occasional camp nestled among the cypresses excepted) mar its pristine primitivity. At Pass Manchac and Interstate 55, motorists briefly catch the only glimpse of Lake Maurepas available by car.
1. Manchac is a Choctaw word meaning "back door." For 200 years, ship captains looking to spare craft and crew long, torturous days of sailing against brutal Mississippi River currents would use Lake Maurepas and the passes to reach the interior. Today, bass anglers ply the rivers for largemouths. The Blind, Amite and Tickfaw rivers empty directly into Lake Maurepas. The Natalbany and Blood rivers empty into the Tickfaw River. Farther east, the Tchefuncte and Tangipahoa rivers feed Lake Pontchartrain, while Bedico Creek flows into the Tangipahoa River.
The Manchac area doesn't produce many huge bass. In the past, people caught an occasional fish breaking 9 pounds from Bedico Creek, but today's lunkers are more typically in the 6-pound class. The fish average about 2 pounds.
"If somebody wanted to catch a big bass, I would recommend hitting the upper ends of the Tickfaw or Amite river systems with jigs, worms or lizards," said Ronnie Addison, an avid angler of the Manchac waters. "I would go upstream to get into a natural water-flow situation where water is flowing regardless of what the tide is doing."
In the spring, bass hang along flats off river shorelines with access to both deep and shallow water. Entice them with jigs sweetened with craw worms or pork chunks in black, blue or purple. In the cypress tangles, toss white and chartreuse spinnerbaits.
Interstate 55 bisects the Manchac Swamp from north to south between Ponchatoula and La Place. Along the interstate, two canals parallel the highways for about 25 miles. The highway canals offer deep water and cooling shade, if people can stand the traffic noise. Hit the banks with spinnerbaits or worms and probe the bridge pilings with jigs. Launches at North Pass or Ruddock along I-55 provide acces
The Manchac area doesn't produce many huge bass. In the past, people caught an occasional fish breaking 9 pounds from Bedico Creek, but today's lunkers are more typically in the 6-pound class. The fish average about 2 pounds.
"If somebody wanted to catch a big bass, I would recommend hitting the upper ends of the Tickfaw or Amite river systems with jigs, worms or lizards," said Ronnie Addison, an avid angler of the Manchac waters. "I would go upstream to get into a natural water-flow situation where water is flowing regardless of what the tide is doing."
In the spring, bass hang along flats off river shorelines with access to both deep and shallow water. Entice them with jigs sweetened with craw worms or pork chunks in black, blue or purple. In the cypress tangles, toss white and chartreuse spinnerbaits.
Interstate 55 bisects the Manchac Swamp from north to south between Ponchatoula and La Place. Along the interstate, two canals parallel the highways for about 25 miles. The highway canals offer deep water and cooling shade, if people can stand the traffic noise. Hit the banks with spinnerbaits or worms and probe the bridge pilings with jigs. Launches at North Pass or Ruddock along I-55 provide acces