Crappie Fishing Rookie Experiences “Graduation Day” When it all Comes Together on Recent Trip
Keith Lusher 02.26.24
Crappie can be some of the toughest fish to catch even for some of the most seasoned anglers. It’s safe to say that crappie fishing isn’t exactly a beginner-friendly sport. Saltwater fisherman Jim Bates grew up fishing for trout, redfish, and flounder in Chalmette, LA which is near New Orleans, but has recently been forced to change course after relocating his family to Lacombe, LA which is 35 miles north. While the distance doesn’t seem trivial, it makes a big difference when it comes to the kind of water that Bate’s is left to fish. “It’s basically all freshwater fishing here around here so I decided to learn how to fish for bass,” Bates said.
Bates bought a 17-foot RT Ranger boat to replace his bay boat and took to the local rivers and bayous to learn how to catch bass. “I was enjoying learning about the rivers here and I was getting better at bass fishing even though I was 65 years old,” Bates said. As Bates was getting better his momentum was abruptly interrupted by an encounter with a few crappie fishing pros at a local fishing seminar. “There was a guy named Ray Miller who goes by the name Cajun Ray Miller. I’ve heard him on the radio talk about sac-a-lait (crappie) fishing,” Bates said. Another gentleman Bates spoke with at the crappie fishing seminar was Tim Bye. Bye was a master at using Garmin Livescope to target crappie. “I was enthralled with our conversation and before I left, Tim got my number and said he would call me to make a trip to experience sac-a-lait fishing,” he said.
A few weeks went by and Bates received a call from Bye and was able to make that trip. The two met at a boat launch at the Tchefuncte River. The river produces a lot of crappie and is also Bye’s home river. After launching, the team headed south past Interstate 12 in Covington, LA. Then Bye put on a clinic of his own. “I was enamored! I watched Tim lower his jig down to the right depth and called his shot – ‘He’s got it!’ – he said as he set the hook on fish after fish,” Bates said. It took Bates a few hours of observation to finally give it a shot. “I was hooked after that first thump,” he said. Bye and Bates put 25 large slabs in the boat before heading home.
After returning home Bates cleaned the fish and fried them. “That’s some of the best fried fillets I’ve ever had,” he said. After that day Bates went on a rampage devouring every piece of crappie fishing material that he could find. “I read books on sac-a-lait fishing, watched tons of YouTube videos, and signd up for numerous subscription sites,” Bates said. He purchased a Garmin LiveScope Live Image Sonar System and slowly learned his way around his home bayou of Lacombe. On his latest trip, it all came together for Bates.
Bates launched his Ranger in Bayou Lacombe near his home. The bayou drains into Lake Pontchartrain and is a popular destination for crappie fishermen in Southeast Louisiana. There was a slight breeze and Bates was fishing a rising tide. At his first stop, he lowered down his Bobby Garland jig and saw a fish swim up and inhale the lure.
He set the hook and landed an 11-inch crappie. Bate’s repeated the pattern and after his fifth crappie came over the gunwale, he started shaking. “It was a pinch me kind of moment! I found these fish and I was catching them,” Bates said. As the excited fisherman added fish after fish into his live well, he was forced to quit fishing when his live well was filled, and some of the crappie were falling out of the tank. “It was one of those ‘pinch me I must be dreaming’ moments,” said Bates. “For the first time, everything came together for me, I felt like I had won the battle against these fish. It was graduation day for me,” the 66-year-old angler said. The once saltwater fisherman had graduated to an official crappie angler and returned home with 26 crappie, with several of them being over 1o inches. “It was unarguably one of the most rewarding fishing trips I have ever experienced. For the first time, I finally felt like had control of everything. My game plan came together – from start to finish. I knew my electronics. I knew what I was looking for. I knew how to read the screen. Everything came together,” he said.
Bates now is a regular on Bayou Lacombe and hasn’t been bass fishing since that magical trip. “I’m officially a sac-a-lait fisherman. It’s all I want to do now,” Bates said. Since then, Bates has taught his nephew Austin Dabdoub what he has learned out on the water and now the two make trips regularly. “He’s picked up quite a lot and now backs down the boat and runs the sonar and the trolling motor,” he said. “Hopefully I can teach him enough to go out on his own and one day hopefully he’ll experience his own Graduation Day,” Bates said.
