High Atchafalaya hits anglers hard

• By JOE MACALUSO
• Advocate Outdoors writer
• Published: Nov 5, 2009 - Page: 10C

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Months ago, when the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society announced the Atchafalaya Basin was on the Central Open schedule, many south Louisiana bass fishermen expected the early November date to be a swamp-fishing showcase.

Cliff Crochet was among them. From Pierre Part, he knew Novembers produced first-rate action on hefty and actively feeding  largemouths.

Not this time. Not when the Atchafalaya River, like most rivers and bayous, is running at springtime flood levels.

Other anglers like Gonzales’ Jamie Laiche were hoping to take full advantage of long years in the country’s largest overflow swamp to their fullest advantage.

Now, with the tournament opening today and running through Saturday, things have changed.

“Yes, (the Basin) is my home water … absolutely,” Crochet said. “With the (Atchafalaya) river being so high, it’s the worst possible condition for this tournament. The Basin will not get to show its true colors.”

After two Central Open events, the first on Toledo Bend and an early-September tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas, Crochet is sixth in the overall standings.

That’s big, because the top two anglers in the three-event point standings will claim the final two berths in February’s Bassmaster Classic, the tournament billed as the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing.”

Crochet said somebody or bodies between leader Todd Castledine (570 points) and fifth-place and touring pro Todd Faircloth (534) must stumble for him to reach the Classic. He’s got 503 points.

Within reach for Crochet is one of seven spots allowed Central Open contestants in next year’s prestigious Bassmaster Elite Series, a multi-event tournament series that boasts the sport’s top names, folks like Kevin Van Dam, Skeet Reese and Louisiana’s Greg Hackney.

“No doubt the Classic is the big goal,” Crochet said. “That’s what I’m shooting for, but it’s not going to be easy.

“I think limits (five bass each day with a 14-inch minimum size) will do you well here,” he said. “Then, there’s Lake Cataouatche. I’ll bet $100 there will be guys running there.”

Lake Cataouatche has come alive since the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion Project went on line a couple of years back. Bass up to 10 pounds came from the lake this year and it produced a 20-pound stringer in September.