They’re schooling…

Today’s fishing report: They are schooling on D’Arbonne.  OK, not the fish….the fishermen!

About a dozen or so spots this week could double as a used boat show on the lake as white perch fishermen chase their favorite prey on the lake.  Most fishermen are concentrating on the old river

Randy Wilbanks shows the Monkey Milk jig he had success on this week

channels up the D’Arbonne and Corney arms of the lake.  Fishermen seem to be bunched up where they find fish. I don’t know whether some of the fishermen are finding fish, or whether they are just finding other fishermen!  Areas near the boat landings have been popular. If you drive across the lake this week, you will probably be able to see several bunches of boats along the channel trying the white perch.

Results are mixed. Some fishermen are doing real well while others aren’t. That is a pretty standard line for a fishing report. I ran into two veteran D’Arbonne fishermen, Randy Wilbanks and James Futrell and they had about 40 white perch. Most were caught in 12-15 feet of water along the channel. There aren’t any many great big catches right now, but if you work hard, you can get a mess of fish. The fish are running small, mostly on the south end of a pound.

Wilbanks said if he had to give anybody advice on how to catch them, it would be to find fish on the depth

James Futrell with two of about 40 white perch caught Tuesday. Futrell and Wilbanks are both from Calhoun.

finder, then fish a jig about 14 feet deep in the channel. He also uses a lead weight with his jig to keep the lure down.  Other fishermen offered similar advice.  Right now, it doesn’t seem to matter as much about  the color as it does the location.  Shiners, jigs and jigs tipped with shiners as a combination are working. Hair jigs and plastics are both working. It’s a good tip to change up often and if there are two fishermen in the boat, try different lures unless one is really hot. Again, the fish are running small.

Bass fishing been pretty good on the lake. Again the fish are running on the small side. Most are around a pound up to two pounds.  Just like with the white perch, the lure doesn’t seem as important as just being on the fish. Spinnerbaits, Carolina rigs and soft plastic lures are working.  Fish are chasing shad occasionally, so keep your eyes out for activity.

Some good catches of catfish are also coming on cold worms. Even if you don’t have a boat, there are a lot of areas now that are accessible from the bank and you can get in some good catfishing in what used to be deeper water. Simply let the bait sink to the bottom and keep an eye on the rod tip.  When it tips a few times, reel up the slack and set the hook.