D’Arbonne bite list:

Charlie Fitzgerald and Josh Passon 

Depth finder.

Shiners.

Warm, warm clothes.

Patience.

Those are four things you need to catch big crappie on Lake D’Arbonne right now. The past few days have been tough on numbers, but some really good fish are being caught. Witness to that is the fact that stringers like the one shown here are being caught. Charlie Fitzgerald and Josh Passon  caught 7 fish weighing 11.22, to win the Bayou State Crappie Association tournament on D’Arbonne Saturday. The weigh-in was at D’Arbonne Pointe.

You can see more of the fish caught in the tournament on the Lake D’Arbonne Crappie Report with Neal “Rip A Lip” Pace.

Several two-plus pounders were caught in the tournament and around the lake by others. Most of the fish being caught are full of healthy eggs. But it isn’t easy. The channel bite has been slow. The fish there turn on sometime during the day, but not for long. Some fish are also moving up into sloughs and out on the flats, but again, it isn’t an all-day bite. You have to be there when they get in the mood. Having a good depth finder to locate schools of shad and stay in the right depth is key.

If you have stuck your nose outside the past couple of days, you understand the warm clothes part. It will warm up during the day some this week, but may rain. And it will be cold in the mornings. And be patient.

And finally, shiners. Sometimes the fish don’t want to make it easy. They are seeming to like shiners better than just plain jigs recently. It’s a hassle to fish with them, but worth the effort right now. You can fish them on a regular crappie hook or on a jig head. Jigs aren’t totally out of the picture and some folks are still catching on them. But shiners are your best bet according to most folks I’ve seen on the lake.

Either way, make sure you have plenty of weight on your line. There’s still a little current in the lake and you’ve got to keep the bait down where the fish are.

And in a day or two, you may need to add “rainsuit” to that list.  So, that’s about it.

What?  You thought I was going to draw you a map?