by Steve McNemar
Marsh & Bayou
Popular thinking is that saltwater fishing is what put Venice, Louisiana
on the map…. perhaps. All I recall is that about 25 years ago word
made its way to Baton Rouge that it was possible to catch 100 bass a
day downriver from Venice, and a love affair began for many a Baton
Rougean, including this former one.
The reports weren’t entirely accurate in
that not only could you catch 100 bass a day,
but mixed into the catch were speckled trout,
redfish, and striped
bass. No one complained, mind you.
Well, as we know in
south Louisiana,
bass often live fast
and die young
largely due to the
nasty whims of
Mother Nature
more than predatory attacks.
Venice bass are no exception as they were
hit beginning in the 90’s with a series of storms
that severely hurt the fishery; however, when
the Mississippi River is given a chance to do
her thing long enough, nature thrives and
Venice bass fishing
thrives again as well.
While the landscape has changed in
places, a lot of the old
locations still produce
– Delta Duck, Dennis
Pass, Johnson Pass,
Loomis Pass, Baptist
Collette and points in
between. One thing
that’s held true is that
to truly experience the best bass fishing Venice
has to offer, you want the River’s stage at New
“One thing that has held true
is that to truly experience the
best bass fishing Venice has
to offer you want the rivers
stage at New Orleans to be
five feet or below.”
Orleans to be five feet or below. You’ll also prefer a falling tide.
When Jeff Bruhl reintroduced me to Venice
bassing recently, the River was at seven feet
and the tide was rising. The conditions were
certainly not optimal as the clean, green water
Jeff had enjoyed a week before had been
topped with muddy water. The morning was already hot and muggy. I had been getting
scorched all summer on softball fields across
the South, but this was the first time I couldn’t
keep my sunglasses from fogging. Ah, south
Louisiana fishing! However, never doubt Bruhl
as he was able to not only find some clean
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