Oh, joy!
It's topwater time.
Seems like bass across our state are providing the best action of the year on the most exciting way to entice a heart-stopping strike from ol' Mr. Largemouth.
Around here, False River and Old River are proving the point that topwater lures of all shapes and sizes are working their magic now that were getting our third cool front of the fall.
Try walking the dog with a stick bait, or listening to the whirring blades of a buzzbait, or casting any number of poppers and you'll find out why bassing folks can't wait for this time of year.
Even the report from Jim Breaux about last weekend's visit to Toledo Bend by the Junior Southwest Bassmasters noted the top producers were topwaters.
And, from down south off the Mississippi River -- but only when the wind and tides are right -- bass are taking topwaters in the ponds when they're not inhaling soft plastics. But, watch it if you're using a buzzbait in waters around Venice, because a redfish is just as likely to pounce on this lure and turn it into a tangle of wire and hook.
As for speckled trout, it looks like these fish like hanging in deeper water and haven't moved up into the flats or into the interior marshes. Guess we'll have to wait for another couple of cold fronts to get them moving.
Big week
The state team of D.J. Rebstock, Ben Nobile, Sam Anthony and Jared Aucoin will be joined by regional qualifier Travis Merritt as the five Louisiana anglers competing for berths in next year's Bassmaster Classic.
The five are making their way to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the upper Mississippi River.
Anglers are coming from 48 states and seven other countries -- 250 in the boater division and 230 in nonboater. They'll fish for three places in the 2026 Classic, trying to stake a claim for some of the $223,000 purse and to have paid fees for 2026 in one of the three divisional B.A.S.S. circuits.
The field will fish Wednesday and Thursday before the top 40 anglers in boater and nonboater fish Friday, when the nonboater champion will take home $10,000. That champion and the top 10 in boater will compete in Saturday's final.
Daily weigh-ins are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. with daily coverage on the B.A.S.S. website: bassmaster.com.
Then, in early November, south Louisiana's own Michael Frenette and his fishing partner Mark Robinson will be out to defend their title when teams meet in Aransas Bay, Texas, for the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup championship.
Teams can weigh two redfish per day -- 20-28 inches long -- and the combined weight of the three-day competition will determine which teams earns $75,000 first-place money.
And, last week, two LSU-Shreveport teams earned berths in the 2026 Collegiate Bass Fishing championship presented by Bass Pro Shops after finishing in the top 10 in an Association of Collegiate Anglers tournament held on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas.
Those LSUS teams consisted of William Tew and Miles Smith and Carsen Adcock and Will Powell.
Swamp opened
After the flood waters receded, state Wildlife and Fisheries staff has reopened the Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area to deer hunters.
The staff uses the gauge on Blind River near the Airline Canal to determine when to close the deer season because flood waters concentrate the deer in small sections of the 112,615-acre WMA located south of Sorrento about 25 miles west of New Orleans and along the south shore of Lake Maurepas. The WMA includes property in Ascension, Livingston, St. John the Baptist and St. James parishes.
Red snapper
We're nearing the end of the recreational red snapper season after Wildlife and Fisheries managers, using the LA Creel system, determined this year's take at 856,857 pounds through the week ending Oct. 5. That total is 95.7% of this year 894,955-pounds allocation.
Look for a season closure sometime this week.