Southwest Bass Club fished its ninth derby of the season on Larto Lake in Jonesville, La. Larto-Saline Complex is a larger natural backwater complex located in east-central Louisiana. Portions of the complex are located in Catahoula, Avoyelles and Rapides parishes.
The complex includes Larto Lake, Shad Lake, Saline Lake and numerous interconnecting bayous and smaller lakes for a combined surface area of approximately 8,200 acres. With that, anglers have their choice of any type of fishing they wanted to do.
What set out to be a beautiful morning with cloud coverage, light winds and temperatures in the high 70s soon changed to scorching hot temps, with a heat index of 115 degrees. If you weren’t fishing in the wind, you felt the full effect of the heat.
Jesse Mabry began the morning going over a few rules, setting a weigh-in time for 2 p.m., and asked Joe Moree to pray. Kell Thompson called out flights immediately after the prayer and Southwest blasted out at 5:45 a.m.
Twenty-two teams with 41 anglers showed up to battle the heat and challenge themselves to see who could bring in the biggest bag of the day.
Summertime fishing can definitely have an effect on an angler who is unwilling to change up his/her ways and become more versatile. Some anglers made the long run to Saline Lake, others fished areas in the bayous, while others stayed in the main lake and took their chances with history.
Larto Lake fishing conditions were hot, with air temperatures ranging from 76 to 101 degrees, water temps ranging from 86 to 92 degrees, water clarity stained to muddy, and winds out of the west-southwest at 5 to 10 mph.
Weighing in the biggest bag of the day were longtime friends MT Martin and Sawyer Wallace, with five fish totaling 13.6 pounds and a kicker bass at 3.11 pounds. Their winning bag came mainly off a crankbait.
Coming in at second place was husband-and-wife team Joe and Elizabeth Moree, with five fish weighing in at 11.5 pounds and a kicker bass weighing 3.8 pounds. Their winning bag came mainly off plastics.
Third place payout went to Jeremy Buckley and Andrew Johnson. They weighed in five fish at 10.10 pounds. They also won big-bass honors with a bass weighing in at 3.14 pounds. Their winning bag came mainly off topwater baits.
Final payout went to longtime friends Dale Causey and Jesse Mabry, weighing in five fish at 10.6 pounds. Their bag came off plastics.
Other anglers catching were Jeff Brown and Tyler Lumley with five fish at 9.7 pounds, John and Auston Bruce five at 9.5, Michael and Colby Dunaway five at 9.3, Josh Simpson and alternate Justin Simpson five at 9.0, Chris Toler and Brad Wooley five at 8.1, Artie Faucett and Chris Thompson five at 7.13, Will Duncan and Donald O’Brian five at 7.13, Eric and Pat Wilson five at 7.12, Derrick and Scott Toler five at 7.9.4, Kell Thompson and Buddy Roberts five at 7.9.2, Eli Fowler five at 6.9.4, Johnny Rials and Shane Norton five at 6.9.0, CG and Joseph Hart five at 6.4, Bruce Knippers and Kenneth Murphy five at 6.3 pounds, Tommy Cook and Gary Burris five at 5.13 pounds, Darrell Parks five at 4.14 pounds, and Bobby Reynolds three at 3.5.
Also fishing were Caleb and Casey McCaffery.
