Latest / Sac-A-Lait Talk / TICKFAW RIVER SHOWDOWN: BILLY ADAMS PREVIEWS THE NORTHSHORE SAC-A-LAIT TOURNAMENT
Transcript
- speaker-0: Hey anglers, welcome back to Sacolade Talk, the ultimate home for South Louisiana slab chasers. You're locked into the slab bike segment, and today we're breaking down one of the most highly anticipated events on the bayou. speaker-1: Rapers knees rise. speaker-0: The Paul transition is in full swing, the water temperatures are dropping, and the North Shore Sacolade Tournament at Riverside Marina just brought the heat to the Tickfall River. If you want to know what it takes to stack up a heavy tournament stringer when the pressure is on. You're in the right place. speaker-1: And must be speaker-0: Joining us today is a Madisonville resident who knows these local waterways like the back of his hand. He's a relentless weekend warrior, a key contact behind the tournament itself, and a man who can track down slabs whether they're tight to the cypress knees or holding deep in the river bends. Please welcome to the segment Billy Adams. speaker-1: Thank you man. Thank you for having me. speaker-0: My pleasure, Billy. Thanks for joining our Slab Bike segment today. speaker-1: Yes sir. speaker-0: Billy man, we're locked and loaded. So, if you're ready, man, let's get started. speaker-1: Damn fool, hit me with it, man. I gotcha. speaker-0: Let's go. Billy, anticipation is building for the upcoming North Shore Sacklade Tournament at Riverside Marina. Looking at the current weather patterns, what kind of overall winning weight are you anticipating it will take to top the leaderboard this year? speaker-1: Eight pounds. speaker-0: Eight pounds. Uh-huh. Okay. speaker-1: I think so. I think it'd be close to eight. Five seven's eight. speaker-0: Okay. speaker-1: I hope it's I hope it's more than that, but Yeah. Yeah, that's about what I'm looking for because it's the fall bite and the river's kinda high right now, but we got some north wind coming the next couple of days. It's gonna push that stuff out of there and I Okay. Okay. I haven't speaker-0: Awesome. speaker-1: been on the water so I don't know the temperature, but it should be it should be in the upper sixties right now, which is getting cold. Okay. speaker-0: Hey hey Billy, excluding yourself and your partner, based on what teams that have entered the tournament so far, who are some early favorites this year? speaker-1: And be Mr. Jason Villary and Glenn Davis. Jason's A.K.A. pickle. Billy Poke and Clay. his son. we're gonna have Kyle's not gonna be in there, I don't believe he's hope be hunting. He's gonna be hunting. That's gonna be a a missed one because he's usually he's a Roman fisherman, so he tries to go out those bigger ones. He only gets He gets a seven, but man, he gets some he gets some good ones. he's not he's not more of a rush power fisher like the rest of us, but Okay. I guess those three would probably be the top and then they got other great fishermen in there. They got Bert Gully's gonna be there. That's ca he's he's always a challenge. It just it they we we have some we have some really good guys coming down. I thought Preston the honey hole band that was gonna come, but it's football day, so he's he's gonna miss out on that one. But speaker-0: Okay. speaker-1: yeah. some of my guys from some of the family from Lake Verette. They're not gonna be able to come either. Cornell Adams, Cornell Junior, Senior. They're not gonna be able to make it. we got I don't know, I really don't know, man. And I I as far as how many boats is gonna come, how many boats are gonna be there? Last year we had eighteen. I think In that was in March. That was the best time. So I I'm gonna just predict that we're gonna have about maybe twelve to fifteen. I already know of about ten that's coming, ten to twelve, so yeah. Okay. We'll see. speaker-0: All right. Hey, Billy, for any local anglers sitting on the fence right now, what is the deadline to sign up and how can they get their registration secured for the tournament? speaker-1: Okay, so if the if there the deadline is is you have to be there before kickoff on fishing day on on the day of the tournament. That's any tournament that I have. It it have to be signed in and done by the time it kicks off. the only time that I allowed for anybody to be late on checking in when they come in the morning is if you haven't an incident where you call me up and say man my my axe or my tire messed up I'm changing it whatever I I work with people on that and if people were pre-registrate pre-registering the they would they would get a 30 minute extra extra leave I'd give them extra 30 minutes and they could do whatever they want to with that but I don't I think people misunderstand me the concept about pre-registration it's not I don't I don't it's char I charge nothing for the pre-registration. All that does is try to help us determine how many people are gonna come, what kind of situation we're gonna have, the food that we're gonna provide for people or whatever. So that's nothing. We're not feeding nobody this year. So but Riverside will have some poor pork sandwiches and pizza for sale. All right. I got with Riverside and they're gonna they're gonna make sure get whatever we need over there, but that way they're making a little bit too. speaker-0: Okay. Awesome. Hey Billy, the Tickfall River is known for its incredible fall bite, but it it can also be unpredictable. What do you think will be the baseline strategy just to guarantee a solid limit on tournament day? speaker-1: It's gonna it's all gonna be on water, man. It's gonna be on that water drop so you can get to them some of them spots where them fish hide up at. And when they when that water's high like that, they ain't kinda stacking up, they're spreading out a little bit. So it's they wanna they wanna start getting in the in the in some piles right now. They're feeding up on they wanna start feeding shallower, but I don't think it's I don't think it's gonna happen right now because that water's not right. But key thing is we got north wind blowing starting today. all the way through Saturday. So it's supposed to pick up a little bit more. The more that north wind blows, the more water it's going to push out. The more water it pushes out, the more them fish are going to start stacking up. And I think that's that's gonna be the key. It's gonna be the water the water height, the temperature of the water and stuff like that's gonna play a lot into the into the effect of it. speaker-0: So so the temperature of the water and the depth, right? that's that's speaker-1: That high water high water. That high water the the fish are still there. They just they just scattered more and it it it makes it harder to get to a lot of places around some of those trees and stuff where those fish like the high that. That water's gotta be it's gotta be more or less perfect and it's a little high right now. So I'm going tomorrow and Friday. I think you said you're gonna come with me Friday. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah, absolutely. speaker-1: And we'll we'll see what's happening. But kinda get a baseline off of that and then I'll have more of a speaker-0: Hey Billy, do you expect this tournament to be a numbers game? Or will it come down to finding those few isolated kicker fish? speaker-1: And it's it's the the the fall the fall bite is is crazy because it it could be it could be either way, but because the big fish usually don't get into crowds like that, but they'll there'll be some nice fish in the piles, man. If they start stacking up and we can find some stacked up, this they're gonna be some good ones in there. And I say good ones, 12-13 inch fish, but you need a Seven of those to really pull off something where you can feel happy about, And a lot of those bigger fish will probably be probably be loners by themselves fishing out. So it's gonna be it's gonna be a it's gonna be a challenge. either way. speaker-0: All right. Hey hey Billy, how has the buzz and excitement been building around the North Shore community as the countdown to launch day gets closer? speaker-1: I'm starting to see a lot more positive feedback on it. I got a lot of people that are starting to come into it. A lot of people this thing is it's not that old, it's three years old. It's starting to come up, but I got a lot more people interested in it, I think we got five hundred and thirty one people on our Facebook page now. Okay. And then we're working with you, you know, we work with other people and stuff, so speaker-0: Okay. Absolutely. Hey Billy, as a key contact putting it putting this event together, what are the official boundaries for this tournament? Are anglers locked into the tick file or do they have room to make big runs? speaker-1: As long as they launch at Riverside, they can run all the way to Blan they can run all the way to the all the way over there by their meat if they want to. Okay. I don't and I don't really need none. You just anyway you speaker-0: as they're they launch at Riverside they they can make if they want to make a a long run they're that they're able to, right? speaker-1: That's up to them. They wanna go all the way around there. And that that's subject to change too. If if if I decide that if I decide that it it it's that the water the weather's gonna be too bad or something, I don't think nobody needs to be out there. I'll make that call and say I mean if the wind's blowing a little hard or whatever, then yeah, we're not well I'm gonna tell them don't go out in the mallpaw, man, 'cause yeah, I don't you know, we don't need that. We don't need any we out here to have fun. We don't need nobody getting hurt or trying to be Superman or nothing, you know. Absolutely. speaker-0: Yep, right. The the bang thing, man, is to come home safe, man, have fun and come home safe. speaker-1: That's right. Just want everybody to be safe. speaker-0: Right. speaker-1: That's right. speaker-0: Hey Billy, who are some of the critical local sponsors making the upcoming tournament possible for the Anglers? speaker-1: Alright, that's gonna be and MJ Jigs, Gator Tracks, Salters, Pugleys, Bow Tom Jigs, Kill killem jigs. I have a list, man. I don't have it on me, but no. speaker-0: That's good. speaker-1: That's quite a few. And then I got my buddy with Southern Specialties, Mason work. And he's got a little barbecue place. He's he's he's boys he's starting to make he's starting to process meat with it. So big boys or fat boys or something like that. I forgot the name of it. He just come up with it, but Okay. Yeah. I gotta I gotta I gotta I don't wanna leave nobody out, man. of course Riverside. trying to think, man. You know, I got I always got somebody helping me, you know. And speaker-0: It's a bunch of speaker-1: I I try to I try to try to help them and support them and and put them out there, but I'm not really the advertisement type of dude, but speaker-0: All right. That'll work. speaker-1: Well. speaker-0: Hey Billy, after all the scouting, planning and pre rep and preparation is done, what is the number one mindset you have to maintain on tournament morning to stay focused and bring home a heavy sack? speaker-1: open minds. You have to you have to you can't look at yesterday. Right? I'm gonna go Thursday and Friday. I might I might tear them up. I might not do nothing. Right. If I do tear them up, I can't look at yesterday and thinking that they're gonna do the same thing today. Right. The next day because they it just changes, man. You gotta you gotta adapt with these fish. And that's the thing about live scope it helps out a lot because I know I know where they got fish at. Go find the fish today. I go back tomorrow they're biting there. I gotta move on. that helps out a lot. Gotta use your tools. That's what you gotta do. Use your tools. And you're noggin. speaker-0: Hey Billy, when you start pre fishing and scouting for an upcoming event like this, are you looking for active fish right away or are you just looking for the right bait presentation? speaker-1: I'm looking I'm looking for what the fish are doing because my my presentation is pretty much key on that one. I I I pretty much I have a a certain way that I do things and a certain size that I use and everything as far as presentation goes. It could change up a little bit. I might they do change up, they want it act in a different way and stuff, but for the most part I have a certain size that I stick with and certain colors that I stick with and it does does fairly well. Okay. yeah. speaker-0: All right. Hey, Billy, water temperatures are steadily dropping right now. How drastically do you expect the Sacolade patterns to shift between your scouting runs this week and actual tournament morning? speaker-1: We would have a cool front coming Friday, I think. And the lows are gonna be in forty nine or something like that. Okay. That could that could that could change things. If the if the water temperature was already real cold, then I would say it would really make a difference. But being that it's gonna fall, it's probably not gonna have enough time to affect us or any kind of way. From the fishing pattern that you're gonna see sat Friday to Saturday, it's not gonna be a drastic change. if it was If the water temperature is about sixty eight, now say the water temperature was about sixty three. Or say fift fifty fifty fifty eight. Say it was fifty eight and you had a night come up, you know, you've been getting in this in the lower fifty that night, and then all of a sudden you got a day a couple of days of forty nine or forty four, then yeah, it's gonna drop drastically. But I mean you'll get that five three or four, five degrees temperature drop. And that's all it takes really for them to they just move on. They go on to that next next stage of it. So speaker-0: Okay. Hey Billy, how much weight do you place on finding clean water versus finding heavy cover? speaker-1: Hmm. I'm they're about the same. I'm I'm trying to I don't I don't really I don't really fish a lot of clear water. I don't I don't care too much for clear water. speaker-0: Okay. speaker-1: If it's stained a little bit I like it. I don't like it real muddy. But I don't want it real black or clean, you know. I don't want I don't want all that water. If it's mixing or something and I know there's a off I can find structure in that area, then yeah, it's probably gonna be where I'm gonna fish at it because that's where the that's where the bite's more than likely gonna be on. most of this time of year when it's still not quite it's still not quite cool yet. The oxygen's better, but it's not it's not where it needs to be at because of speaker-0: Okay. Still hot. Right. Yeah, I mean it's still hot hot in November. speaker-1: Yep. Praise it. speaker-0: Hey Billy, we talked about a cold front earlier, but if a cold front pushes through right before the tournament, how will that alter your game plan on the water? speaker-1: I'm just I'm just gonna stick to what I know. I'm I'm they're gonna if they're depending on where I find them at it's gonna all depend on where I find them at tomorrow. And I don't care if they're biting or they're not biting. I'm gonna depend on where I'm gonna find them at tomorrow and then Friday. And then I'm going to my game plan is always to go out there, look at see what they're doing, and watch They'll start trans they'll start transitioning from that to this. And you'll see that. There'll be piled up here today. And then tomorrow when the cold front starts to approach, they'll be scattered out and then they'll be eating all stuff. And then the next day they'll be up over here after they're done passed and they're not really doing nothing. So you gotta kinda follow the way they do things. speaker-0: All right. Hey Billy. tidal movement and river current always are always factors on the north shore. What cycle of tide are you hoping to draw during tournament hours to give you the ultimate competitive edge? speaker-1: That's that's my thing. I'm hoping that we have a a a good north wind. I haven't looked at the tide movement, but if the tide's falling, that's great. The tide's falling, that's great. And then it's got a little north wind blowing too with it. You don't want to move it too much, But if that water's already moving and it's it's got a little fall with with the tide, yeah. That's that's my whole goal is to have I don't care if I have a wind worn. I just I just want everybody to be able to catch fish and have fun. Okay. That's my whole goal. speaker-0: man, that's awesome, Billy. Thank you. speaker-1: Yes, sir. speaker-0: Billy, let's talk about tackle presentation. when you're rigging up your rise the night before the tournament, one of the three absolute must-have jig colors you will have tied on. speaker-1: I'm a translucent type of dude. So I fish mostly trans translucent. If I go to any colors, it's gonna be like a chartreuse. Right. Or maybe a purple or something like that. I don't go with any too many bright colors. I just don't find it do any good for me unless I'm fishing my head sometimes will be brighter. But most of my most of my colors are more translucent. I use the the bleeding shed, blue ice, black and chartreuse, I don't really stick with monkey milk anymore. Used to do monkey milk a lot. It's more like something like that. speaker-0: Okay. Billy, will this tournament be won by vertical jigging tight to structure, or do you think a lone casting approach to spookier fish will take the crown? speaker-1: But be honest with you. If the f if the fish are roaming and the bigger ones out there, it's it's kinda hard to tell right now because it's the fall bite, but the bigger fish will be caught, those who are sniping out and looking for Okay. By themselves. The single fishes, yep. Okay. speaker-0: Billy, are you laying are you leaning towards the reliability of plastics or do you think a subtle hair jig w will be necessary to trick the heavy pressure tournament fish? speaker-1: That goes off of your own preference, really. I mean it depends on how you fish too. In my opinion, I I fish with a I fish with a plastic. If I'm if I'm slow rolling or pitching and casting to them and trying to come to a little bit or if I'm shooting docks. Right. If I'm sitting there vertically jigging, I'm sitting there vertically jigging, I'm going with a hair jig. And then just that's just me because just it looks more natural to me to fish that with a plastic 'cause it moves better. when you're reeling it than if you're just sitting there b twitching it little bit. Hair jig's got that that little flutter that you need for the for the jig, speaker-0: So you would go with a hair jig because it has a more natural precipitation. speaker-1: The type of fishing I'm gonna be doing? Yes, probably so. I'm gonna be sticking with a lot of a lot of hair jigs. And I I got three or four, I got three or four poles that I'll bring and I don't try to get too crazy with it, but I have one that's 14 foot, I think a nine-footer, and then a seven footer. Yeah. And they all have their own purposes and they all they will all get their own thing. The the long one will have hair jig on it. That's for dropping in front of them, and then the other two will probably have either some kind of Soft plastic on it or a small little hair G. Yep. Okay. speaker-0: Billy, whenever you're using soft plastics, do you use any scent, crappy niblets or anything like that? speaker-1: No, I'm not I'm not a I'm not a person of that. I don't if I'm sitting there and and and I'm not getting nothing and I can see him coming looking up at it or something it may I'm sorry, I must have got mu muted, damn. Sorry. speaker-0: Yeah, no problem. Hey Billy. last question, okay? speaker-1: Yes, sir. speaker-0: How big a factor will live scope play in this specific upcoming event? Do you think an angler can still win the tournament using traditional old school brush pile fishing? speaker-1: I absolutely believe that because the bigger fish are starting to they'll come up in those brush piles too. They w I'm not saying they'll all be up in there, but there'll be big fish up in that brush pile. And for the example of he never live scope. Yeah, about traditional fishing. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, yeah, I do believe somebody could win it traditionally fishing because Forced, a guy that fishes for our tournaments fishes our tournaments all the time since the beginning, the very first one he didn't have live scope. And I think we had twelve boats and he finished third. He got the biggest fish too. So yes, it very much can be. Somebody who fishes that river all the time, or somebody who spends a little time on there and learns stuff. Yes. speaker-0: Okay. speaker-1: Yes. It's a surprise. You could I mean you don't need live scope. You don't really need you don't need live scope. Live scope's a plus, definitely. It is. I'm not gonna lie to you. It's a plus. But side imaging, they got all kind good things you can use. When you can see the fish, and then if they don't bite, you know, you where they were biting at yesterday. All right. You don't necessarily need nothing. You just old school wits can win it, yes. speaker-0: Okay. speaker-1: And that's the ones you gotta be scared about. Those guys. Those guys, man. Those guys are good. They got some people like that too. That's like fishing in Lake Verette. You can't fish Lake Verette with no live scope. you can, but it's hard. It's it's rough. speaker-0: All right, Billy, thank you so much for for breaking down the North Shore Sacklade tournament tournament for us. speaker-1: So yes, sir. And if anybody wants to pre-register or anything, like I said, it's not necessary, but you can go on www.no shortage.com. And you can do it and we're on Facebook. So and I'll get with you before Friday so we can get a little update on that one. All right. Okay. All right, bro. speaker-0: Sounds good. And that wraps up our tournament preview with the North Shores owned Billy Adams. Billy, thank you. Thanks for sitting down with us and breaking down what it's going to take to find those heavy tournament slabs on the TIC phone. Good luck out there on Launch Day. For everyone watching and listening at home, make sure you head down to Riverside Marina to support the tournament. Watch the way in and see the and see those big bags hit the scales. If you enjoyed this segment, do us a huge favor, smash that like button, subscribe to Sackolate Talk on YouTube, and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Until next time, keep your lines tight, your jig sweat, and we'll see you on the next fight right here on Sack Late Talk.