Latest / Sac-A-Lait Talk / THE CREEK MOUTH HIGHWAY I SLAB BITES I THE JIG IS UP
Transcript
- speaker-0: Cyber's knees rise where the shadows crawl. Sangs low like a ghostly shawl. Steps down on whiskey trail And dream. Freedom neath the cypress tree. A shotgun crash. Sharp speaker-1: What? speaker-0: Same on it. ⁓ speaker-1: Welcome back to another episode of Sacklade Talk. I'm your host Dwayne Turner and today we are cruising down the Creek Mount Highway to find where the big ones are stacked up. We've got a massive show lined up for you in our Slab Bites Fisherman Report. We are hanging out with Toledo Bin Pro God, Carla Whitstein, to get the absolute latest breakdown on the bin. Plus, the jig is up. We're diving deep into our specialty segment featuring the latest and greatest from Richard Bates. Grab your gear, drop the trolling motor, and let's get right into it. What's going on everyone? Welcome back to another episode of Sacklade Talk, the podcast dedicated entirely to chasing the finest tasting panfish in the Bayou State. I'm your host, Wayne Turner, and if you're listening to this in early September, you know exactly what's happening. The calendar flips. The kids are back in school. The mornings are starting to give us just a whisper of a breeze, even if it's still ninety degrees by lunchtime. But under the water, something massive is changing. Those slabs, Sakhalai, that have been locked down on deep, predictable summer ledges for the past three months, they are starting to unlock. They're getting the itch to move. But here's the problem a lot of weekend anglers run into. One week they go out to their favorite summer brush pile in eighteen feet of water and crush ⁓ The next weekend they go back to the exact same spot and it's a ghost town. They think the fish stopped biting. But the truth is the fish didn't stop eating, they packed up and hit the road. Today we are breaking down what I call the Creek Mount Highway. We're going to talk about how to Intercept these early fall Sakalay as they transition off their summer ledges. How to find the Pacific tow boots along their route and the exact jig setups you need to trigger a strike when they're on the move. Grab your coffee, pull up a seat, and let's get into it. To catch a fish on the move, you have to understand their map. During the peak of summer, Sakhalai love stability. They lock onto the deep river ledges, main channel drops, and deep water structures where the water temperature is stable and there's plenty of oxygen. But as the days get shorter, the water up in the shadow flats, backwater pockets, and deep orms begin to cool down first. That cooling water holds more and more importantly, it draws in schools of shad and minnows. The bait moves and the sacolae follow. speaker-0: More obviously. speaker-1: They don't just teleport from twenty feet of water to three feet of water overnight. They use underwater terrain like a highway system. The main interstate this is your deep river channel or the deepest belly of the lake. The exit ramp, this is the creek mount where a secondary creek bayou or sloth dumps into the main body of water. The state route, the creek channel itself winding its way back into the flats. If you want to catch them right now, you need to stop fishing the deep interstate and stop fishing the shallow backflats. You need to pull up right to the exit ramp, the creek mouth. When you look at your electronics or a topographical map, look for a prominent creek cuts through a shallow flat and meets the deep main ledge. That intersection is money. The fish will use that channel edge as a visual and physical guide to travel from deep to shallow. If you can position your boat right along that edge, you're sitting in the middle of a traffic jam. Of hungry slabs. Now, just because they are using the highway doesn't mean they swim nonstop. Just like you and me on a road trip, they like to pull over, rest and grab a bite to eat. I call these structural stops toe boots. Because the fish are in a transition mindset, they aren't going to scatter across an entire flat. They are going to hold tightly to very specific pieces of cover right along the creek mouth channel. Here are the three primary tow boots you need to scan with your electronics this month. The channel bend point. Every time a creek channel curves at it enters the main water body, it creates a point. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: On the inside or outside of the bin. Current naturally sweeps past these points, carving out a slightly deeper hole and washing in nutrients. Sacolade will stack up on the drop off of that bin, using it as an ambush point for passing bait fish. two submerged stump rows and many of our Louisiana reservoirs and river setups old creek channels were lined with trees before they were flooded. Look for the remnant remnants submerged stump rows right on the lip of the creek mount channel. A saccole might hold in twelve feet of water right up against a stump that sits next to a six foot flat. They can slide up to eat, then drop right back down into the safety of the of the channel. Three, isolated outflow brush. If there has been a late summer rain and there's a little bit of water moving out of the creek mount, look for any isolated brush piles or fallen logs right where the current meets the still water. The fish will sit on the downstream side of the of that wood, letting the current bring dinner right to their faces. Before you drop in line, spend fifteen minutes idling around the mouth of the creek. Mark these specific tow boots on your GPS. If you find wood sitting right where the deep water starts to step up into the creek, you found the exact spot to drop your anchor or lock down your trolling motor. Let's talk about how we're going to catch ⁓ When Sakhalai are transitioning, their behavior changes. They can be aggressive because they are feeding up for the winter, but they but they can also be spooky because they are moving into shallower, clear water column sections. Because of that I changed my presentation. Here's my two prone approach for the Creek Mount Highway. The vertical presentation. If you mark fish sitting tightly on a stump row at a channel bin, you can't beat vertical jigging. The rig. I like a ten to eleven foot jig pole paired with a six pound test high viz monofilament line. The high viz line is crucial because these transitional fish will often take a jig on the fall and you'll see the line twitch before you even feel it. The jig I lay heavily on a one sixteenth ounce or one thirty two ounce jig head. In early fall, the bay fish fish are still relatively small, so don't go too big. For colors, you can't go wrong with something that mimics a small shad or a grass shrimp. A clear sparkle plastic with a charcheuse tail is my absolute confidence color on sunny days. If the water has some stain from recent rain, swap to a dock a darker profile like black. And Charcheuse. The technique drop that jig down the side of the timber, lower it past the depth you think the fish are holding. Then slowly, steadily lift it up. Transitioning fish love a slow vertical rise. The slow troll or cast and retrieve. If you scan the creek mount and see fish suspended out over the channel rather than locked onto wood, They are actively swimming. Vertical jigging won't cut it here because you'll spook them by sitting right on top of them. The technique back off back your boat off. Cast a one thirty two a one thirty second ounce jig with a small paddle tail or curry tail across the channel. Let it sink for a count of three or four and then bring it back with a painfully slow, steady reel. You want that jig to swim right through the upper half of the water column where those traveling fish are cruising. To wrap it all up, the biggest mistake you can make right now is staying stuck in your summer ways. The fish are moving and you have to move with them. Find those creek mounts. Look for the channel bins and stump roads that serve as their highway rest stops. And keep your presentation slow and downsized to match their natural bait. Give this strategy a try on your next trip out and I promise you're going to turn a frustrating, transitional weekend into a cooler full of slabs. Before I let you go, don't forget to head over to our YouTube channel, Sackalay Talk. Hit that subscribe button and notification bell so you don't miss our exclusive upcoming Slab Bites fishing reports. If you enjoyed today's episode, hit that subscribe button on your favorite podcast app. Leave us a review and share it with your fishing partner. Until next time, keep your lines tight. Watch that hive viz monofilment. And we'll use and we'll see you next week right here on Sakalay Talk. Tight lines everybody. Welcome back everyone to our very first Sad Bike Special Report segment. guide on Toledo Ben. Carl. Thanks for joining the show and spending a few minutes with us today and sharing your expertise with our listeners. speaker-0: Nice. ⁓ yeah. I have to speaker-1: Th no problem. ⁓ so ⁓ where where where them slabs at? speaker-0: Right now they're in the deep part of the lake, ⁓ along the river, the Sabine River where it runs into Toledo Bend. ⁓ I fish mainly in the mid lake area. I don't know if you're familiar with Toledo Bend, but we have a south end, Mid Lake, and a northern part that most people fish and the the most popular is Mid Lake. ⁓ this time of year you can go along a river and jump stumps and catch ⁓ speaker-1: Okay. Okay. Yeah, I f I fished Toledo once in my life. I hadn't I hadn't fished it a bunch. ⁓ it's a ⁓ it's a good little trip, but I fished it once. speaker-0: It's a big lake. And each each part of the lake has something unique about it to offer. Lost it. speaker-1: Okay, what is your favorite style of fishing on on Toledo? speaker-0: I love fishing brush piles. Yes. I love fishing brush piles. I make about thirty of ⁓ my own and I keep up with them every year. ⁓ start off with five or six, ⁓ like ten to twelve foot sweet gums. They seem to like sweet gums real good up here. ⁓ drop brush piles and we I end up putting a new tree on it every 10 to 12 days. speaker-1: Brush pals. Which is speaker-0: a lot to keep up with with 30 brush piles, but the fish seem to like the the extra shade and the green leaves. speaker-1: Yeah. Carla, tell us ⁓ t tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, ⁓ how you got started, how long you've been been a guide, and what did you love about it? speaker-0: Well, my parents moved to Toledo Bend ⁓ about twenty years ago and they started up a guide business. My mom and dad, this is before forward facing sonar and spot block. ⁓ they did have a guide service up there and I would go help them. I'm a full time police officer with Alexandria and I've been there thirty one years and I'm fixing to retire. But about three years ago I said, you know, I need a gig after I retire. So I started with Bentrod's Guide Service and started taking trips and now it's I do it every April, May, June, sometimes in July. But then I got to go back to regular work like normal folks. But fishing is my life. ⁓ that's what I want to do when I retire and I love doing it. It's just the peace, ⁓ being out there and it's building structures and going back a day or two later and seeing fish on there and taking people fishing, ⁓ especially kids, and they're smiling and making memories and it's just fun. speaker-1: Yeah, fishing is fishing is so fun and relaxing. I I just love being out there myself also. speaker-0: It is. Like I said, the hard work is the trees and the cinder blocks and the jugs and but it's worth it in the end. It it really is. speaker-1: Now, y'all call ⁓ crappy up there, right? speaker-0: Actually I call ⁓ white perch. I'm from central Louisiana. South south y'all call them Sakole. ⁓ we call ⁓ white perch. And we'll firm up north, three port that they call ⁓ crappie, and that's where and north of that is crappy. But ⁓ speaker-1: Yeah, I ⁓ had a post on my Facebook page and we had a debate w on where where you well I think you participated in that too, you know ⁓ do you call him Sakalay, White Perch, Crappie? And it was I had a real good response and a lot of people I was surprised that the amount of people call him White perch. I I mean it's quite speaker-0: Yeah, there's a get on my boat. That's how you know, I every every day I ask them, okay, what do y'all call it? And I can tell where they're from just by what they call it. It's amazing. I mean it's speaker-1: I mean they had a bunch of people call them Sakalay, you know, a lot of people call them Sakalay down south. South of Alexandria, you find a like, you know, ninety-five percent of you know it's called Sakalay. You know. But I was I was kind I was kind of shocked ⁓ after Sakalay, I think White Perch was the the number two response that we had on the on ⁓ on my Facebook page. speaker-0: Growing up I didn't know what a crappie was. I lived on a little lake called Iatt Lake. I had no idea what a crappie was, but I knew what Lake Birch was. It's the same as that. speaker-1: Yeah. Which I which I actually had some for supper last night. ⁓ I made a little trip yesterday on ⁓ on the TikTok. speaker-0: No matter what you tell ⁓ they're good. speaker-1: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Okay, let's talk about ⁓ crappie structure or Sakhalai Pacific structure. Are you finding the best slabs on the main lake, standing timber and river channels, or are they pulling away into the ⁓ to the creeks? speaker-0: In the creeks, like I said, they catch some good ones in brush piles. To me I'm standing timber at Toledo when I go up north. They they tend to be smaller, but in the brush piles, I I catch some some nice fish. speaker-1: Okay. It's a nice layers. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah, over two pounds, some of ⁓ you know, but they're that is awesome. Good fish. But like I said, I mean you'll catch your smaller ones and but this year it seemed like there was a lot of smaller ones in the brush piles. But I took that as a good sign for the years to come. So but I I catch my bigger ones in the piles. speaker-1: Wow. Right. Okay. ⁓ now are they still in the ⁓ are y are y'all still on a summer pattern or y'all moved transition to the fall yet? speaker-0: ⁓ I hadn't quite transitioned to the fall. They are still biting in brush pies. ⁓ they they they're they're on standing timber also. They've been on standing timber ⁓ so most of the summer. And I can I've gone up in the middle of July and call them in eight and nine foot of water up north on standing timber. speaker-1: Okay. speaker-0: And you would think they would be deeper a lot of times, which some of them are, but you can go up there and you'll see a pile of them in eight and nine foot of water. speaker-1: Okay, okay. speaker-0: And I said, I don't know if that has to do with the oxygen level or what what, you know, but the water could be like ninety degrees and they're up shallow. speaker-1: Yeah, I'm sure it had it does have something to do with the oxygen level. ⁓ speaker-0: Yes, and the thermocline and I mean ⁓ my favorite is thrush pie fishing. Especially when you have six, seven, eight people in the boat, it just a lot better just to drop straight down. speaker-1: Right. Yeah, that's that's my favorite style too. ⁓ I mean obviously, you know, down south we have a l we are we we like shallow, shallow we're fishing. You know, we we we don't have any deep reservoirs. ⁓ you know, but ⁓ I like ⁓ I like ⁓ jigging those brush piles myself, you know. speaker-0: Yes. Now the jigs have done better this year. Some years at Shiners, but the Jigs have done awesome this year. And right now they're on the smallest jig head and the smallest ⁓ body that you can put down there. They like and they're lacking it real, real slow. Like if you're moving it much, you move ⁓ too too much. So speaker-1: What size jeg are are are you fishing? speaker-0: A one sixty-four or one thirty-second ⁓ fish. I just got some new baits in from State Line Bait Company. It's the they call it the Cockleburr. And it's the new little octopus looking thing. Like they're I'm not I don't bass fish much, but ⁓ it looks like a spider, I guess you could say. But on the lid on it. They made a a a crappie bait with that called a cockle bird, and I'm anxious. speaker-1: One six. Exactly. speaker-0: To go trial there. speaker-1: Okay, ⁓ live sonar has obviously changed, you know, crappie, saccole, white purse, fishing. What is the biggest mistake you see guys make that that ends up they end up s ⁓ spooking the school instead of catching them? What is what is controller motor? speaker-0: Trolling motor. ⁓ if you if you move up to it and hit the spot lock real quick, real close to it, it's gonna blow that water back out over the top of the brush pile. So try to get your boat when you ease up to it to let the boat stop completely away from the pile and then hit your spot lock so the motor don't have to try to go in reverse to pick up that. speaker-1: Right. So basically they're they're going to they're going on to the ⁓ brush pile. You you're saying they should stop before they get to the pile, then put the spot lock. speaker-0: Wait till the boat comes complete, completely stop, and then ease up to it. So like I said, once you if you're going pretty fast and you hit the spotlight, you're passing that ⁓ point and the troll motor turns around and jets out water and blows onto the I call it blowback, blows onto the brush pud. And you'll watch them if you got your four speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: facing solar down, you'll you'll watch you can see the, you know, the extra oxygen bubbles and stuff blowing back to it and that that spooks them a lot. speaker-1: Right. Hey, Carla, if you can only for this week, if you can only use one specific jig, color and weight, what are you what what are you using this week? speaker-0: I like anything, monkey milk is saltries. speaker-1: ⁓ yeah. speaker-0: That that is any any time. That that is my go to color. ⁓ speaker-1: Milky Milky Color. Monkey milk and charge. Okay. speaker-0: Well yeah, thank you. Anything multi milk? speaker-1: And you primarily use one thirty second, one sixty four ounce. Yes. Ounce, primarily, right? speaker-0: Yes, I did. A lot of people like to jig it, like to pop it up and down. I don't find that very successful. I find like just easing it down there and just do a natural, like slow, let it drop over and kind of like a pendulum come back over. speaker-1: Right. Okay, get up in this. speaker-0: Slow, slow, slow. But if you pick it up, don't stop. Just keep easing it up two or three feet. And you'll you'll watch them follow it. If you stop anywhere in there, they tend to turn around and and go back to into the pile. But just slowly lifting it as slow as you can. And for two or three feet, and they'll hit it. speaker-1: Right. But Okay. Miss Carla, for the weekend angler that doesn't have the live electronics and they just want to catch a mess of fish to have a little of have a fish fry. speaker-0: Mm-hmm. speaker-1: What what should they look for and how should they fish? speaker-0: I would look off of points and go straight off a point. Any wet lake probably that people put brush piles at and go if you even got a depth founder, go twenty foot, there's usually a brush pile right there. Somebody's got a brush pile right there. speaker-1: Right. Yeah. Exactly. speaker-0: So, you know, that that's if you don't have anything else, just just go to a point and work your way away from it and try different depths of water on that point. speaker-1: Okay. So so target you recommend they target points. speaker-0: Yes. It's fine brush piles. Yes. There there's gonna be a brush pile on a point. Or some type of structure. speaker-1: Right. Okay. Well that's ⁓ that's good to know. ⁓ now with the rise with with the rise of live sonar, how has that changed the way you guide and do you still keep old school ⁓ techniques in your back pocket? speaker-0: Mainly honestly use forward face and so on. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: ⁓ Like you build the brush piles. Some of them don't work, some of them do. You just have to try different locations. But ⁓ board facing sonar saves me a lot of time. Cause I can pull up to a brush pile. I can put it down real quick. If there's not many fish on it, I don't have to waste my time fishing. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: So, you know, different days, different piles may have more fish on it. So if this one that day does has a lot, I'll fish shit. But if come on upon one that really doesn't have a lot of fish, there's no use wasting my time on the client's time, you know. So I move on. So that that board faces fell artists helped me in that space. I rely on in that way. If I had to go to old school, I know from bank points of where my brush pongs are, and I'll use ⁓ bank points to to find. speaker-1: Okay. speaker-0: Boom. Now if the troll motor goes out, that's a different story. speaker-1: We we all in trouble if the showing motor goes out. speaker-0: That that trolling motor and spotlight lock has I mean, I could do without the forward facing sauna, but I can't do without that spotlight. It it's a game changer. speaker-1: ⁓ yeah. Now, for someone to trying to get their kids or if you're a complete angler, hooked on Sackalay or crappy fishing, what is your go to strategies that they will have fun to make it fun for ⁓ speaker-0: A shiner and a hook and a sinker. speaker-1: Just like w when we were little kids. speaker-0: Final hook and sinker is you can't go wrong. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: You can't go wrong and find standing timber from stumps and try different depths and silence and a hook. speaker-1: Yeah. Do you fish primarily ⁓ on a on a guided trip, do you fish primarily with shiners or do you do like half gigs, half shiners, or do you start with shiners? speaker-0: Unless they know how to fish a jig, 'cause like I said, if you don't fish it correctly and you move it too much, you know, the bite's hard to get sometimes. A shiner, you let the shiner do all the work. So inexperienced fishermen, ⁓ I put shiners on. If somebody says that, ⁓ I know how to fish a jig and I I let ⁓ and you know, just teach ⁓ what the technique that works for me on Falita B in. Yeah. speaker-1: Right. 'Cause every every fishing place is you know, you might use a different technique. You know. speaker-0: Right, right. So I mean you can't go wrong with Simon's. speaker-1: Right. Well, Miss Carla, this is ⁓ I appreciate you giving us a few minutes. It's it's it's been fun. very informative. ⁓ well, like I said, ⁓ I hope to talk to you soon. ⁓ great. When are you ⁓ gonna be getting back in the full time guiding in the fall? speaker-0: Yeah, it's in October. I I try to avoid the heat from August. I'll take a break then, plus I gotta do regular work. But when it cools when it cools down, it it it appears speaker-1: Over. Right. One more one more question, Miss Carlo. ⁓ now you said y'all are still on the summertime pattern right now. Yes. ⁓ how does that change moving to the ⁓ to the fall pattern and and and what technique are y'all using? speaker-0: ⁓ follow pattern they they start feeding more aggressive to me. ⁓ you don't have to work the jig as slow. ⁓ yeah they they just you can work a bigger jig if you'd like to. They're feeding up for the wintertime, so to me the bite is better and and you can use just a little bit more speaker-1: Yeah. Right. Yeah it means d down where we're at in the south, it's in South Louisiana, the fall that's the best time. speaker-0: Yes, yes. They will turn back on like they've been biting off some some of the other guys they they've been biting off some. speaker-1: Yeah, you can you can catch ⁓ in the summer. I mean a lot of people think you can't, but yeah, ⁓ you know speaker-0: Yeah, you you can. It's just I don't wanna be out there in the heat. speaker-1: Yeah. ⁓ trust me, y yesterday was a torture yesterday. speaker-0: A hot day on the water will wear you out. speaker-1: It was it was yeah. I was worn out when I got back. It was a torture. All right. So ⁓ anybody how do they ⁓ folks get in contact with you if they wanna set up a ⁓ a trip with you? speaker-0: Look, we got Bent Rods Guide Service. It's ⁓ several of us that that guide on Bentrods and fish there and with they fish ⁓ Sam Raven, one of our guides does. ⁓ We got a Facebook page, we got a website, it's bentrods.com. And ⁓ like I said, it's it's a great group group and I love fishing with them. They're great guys. speaker-1: Yep. So they can they can get in touch with you on bent bentrods.com. Yes. All right, everybody. Y'all you heard Miss Carla. If y'all book a trip with her on bentrods.com. Okay. And Miss Carla, I hope to talk to you soon, okay? All right. speaker-0: Right. Right. Make two fish. speaker-1: Yes. I appreciate you giving us a few minutes. Thank you. Have a great one. Thank you. speaker-0: Thank you. Right away. ⁓ Yeah. speaker-1: Okay. Welcome back to Sackley Talk. I'm your host, Wayne Turner, and today we're diving into the world of high-quality custom jig making. Joining us for a quick 15-minute session is the mind behind Rich's baits. We're going to look at what makes these baits a go-to for you catching slabs, the story behind the brand, and some insider tips you can use on your next trip. Let's welcome Rich to the show. speaker-0: Hey, how you doing? speaker-1: Hey, Mr. Rich, thank you ⁓ for joining us and giving us a few minutes. Mr. Rich. speaker-0: Yes. speaker-1: My first question. What ⁓ originally motivated you to start Richard Space and what gap were you trying to fill for Anglers? speaker-0: Well what What got me started ⁓ was lots of people that I knew seen ⁓ and and wanted them. And ⁓ I mean that that was it. But what got me started overall was ⁓ I was at the camp, my camp is at Toledo Bend and ⁓ we had some bad weather coming. And ⁓ dear friend of mine, one of my neighbors up there speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: He was going out of town and he knew I was staying for the week. And he came walking across the street. He had a big box in his hand. A big, big old tackle box is what it was. And ⁓ he said, I want you to hang on to this for me for till I get back. I said, Why do you want me to keep your bait box? Won't you just lock it up in your shed? He said, Well. He said, I figured you might want to use it. I Man, you know I got all the bait in the world. He said, Well, you don't have this. And I said, Well, what is it? And he opened it up and he started showing me all these things that I'd I have heard of ⁓ people who tied flies and jigs, but I'd never seen it done. I'd never seen any of the equipment, and that's what he had. And he said, Look, he said. I know you're gonna be cooped up in the ⁓ camp for the next several days 'cause of this bad weather. Just watch some YouTube videos and tie you some jigs. And I said, look, I'll hang on to your stuff, but I don't see me doing that. He said, look, just give it a try. So I did. I sat down, started looking at all that stuff and watching videos, and I ended up tying two jigs that very evening. And ⁓ the rain hadn't started yet. I got in the boat and I eased out to the little bridge out in front of my camp. And I had those two jigs tied on two poles and ⁓ the first one I dropped in the water wasn't in the water five seconds. I caught a big old s Sak ay on it. After two after two or three Sackola I mean ⁓ I was I was hook hook line and sinker. I was jumping up and down excited. speaker-1: You c you can't beat that. I hear you. That'll do it. Right. speaker-0: just made. You know, something I had just made, and I went out there and caught fish on it. speaker-1: I know it that gave you a lot of satisfaction. speaker-0: Yeah, it it hits different when when you do it that way. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: But anyway, that's the that's the whole story. speaker-1: Okay. Well that's good. What Mr. Rich, what is your ⁓ explain to our listeners what what is your process? How do you make your jigs? What what what are your processes? speaker-0: All right. ⁓ everybody's got their own style. And I watched lots and lots of videos. and it don't take you very long. You find something you're interested in, you start watching videos. It don't take you very long to filter through. Well, I don't like this guy's product, but I do like his. And I like that one over there. And ⁓ You know, you see things you like, you see things you don't like, and you pick and choose whose style you wanna mimic or copy or learn from. You know, a as you ease into your own you know, you you're gonna start figuring your own way out once you learn how other people go about it. But I ⁓ I buy my hooks and I pour my own lid. I I've bought the molds. I've got several different styles of heads and several sizes hooks and ⁓ once I get them poured and sandered and filed and prepped, then I paint them and cure them and gather up all my materials and go to tie jigs and on my premium jigs I've ⁓ I do UV resin and ⁓ those are really cool. speaker-1: ⁓ that's awesome. Let me ask you this, ⁓ Mr. Rich. ⁓ which what are your your most popular colors? What are you say what are your top three to four or five what are the most popular c colors ⁓ for fish and sack a speaker-0: Well, it wouldn't be any different for me than it would anybody else. ⁓ if you natural shad colors are always popular and then any ⁓ chartreuse combinations, ⁓ white, chartreuse and white, ⁓ Whether it's chartreuse green or chartreuse yellow, I find some people like one, some people like the other. speaker-1: Right. ⁓ speaker-0: That that's about it, you know, your natural colors and your and your ⁓ bright colors and you know, each has its time and place. speaker-1: Okay. ⁓ when you are designing and manufacturing your baits, what specific design elements or actions do you per you prioritize to ensure that they trigger big bites? speaker-0: Well, you know as well as I do the fish determine that. I can I can lay out the prettiest thing in the world and either they'll bite it or they won't. And they may bite it in fifteen minutes and just don't want it right now. ⁓ speaker-1: Right. Right. Right. speaker-0: And and Sakalae are the pickiest critters in the world. Sometimes they'll want something for two or three days in a row and then they won't want it again for a month. So you just got to f you gotta figure it out as you go. speaker-1: So let me ask you this. If if say if if you go on fishing tomorrow, which colors are you putting in your box? speaker-0: My box has got so many in it, I've got every color and the ⁓ I've got every color in the spectrum. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: And I don't usually have to try too many colors. ⁓ you know, you use the use the watercolor to help you ⁓ you know if it's muddy or murky, I'll go to ⁓ darker colors. And ⁓ if it's real clear, I'll try to stick to my natural shad looking colors. speaker-1: Right. Let let me ask you this. ⁓ for your baits. What do you think is the most effective way t to fish ⁓ Are you ⁓ vertical jigging, cast and retrieve, slipcorking? Or or does it does it matter? speaker-0: All the above. All the above. Yeah. In the spring when them fish is coming in shallower. ⁓ You could any any of those will work. ⁓ but fishing in mostly at Toledo Bend where I fish, ⁓ Anything you can do to keep from getting hung up. That's the ticket. speaker-1: Right. Next, ⁓ in a world dominated by mass production of soft plastics, what makes a classic hand tied hair, feather, or tinsel jig so incredible lethal in Louisiana's Sack Lade fishing? speaker-0: It's all about the fish. Cause I hey, I've got just as many soft plastics in in my ⁓ in my box as I've got my own baits. Cause ⁓ they want what they want. You know, whether you bass fishing, sack a fishing or or whatever. Them them fish want what they want. And if if they hitting soft plastics, I won't even tie one of mine on. speaker-1: Right. What's speaker-0: I can usually I can usually catch ⁓ on my baits. speaker-1: Right. When when you're sitting down at your your tying vise, how do you choose the right combination of hook strength, head shape, and tying materials? speaker-0: Just use my imagination. speaker-1: Is is this all all what you ⁓ imagine? speaker-0: Yeah, well I I do a lot of ⁓ tried and true ⁓ like black and chartreuse, for example. That's been a staple forever. So if I'm doing black and chartreuse, you know, there's no imagination. I mean I have some variations of it. Black and chartreuse, you know, that's a staple. ⁓ white and chartreuse, that's a staple. speaker-1: Right. Right. Right. speaker-0: ⁓ I have several color combinations. That's just stuff I've come up with. Right. And sometimes sometimes it's as simple as just looking in my scrap pile from what I did yesterday. And you know, if I take this head and that color and let me just see what one looks like, and I'll tie one. And if I like it, I'll tie a few of them and put them in my box. And if I like it enough. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: I'll ⁓ you know, see if anybody else likes it. speaker-1: Well that makes perfect sense, Mr. Rich. Hey, our our local waters, you know our work our local waters have specific bait fish, crawfish, grass shrimp. How do you design your jigs to perfectly mimic the native forage for ⁓ you know, for ⁓ sackolade fishing in in Louisiana? speaker-0: Same as I would for bass fishing. ⁓ What did the I f what do the fish feed? At Toledo Bin, the predominant forage is shed. There's gizzard shed and there's ⁓ thread fin shed and I really don't know what all else I I think those are the two ⁓ major ones for sure, but that's what the ⁓ bass feed on. They follow ⁓ around. The cycle they follow ⁓ around and feed on and ⁓ I I try to do several different variations of shad patterns. ⁓ some I'll have, you know, with a little blue in it, some I'll have with a little chartreuse in it, ⁓ and so on and so forth. ⁓ and then the little crawfish patterns, which to me, a crawfish pattern and a brim pattern. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: is the same. They both have the same colors in involved in them. And ⁓ you know, I've got several of my baits that incorporate those colors. speaker-1: Right. Mr Rich, for for our amateur tires listening, what is a common mistake people make when securing their materials and what's your secret to making sure a jig doesn't unravel? speaker-0: What w repeat the first part of that question? speaker-1: Okay, for our for our amateur tires, ⁓ just starting out, you know, making jigs. What is a common mistake they make for securing ⁓ their materials and what's your secret ⁓ making sure ⁓ jig doesn't ⁓ unravel? speaker-0: Well, I don't know if you can make mistakes ⁓ getting your materials. you shop around and you know you're not gonna find one place much cheaper than any other place. ⁓ they're all pretty much gonna be about the same. And and and I don't buy all my materials from one place. All the people I deal with. are really good people and I try to spread it around and support ⁓ all. ⁓ they're mostly good Christian people and I really like dealing with I know I'm gonna get a fair shape. And ⁓ and and and I I really don't want to name ⁓ 'cause I'm gonna forget somebody. ⁓ and that you know, I don't want to but ⁓ as far as making sure my baits don't come unraveled. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: I tie ⁓ good. I I glue ⁓ good. ⁓ I that's when I was mentioned earlier about watching people watching their videos. I seen lots of people that don't use any glue at all. ⁓ wow. They'll just they'll just tie it off and cut they'll just tie it off and cut it and say they never have any issues. And they probably don't. But I just like to take the extra step and if anybody wants to go on Facebook or ⁓ I have some YouTube out there, not a whole lot, but some. ⁓ TikTok and Facebook, Instagram, you can scroll back through and look at my videos and judge for yourself the quality of my work. I I'll I'll let my videos ⁓ Stand for their self. speaker-1: All right, Mr. Rich, final question. Okay. What does it mean to you when local tournament anglers or guys put your hand tied jigs on their lines when money and reputations are on the line? speaker-0: think it's really cool because I ⁓ I've got a few friends that are ⁓ guides and they use my stuff and ⁓ I've got a couple of those that are ⁓ big into tournament fishing and have used my stuff in their tournaments and done real really well and ⁓ it means a lot to me. It really does it means a lot to me. It it it gives me confidence to keep going. speaker-1: Right. Well, Mr. Rich, I thank you for giving us a few minutes and sharing your knowledge. I sure have learned I hope in just a short time. I learned ⁓ a lot about jig making. How can people find find you if they wanna ⁓ look at your baits? And how can they order order your jigs? Are you on like Facebook, Instagram? speaker-0: If anybody wants to see my work, yeah, look me up, Rich is Bates. speaker-1: You on TikTok also, right? speaker-0: TikTok and Facebook and Instagram is where you'll see most of my stuff. Rich as Bates. speaker-1: And they can just they can just message you ⁓ to place an speaker-0: interested if anybody that's interested they can they can just send me messages on on that those platforms. speaker-1: Awesome. Well, Mr. Rich, it's been a pleasure of ⁓ talking to you and again thank you for sharing your knowledge with us ⁓ today and I'll be talking to you soon, okay? speaker-0: Look forward to it. speaker-1: Okay, thank you, Mr. Rich. speaker-0: All right. Good night. speaker-1: And that wraps up this week's The Jig is Up seg segment on Sacolate Talk. A huge thank you for to Rich from Rich's Baits for dropping some incredible knowledge in such a short time. Make sure to check out his gear to help fill your life well on your next trip. If anybody enjoyed this episode, hit that subscribe button, leave us a review, and keep chasing those slabs. Until next time, tight lines, everybody. And that wraps up another episode of Sackley Talk. Big thanks to Toledo Ben Pro Guide Carlo Wittstein for breaking down the Creek Mount Highway and a huge shout out to Richard Space for keeping our tackle boxes loaded. If you enjoyed today's Sakalay Talk, make sure to hit that subscribe button on YouTube, leave us a review, and share this episode with your fishing buddies. Until next time, keep your lines tight. Look for those creek mounts. And we'll catch you on the next cast. Tight lines, everybody. speaker-0: Cyber's knees rise where the shadows crawl. Mossangs low like a ghostly shawl. Soft and pale. Steps down on whiskey trail. On the wild ones know it's an alligator grin and a copper steel bride or chasing dreams in the Bayou firelight. Sink deep where the cattails way Eyes glow like the Santa Mesh rides the human breeze. Carving out freedom neath the cypress tree. ⁓