 Keith Lusher Jr
When I think Bayou Cane in April, the first thing that comes to mind is fishing for bluegill. The spawn typically starts in April and virtually all the action will be along the shoreline. crickets, worms, or jigs under a small popping cork will yield you a nice bow of these pan friers and non-stop action as well. Target sandy shallows and look for perfectly spaced dark circles. Those are the beds and thats where the actoin is. Bass fishing will be getting back to normal by the end of the month but as usual with Cane, the spill-outs are your go-to spots for bass. Soft plastics T-Rigged like Zoom worms and Brushhog's are deadly in the ditches that drain into the main bayou. Top-water bass fishing can provide quick action during the warmer months. Try the mouth of the bayou where it empties out into the lake. Use Saltwater Assassins rigged weedless without a weight.
The "little bayou that could" is a great place to target in April. Bayou Castine is one of the least pressured tributaries on the Northshore and anglers are starting to pick up warm weather bass on top-water. Spro-frogs on grassbeds and pads are the ticket right now. Target late afternoons on warmer days for top-water action on the bayou. For those of you fly fisherman, the confides of Castine allow for very protected water and a glass-like surface to fish.
The Causeway has been in recovery mode and has almost returned to what it used to be before the numerous spillway openings over 5 years ago. Anglers should expect a great trolling season along the 24-mile bridge. Plastics on the bottom jigged close to the pilings should produce a few trout if the conditions are right. (Cean water with bait on the bridge) Matrix Shad in Magneto on a 3/8 oz. jig head work best. Anglers are also catching striped bass along the 24-mile bridge and bluecats on artificial so expect a mixed box of fish.
 Daniel Sissac Roger Sissac
April brings many opportunities for bass fishing on Bonfouca. Many females will have dropped their eggs, so they will be hungry. A female usually stages near the nest she’s chosen, but in slightly deeper water; this is normally at a ledge near the nest. In Bonfouca, there is a ledge along or just beyond the grass line. Most spawning will happen in shallow water, after which the female will leave the nest and return to the ledge to recover. Once she’s feeling stronger, she will be hungry. Hard, plastic jerk baits and plastic worms or flukes produce a lot of fish during this transition period - the jerk baits can be paused, and the soft baits can be worked slowly to entice a bass into thinking she has an easy meal. I don’t think color is very important for females at this time on Bonfouca, because the fish can feel the lure moving through the water. For sight-fishing persons, the males will be on the beds guarding their brood and will defend very aggressively. Plastic lizards are a regular go-to for most bass fishers; however, the number one enemy of bass during this period is bream. Bream will eat the eggs and small fry, so a bass will staunchly defend his nest against bream. A bream-colored lure should be the first lure tied onto your line. This lure can be a jerk bait, a spinnerbait, or a jig, but what I have found that works really well is a plastic worm (color is irrelevant) with a spinnerbait skirt in bream color. I use as little weight as possible that will allow me to throw at least ten feet past the nest. By using light weight, the worm will flutter back to the bottom after being twitched, and the skirt will bellow and increase the profile of the worm, almost mimicking a bream - because the skirt is bream colored (also, you can trim the skirt to the shape of a bream, if you’d like). This setup is a lot easier to keep in the strike zone longer, since it has a slight weight on it. One more thing, you’ll absolutely need to use a mono or fluoro leader, preferably fluoro, but I grew up only using mono, and it didn’t slow me down back then (but we know more now, whether that’s a good thing or not). Not to be preachy, but returning the males that were on nests will help to ensure another brood has the chance to reach adulthood, thereby keeping our waters stocked.
Ok, on to bream now. Their bite has been improving and will continue to improve. Bream spawn in slightly warmer water than bass, so they should begin soon, if they haven’t already. While actively spawning - three days before through three days after the full moon - bream will gather into colonies, making it easily possible to catch fifty fish in one spot. Sexee Shad in black/chartreuse and crickets (not fished together, although…) are the top producers; ninety percent of the time, I am fishing the Sexee Shad. I like to tight-line it and reel it slowly, but not let it get too deep. Bream, as well as most panfish, are up-feeders, meaning you want the lure/bait to be above the panfish so they can see it easier. The fish suspend horizontally, and their eyes are on top their heads so it’s much easier for them to see what’s above them than it is for them to see what’s below them. Catfish have been biting well and will not pass up the opportunity to inhale your cricket or Sexee Shad! Make sure your drag is set properly to prevent the cats from popping your line. If you’d like to target catfish, Bonfouca has a myriad of places to try. The best places, for me, have been near pilings and Cypress knees. The biggest catfish I’ve caught in Bonfouca was 25lbs. and it was on a soft crawfish body no longer than three inches that was on a small jig head - I was trying to catch bass. 
 Ronald Pierre
For the month of April we should see plenty of warm weather days and stable conditions. Most bass will be finished spawning by this time, while some areas will still have some late spawners. The bass that I am going to target will be active post spawn fish. Male bass will be actively guarding fry while female bass will be going on the drops and will be on the hunt for easy meals. Anglers who specifically target post spawn fish during this time stand a much better chance at putting fish in the boat.
Female bass will move out to the first drop to recover from the spawn and male bass will be up in the shallows guarding fry or beds. Female bass will be looking for the biggest, easiest meals possible. They will need to eat a meal quickly to help get the nutrients they need to make a speedy recovery from spawning. Female bass will not be looking for fast moving prey for their first meals. They will target the biggest slowest meal possible without having to use up a lot of energy. Lures like big Texas rigged worms, jigs, and swimbaits are good lures to use. Areas that I will target first are drop offs and deep ditches that lead to spawning backwaters. These areas are where spawned out females pull out to first to recover from the spawn. Slowly dragging lures through these types of areas are a key to getting females to bite. If you catch one female there should be more in the same general area, so make multiple casts at different angles until you’ve covered the area thoroughly. Post spawn female bass may be stubborn to get a bite from at first but once you get one to react the rest of the school should fire up and you can catch multiple fish from the same area. Male bass will still be up shallow guarding fry, and beds. They will be very active and strike at just about anything that intrudes their beds or comes near their young. Areas that I like to target are backwater spawning areas. Male bass will be the last to leave these areas after the female bass have spawned out. Bass fry will be hatching and moving into thick cover to grow and protect themselves from prey, while male bass will be close by to help guard them. Cover that I like to target is alligator grass, milfoil, coontail grass, and eel grass. This specific cover offers everything bass fry needs to grow and protect themselves. It gives them food, shelter, warmth, and protection from prey. Target this type of cover with lures like frogs, senkos, spinnerbaits, and creature baits. 
 Luke O'Neal
The boat traffic is heating up on the Tchefuncte and so is the fishing. Now that the water has cleared up you can find bass in the backs of dead-ends and creeks on their beds. The top-water bite is picking up like it was before the rain. I had multiple hits on a frog but no big fish. Some good springtime baits are lizards, t-riggged craws, weightless worms, and jigs. One of my favorite is the jig because it is very versatile and will help you get bigger bites. All in all April will be an excellent month for the Tchefuncte as long as the rain is not too heavy. The sac-au-lait bite on the t-funk is about to explode. Anglers are catching scattered fish right now but when with the warm-up expect to catch numbers in isolated spots.
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