Fishing reports to me are useless because I seldom attempt to catch fish someone else found. What’s far more entertaining is getting out with only the knowledge you bring, and testing yourself against the elements and conditions present that day.

On my most recent trip, I identified an area that I wanted to fish, and took off on a breezy, foggy morning to see if it looked as good close up as it did on a map. It took me a little while to put the puzzle together, but once I did, the fishing was literally as good as it gets.

I depended on three lures that work well in the conditions South Louisiana is currently experiencing. The first was an H&H No. 4 gold spinner teamed with a 1/4-ounce Deathgrip Jighead and a shrimp creole-colored Matrix Shad. I used that when I had the trolling motor on high, and just wanted to cover water to see where some fish might be holding.

After I caught a handful, I slowed down and threw a weightless Pro’s Choice Senko-style soft stickbait that I worked with darts and twitches over the submerged vegetation. The fish couldn’t get enough of it.

Using those two baits, I determined that the fish weren’t in bayous or ponds, but were thick in ditches, so when I came across a narrow ditch with surprisingly deep water and swift current, I switched to an H&H curl-tail grub (smoke/red glitter) threaded on a 1/4-ounce Deathgrip Jighead. It proved to be absurdly effective.

For all the details, check out the video below.

Like the video? Please give it a thumbs-up, and subscribe to the Marsh Man Masson channel on YouTube. Also, leave a comment below. What are some of your go-to marsh lures this time of year? How do your patterns change when water levels are really high or really low?