(This is part 1 of a two-part series to be concluded Thursday)



    In 1973, I came into this world at Orange Memorial Hospital which sits about 100 yards from Adams Bayou, the body of water which sits about 300 yards from my home today.

    I grew up learning most of what I know about fishing from the slow-moving, dingy-colored waters of bayous ranging from freshwater tributaries of our river systems to the salty sloughs feeding into our bays. And if there is one thing I have learned it is that fishing bayous is unlike any other kind of water system.

    I thought it would be interesting to look at the various attributes of bayous so you can better understand how these complex ecosystems work in your favor in the game of catching fish.

    There are numerous varieties of bayous but basically two kinds that most anglers are likely to encounter. These are the inland bayous and coastal marsh bayous. Let's look at inland bayous first. These are the slow-moving, winding kind most people think of when the word "bayou" is mentioned.

    Often lined with Spanish moss covered cypress trees these bayous typically serve as drainage for upland areas into a river system.

    Species likely encountered in bayous include largemouth bass, various species of sun perch, catfish, gaspergou, alligator garfish and the ever-present grinnel (bowfin, chopique). Locating these fish can be daunting for anglers with little knowledge of bayous, which tend to operate differently than rivers and reservoirs.

    The first thing to keep in mind for inland bayous is water movement is crucial. Areas of the bayou that have very little movement tend to hold very few fish whereas locations with lots of water movement hold many.

    Look for drainage into the bayou system whether it is a manmade canal or the juncture of another bayou.

    Where you have water meeting water, you have more dissolved oxygen, which is crucial in summer months, and you have more baitfish. Drainpipes put in place by drainage districts are great but not for the reason you might be thinking. In a reservoir it would be the pipe itself that drew in the fish but in this case it is the water movement coming from it even if it is a trickle.

    I fish Adams Bayou near my home all the time, mainly for bass and quite often I see people running right past the very best spots. They tend to go for the scenic backwater areas while some of the best fishing is in the main channel where the water is flowing best.

    Most bayous have islands in them and these islands are great places to target predatory species like bass, grinnel and flathead catfish. Bayou islands tend to have deeply eroded shorelines strewn with logjams and cypress knees, which are great fish holding structure.

    The points of the islands are also strong areas especially if they drop off quickly. Everything in a bayou is magnified because of the slow-moving nature of the water. If you have even a five-foot drop-off off the tip of an island you can be guaranteed there are fish on it.

 Chester Moore, Jr.  is The News Outdoors Editor. To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at cmoore@fishgame.com. You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI.