Entry 159-5

February Bass Fishing At Its Best

The Kiss of Katrina

Editor’s Note: $65,000 and the title, Angler-of-the-Year on the Forest L. Woods (FLW) tour, prove that Greg Hackney knows how to catch bass. One of the newest members of the Strike King Pro Staff, Hackney from Gonzalez, Louisiana, has been fishing professional tournament circuits for 5 years. However, he’s been competing in bass-fishing tournaments since he was 11 years old.

Question: What did Hurricane Katrina do to the fishing in Louisiana?

Hackney: Katrina killed everything. I went on three fishing trips in October, and there were dead fish everywhere. Katrina devastated the area and killed a lot of fish. But then when Rita came along, she killed even more fish than Katrina.

Question: How did the storm kill the fish?

Hackney: The storm surge was so big that it pushed saltwater into the Atchafalaya Basin. Before the storm, the fresh-water fish population was booming, and the basin was loaded with fish. But, the river system was low before the storm. The river stage was about 2-feet before Rita, and the day that Rita hit it was 7 feet. The next day the river was back down to 2-feet. So, 5-feet of water went inland, and came back offshore in 24 hours. Two weeks after the storm, I fished 80-miles up the river from the coast, and I still saw dead fish at the very top of the Atchafalaya Basin, which is one of the most-unique fisheries in the world.

Question: How much time do you think will have to pass before the Atchafalaya Basin recovers?

Hackney: It will take years. After Hurricane Andrew hit Venice, Louisiana, five years had to pass before the fishing returned to what it was before the storm. The first storm, Katrina, was 10 times as bad as Andrew. It completely wiped out all the fresh-water fishing in that area.

Question: Where are the fishermen fishing in Louisiana right now?

Hackney: Fishermen aren’t worried about fishing right now. They’re worried about putting their lives back together. Many people aren’t back in their homes yet. I get stared at when I leave home to go fishing because nobody’s fishing. All the salt-water industry around the coast was wiped out. And we had some of the best saltwater fishing inshore and offshore in the United States. All those fishermen who made their livings fishing aren’t working now. The oyster and the shrimp industry are all at a stand still for the most part.

Question: How far did the storm hit from your house?

Hackney: The first storm hit about 50 miles from home, and the second hit about 200 miles from home.

Contents:

• Part 1: Punch Them Out
• Part 2: Diamonds In The Grass
• Part 3: Go Slow-Rolling
• Part 4: Top-water Under-water
• Part 5: The Kiss of Katrina