Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By Kinny Haddox

About two decades before Bill Burns was even born, there was a popular television show called Have Gun, Will Travel. Its protagonist was a gunslinger-for-hire (played by Richard Boone) who went by the name of Paladin. A suave fellow despite his profession - a calling card with a chess knight for a logo was his mysterious introduction - he'd load up his six-shooter and go wherever he was summoned to root out the bad guys and take them down.

Bill Burns is a lot like Paladin, but his victims aren't bad guys: They're largemouth bass. He'll pack his weaponry - his tackle - onto his horse - an 18-foot bass boat powered by a 225-hp outboard - and head out to wherever the bass need catching. His calling card: his love for fishing.

OK ... well - maybe that's a stretch. Anyway, the 25-year-old native of Gauthier, Miss., who earned his engineering degree from the University of Mississippi, is kept pretty busy in north Louisiana by his day job at International Paper in Bastrop, but he still manages to make time to chase bass all over the Bayou State.

"I learned to love to fish because of going with my dad," Bill said. "We fished every chance we got, and when I went off to college, I had an old 14-foot aluminum boat. I still fished every chance I got."

Bill started off bream- and crappie-fishing. Eventually, he moved on to a bigger challenge - Mr. Bass. Today his fishing has a twofold aspect. He loves to just go fishing, but he also loves tournament fishing. It's the tournament fishing that has taken him from one end of the state to the other. The most important thing about fishing, as far as he's concerned, is that it's just still plain fun.

"There's just so much out there to learn about fishing," he said. "That's why I love bass fishing."

Even though he hasn't been around as long as some of the state's veteran anglers, he's picked up quite a bit of knowledge, and more than his share of experience. January in Louisiana is somewhat unpredictable. Some years see it cold and wet, with rivers and lakes high and muddy; other years see it almost like spring - dry enough to plant cotton, and the water just right for the fish's spawning instincts to start stirring. Either way, we've asked him to share his seven top bets for January bassin' in Louisiana.

The two towns nearest to Bill's favorite stretch of river are Pearlington and nearby Slidell. There are several good ramps for putting in. Bill's favorite is near Pearlington, just off Highway 90.

"What happens there each year is that the coastal areas are a bit warmer than the northern areas of the state," Bill said. "The water is a little warmer, the vegetation is growing a bit quicker and the fish are ready to move in and start looking for a place to spawn much earlier than up north, especially on the reservoirs."

The key to finding largemouth bass is to stay in areas with plenty of grass. Areas where you can stay outside the current, especially during higher water, are best. Look for bayous that run east and west off the river. They're somewhat protected from the colder north wind, and they catch more sun. The grass is more abundant, and so the bass follow.

"That's the thing you have to look for," he said. "Normally unless the weather is real bad, you can start catching fish moving up shallow pretty good. They key is to look for the best vegetation. A lot of that depends on the summer conditions. There are areas that sometimes have a lot of saltwater intrusion during the summer. If that's the case, the grass won't be growing. You have to go further north up the river for good early fishing."

If the Pearl surprises you somewhat as the top selection, wait until you hear the two best baits recommended by the angling engineer. "I'd pick the anise worm - the floater - as the top choice followed by a Snagless Sally and then a small 1/8-ounce flippin' jig," he said. "I've caught them on those baits since I was a kid, so why change now?" Bill said. Dark-colored worms are good, with the black and yellow worm being one of his favorites. The slower the better on presentation, especially if the fish are up in the grass. A purple Snagless Sally works well. Fish it with various retrieves and see which ones the fish prefer. Usually, if the weather is warm, you can reel it in pretty fast, but on colder days you have to slow down the retrieve. As for jig color, he recommends pumpkinseed. Fish it in the thickest part of the grass, or around laydowns and trees.

One thing that keeps this spot atop Bill's list is the recollection of trips years ago on which his father and he caught 40 to 50 bass a trip. It isn't always that good, and there's a lot more pressure these days, but it isn't unusual to catch a good limit of fish there in January.

Burns says that even if you're adventuresome enough to give this area a try, it's good to get some local advice before venturing out. At the very least, get a good map and a GPS unit. As he says, it all looks the same; the best way to describe some of these areas is the old joke to the effect of "You can't get there from here."

The water-diversion project, known as the Davis Pond project, restores freshwater flow to many of the estuary areas and has created a super fishery in the area. According to Bill, the best way to start there is go to some of the common areas like Crowfoot, Moss Lake, Spanish Lake, Lake Lery, Grand Lake and Big Mar, which are some of the most popular areas. And even though they are fished heavily, Mother Nature restocks them on almost a daily basis.

Bill's favorite bait is the lizard. For some reason, smoke blue has really produced the last few years early on. Spinnerbaits are also popular, especially if you have to move away from the grass and fish the deeper holes in the canals and bayous.

"What I look for is areas with a lot of different types of vegetation. The bigger areas of grass and vegetation seem to produce the best. Again, the east and west canals and cuts work best early, because they are somewhat protected most of the time," he adds.

There is one thing that will mess up fishing here in a hurry - mud! If the Mississippi's extremely high, or there have been heavy rains, the mud will shut down the fish. But it isn't all bad. If you're willing to look, there are always some places where the water stays clear, he says.