By Tyler Brinks |
he 2022 Bass Pro Tour schedule features several bodies of water that are unfamiliar to most of the country ’ s tournament-fishing crowd . And the least-known among those fisheries are the three bodies of water near West Monroe , Louisiana , that will serve as the playing field for the kickoff of the BPT season : Caney Creek Reservoir , Lake D ’ Arbonne and Bussey Brake .
Each of these fisheries offer the potential for giant largemouth , according to Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler Tyler Stewart , who lives within a half-hour drive of all three .
“ That event will produce good fishing on all three , and
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the timing couldn ’ t be any better for big fish ,” Stewart says . “ There ’ s no guarantee that we ’ ll see 10-pounders caught , but I ’ d be willing to bet that we see some . The whole area has been fishing great for the past three years – I caught four double-digit fish in 2021 and my dad caught three . I ’ m looking forward to seeing how this event plays out .”
Stewart offered a preview of the three lakes in play and what he expects from each of them when the 2022 Bass Pro Tour starts the new season .
Caney Creek Reservoir
Likely the most wellknown of the three fisheries , Caney Creek has explosive
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big-fish potential . At roughly 5,000 acres , the lake was created when a dam was built on Caney Creek in 1986 . The early 1990s were the first heyday for the lake , which produced the current Louisiana state record , a 15.97-pound brute caught in 1994 .
Stewart admits that Caney Creek ’ s early days were indeed excellent , but insists that the previous three years on this fishery have been almost as good .
“ All of the state records were coming out of there in the ‘ 90s , and then the grass went away , but it ’ s grown up again in the last three years and it ’ s fishing good for big ones ,” he explains . “ Even
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