Crochet: “Cataouatche Isn’t Enough”

It only takes about 5 seconds of listening to Cliff Crochet talk to realize he’s a bonafide Cajun. And while the Louisiana Delta isn’t his home water, there’s no doubt he knows this area just as well, and probably better than most.

Bass Parade caught up with the Cajun Baby at the Yamaha booth today and asked him how he thought this Classic would play out and who he thought had the right stuff to seal the deal. Here’s what he had to say.

Cataouatche Taking a Beating
“The deal is Lake Cataouatche [where the day 1 leaders were fishing] can’t sustain the kind of beating it’s taking right now. I know those guys are talking about how they’ve got fish coming to them, and I’m sure they do, but I don’t believe that’s the kind of area that can keep putting out enough fish for all those guys.

“Ultimately, I think the pressure in Catouachie is going to be too much. If you give Catouachie to just a few guys and let them spread out, then that’s where this Classic would have been won. But as it is now with that big crowd pounding that lake—Catouachie isn’t enough.”

The Fog Factor
“On the flip side you’ve got Venice. If I were fishing this deal that’s where you would’ve found me. The guys down there can spread out a little more and I think if a guy gets on a run of spots he can be a lot more consistent than the bunch fighting it out in Cataouatche. The problem is fog. If you take fog out of the equation, I’d put all my money on Brent Chapman [mind you, we did this interview well before the day 2 weigh-in]. But, fog is part of the equation, so that makes things interesting.”

10-Pound Trump Card?
“There is one wild card in Cataouatche that might save a guy, and that’s a big fish. In the local tournaments we’ve seen a lot of 7-,8-, 9- and 10-pounders come out of there—and those fish were coming during the dead of summer. I have to think there’s a 10-pound class or bigger fish swimming around somewhere over there. If a guy catches that and adds it to a bag of 3-pounders that might be all it takes.”