LAFITTE, La. – The top five teams fishing Saturday’s final round of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Western Division event out of Lafitte, La., reads like a who’s who of redfish tournament success.
Four of the five teams have at least one national title under their belts along the FLW Redfish Series and Redfish Cup competition.
Three of the five teams consist of full-time charter guides in the Louisiana Delta.
In short, there is a wealth of redfishing expertise among these 10 respected anglers. So what kinds of lures do these pros use when combing the Delta for fat redfish?
Well, it’s a secret, literally.
For the fourth place-team of Edwards Adams and Ray Chagnard, both guides out of Metairie, La., the key involves being able to fish a scummy, algae-like vegetation they call “snot grass.”
Last September, Adams and Chagnard won the Redfish Series event in Lafitte by fishing the slimy, floating weed.
“Most of our fishing down here revolves around snot grass,” Chagnard explained. “It grows in good, clean water and even helps filter the water to some degree. This time of year, it’s just starting to grow in the warmer ponds and bays. You can bet if you find healthy snot grass right now, the water is going to be 5 to 8 degrees warmer – just what we want.”
The biggest problem with snot grass is that it is hard to fish a lure through. The mucus-like weed has a way of clinging to lures, rendering them unfishable, which is exactly why the team relies on a new spoon made by H&H lures called The Secret.
The Secret spoon features a small weed-blocking cone that parries the sticky vegetation as it swims through the water.
“The problem with snot grass is that it runs down the line and grabs the swivel and nose of the spoon,” Chagnard explained. “The red cap on The Secret is like a torpedo that punches its way through the grass and protects the nose of the spoon from grabbing clumps of snot grass, which helps the lure run clean a larger percentage of the time.”
Chagnard and Adams catch plenty of fish on the spoon, but they also use it as a search tool.
“A lot of times, reds will fire up on that spoon and give their location away,” Chagnard said. “If the fish misses the spoon, we throw right back in there with a scented bait like a Berkley Gulp while the fish is still lit up.”
Tournament leaders Allen Welch and Robert Warren, also guides in the area, rely on “wake baits,” such as a Mann’s 1-Minus and a Storm Sub Wart to search out aggressive redfish in more open water.
“They have real short bills, so they hardly dive at all,” Welch said of the crankbaits. “They kind of wobble on the surface, and it looks just like a finger mullet swimming lazily on top.”
Second-place inshore pros Mike Patterson and Brett Phillips are using a new lure by Bass 
Assassin called a Slurp. The Slurp is a 3-inch scented, plastic body with a paddle-like tail that vibrates in the water.
“We’re rigging it on an 1/8-ounce Bass Assassin jighead and swimming it along pretty fast,” Patterson said. “At times, we’re even ripping it through the water to get that paddle tail thumping hard for more of a reaction-type bite from the redfish.”
With only 12 ounces now separating the top five teams, today’s final weigh-in should be prove interesting.
The final weigh-in will begin at 4:30 p.m. CST at the Marrero Wal-Mart located at 4810 Lapalco Blvd. in Marrero, La.