Devin
Forum Replies Created
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I’ve been checking this board non stop for an update from you. Okay, I’m gonna read it all and mull it over.
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Looks like some kind of defining border. Look at “Layers” in the left hand sidebar and see what you have checked.
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I honestly don’t listen to fishing podcasts or watch fishing Youtube (or YouTube in general). Most podcasts I listen to are of a totally different topic and after that I read books. In the last couple months I read Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter, Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham, The Hobbit, Fellowship of The Ring and am about to finish up Two Towers before starting the final book of that series.
I don’t listen to fishing podcasts because hardly any cover inshore fishing, the production quality is poor or, more often than not, it’s an echo chamber, predictable or something I already know. I really don’t want to hear someone talk about their favorite color or their “giant leap” to become a fishing guide with their flexible part-time job with benefits. So brave and stunning.
But, someone before mentioned the Tuna Town Talks podcast and while I think the host must be new-ish to Louisiana and that he can do a better job asking the hard questions, his heart is in the right place and he works hard for his content. He has great episodes, but one that really stands out in my mind is an episode with a marine biologist studying triple tail. It’s a fantastic episode, and even more so if you’re interested in TT. It was really interesting and fun to listen to.
Also, I saw @McLovin mention another one that seemed interesting:
Thinking along the lines of trophy trout fisheries, I was listening to the Cut and Retie podcast and they had an episode dedicated to people catching their first striped bass in the northeast. Overfishing had basically destroyed the striper population to the point that a moratorium was put in place. All these guys talked about how it was so unheard of to even catch a striper. Something several of them mentioned was how strong the weakfish population was during that time. Weakfish are extremely closely related to speckled trout and striped bass basically fill the same role as redfish once you get up around New Jersey.
I think that’s a good reason to listen to non-LA inshore podcasts, to gain fresh perspectives. I did so for years and just got burnt out on it. It can be hard sifting through hours of non-relevant information to find something that is.
I thought this would be a good thread for folks to chime in on, so I made it. That and maybe there’s something really good out there I’m not aware of.
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That is amazing. What in the hell are they doing all the way out there still? LOL Hey man, if they’re there, then they’re there. Most water, least fish.
Sounds like an epic trip! Great report, thanks for posting!
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It ought to be good. Tide looks great. Martello will be bumpy, Doulut’s should be about perfect. The east side of Lake Borgne ought to be good, too.
East side of Lake P could be covered in birds.
Venice will be slam-jam-home-run friggin amazing.
I’m 99% positive I’m not fishing.
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I’m pretty sure I found it via GPS tracks from 2016:
30° 3.671’N 89° 38.819’W
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A picture for your convenience.
In return, I want fishing reports. 😀
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I talked a little bit about this issue with Tony from ASGA, as he is a Chesapeake striper angler, and they definitely have a problem up there. Overfishing is one, but their menhaden stock took a dump, too. I would say they have a multi-faceted problem.
1. More available forage than Texas or Florida and they have “more” big trout. I don’t think it’s a forage issue. After that, we had more redfish during the time before the Freshening when most of Louisiana’s top ten trout were caught.
2. Bass did not out compete specks and reds. What hurt specks and reds was the massive, totally unprecedented amount of river water that came down the pipe from 2011 to 2020. IIRC, it was worse than 1927, we just didn’t see the same infrastructure damage because we had levees and spillways in place. If prime spawning grounds for those inshore species is nuked with record amount of river water, then there will be no good spawns. If those fish are concentrated into places like The Wall and brought home in an ice chest, then they are dead.
3. Probably. It makes sense they get big by avoiding predation.
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“My perspective changed on how large of a fish another fish will eat when I saw the guy who found a dead 30″ trout with a 16″ mullet in its stomach lol.”
I’ve seen that picture, too! That was wild! Absolutely mind boggling!
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Well, you can’t make your own opinions based off your own observations, you have to repeat what the rest of the herd is saying. lol
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Last year I found flocks of birds in Lake P that produced consistent keepers. You can watch that video here. IIRC, out of 97 keepers I caught only three were throwbacks, or something to that effect. The year before they were on the east side of the lake. My solution was taking a boat ride, but that can be daunting for some.
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I went to a larger group size battery but I think doing what you mentioned is a better solution. I’ll do that. Thanks for bringing it up, John!
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Like in Lake P itself or elsewhere? Do you think Bayou Thomas are just a bunch of throwbacks?
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“along that same line of thought…do you think it’s possible we’ll start seeing 6-7lb+ trout in the pontchartrain estuary now that the freshening has been over for a few years?”
I hope so. That would be great. But I still think that trout are struggling to get back to where they were because Louisiana folk at large kill everything they come across. The proof in the pudding for me was last year when everyone complained of the 11.9″ throwbacks then the limit changed and it turned into 12.9″ throwbacks. Well, river water, freezes, “porpoises” and discard mortality limit don’t select for length, but we do.
If/when people catch a four pounder, they usually kill it. Well, that’s a surefire way to make sure it never gets to be an ounce heavier.
But maybe with the Saltening and the new limit we can get back there or get back there faster. It depends on which day you ask me. Some days I’m optimistic, other days not so much.
The thing here is that I don’t know what happens after a Freshening of the magnitude we experienced because I never lived through one before. And all the old timers really only talk about the usual “we used to count the coolers we caught, not the fish” and “there was more land”, blah blah blah. There’s some old fart somewhere who distinctly remembers the last time we had a freshening (whenever that was, I don’t recall off the top of my head) and could shed more light on it. Maybe Kenny Kreeger Sr. or Dudley Vandeborre or Chink Sumas. But if anyone does they have not written it down somewhere.
I know it’s been a few years, but in that same few years the fishing still sucks compared to what it used to be. If you go catch 20 trout with two people today, that’s a good box. If I only caught 20 trout by myself pre-Freshening then I would have said the day sucked, or it would have been a “grind”, a massive cold front hit the day before, my arms were taped behind my back, or whatever.
“I’m hopeful that with the increased awareness of releasing 20″ trout / size and creel limit changes / higher salinity, we’ll start seeing them. I’d much rather catch an 8lb trout in my back yard than have to drive to Texas or Florida.”
Me, too! That would be amazing. It could happen.
While the general mentality of Louisiana folk is “fill the box”, the RO20 movement, CPR, etc. is pretty much new and has to have a positive impact. All we can do is hope.
Also, quick disclaimer: there’s nothing wrong with keeping fish to eat.
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“but I did enjoy the surprise bass every now and then.”
For sure! I think most did.
What changed is that it got salty again. It unequivocally became saltier across the board. I have some good graphs for this in the Saltening blog post linked earlier.
10-12 ppt is high for bass. You may be recalling 10-12 ppm, or parts per million. Even if bass could withstand 10-12 ppt, they certainly don’t spawn in it.
I couldn’t give you a read on what the exact salinity was from before the Freshening, during and after in the Biloxi Marsh, but I can tell you that milfoil prior to 2015 was pretty much non existent. There were no grass mats in the Biloxi Marsh. You won’t find them on GED, either. But they did grow with the Freshening. Same thing for a lot of east Lake Pontchartrain, Rigolets, MRGO, etc.
Venice is just indeed a different animal, a lovely beast with that beautiful river (well, when she’s low lol). We did really well flipping last year and I can’t wait to get back out there!
