Devin
Forum Replies Created
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I don’t think you’ll have a problem with storms.
“Navionics image overlaid onto GED.”
Yeah, well done. That looks great.
“I will play connect the dots on the garmin touchscreen sometime later this week rather than go through the trouble of exporting a .kml to the chartplotter.”
Yeah, I do that if I’m only fishing a handful of spots. No need to go through the trouble of uploading a .kml.
I think all those spots in the lake can do well, chiefly the rigs. The little chairwells around them can be just as productive, too.
I’ve never done well at #12, but there’s usually a boat sitting there anyway. The shoreline inside Alligator Bend gets very shallow the further you punch inside the bend. Be careful.
I’d be careful entering the Biloxi Marsh via Lakeshore Bayou. In fact, I’d avoid it. It’s been shallow there for awhile now (of course, things could have changed….but I doubt it).
I wouldn’t write off the L&N Bridge, either.
Good luck!
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“Also caught a 21 inch trout that we released”
Thank you so much.
“We caught 18 keeper trout over the course of the day”
Not too shabby.
“Live shrimp 2-3 feet under a cork.”
Yeah, if they were hitting that then you would for sure destroy them on a jig, like what I do here. Have you seen that guide before?
Now that I’m thinking about it, how close to the rocks were you casting?
Either way, great report and a great intro. Thank you for posting!
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If the marsh gives you redfish, then capitalize on that. It sounds like you’re onto something good. Keep going with it.
If you’re after speckled trout, I would start fishing further outside when the wind allows.
Great report, thanks for posting!
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Finding little croakers is good news. There’s gotta be trout somewhere close by there. They eat a lot of croaker during spring.
Man, if the wind lays down I would look hard at the rigs/reefs in Lake Borgne and Mississippi Sound.
Or do some night fishing in Lakeshore Estates, Eden Isles, Treasure Isle.
Thank you for posting!
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“and cast/reel corks”
There it is. Folks not getting good presentations. It really is that simple. But you had it figured out.
I’m glad you got it. Excellent fishing report! It seems like the trout are still pretty far inside on the Lake P Basin.
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Not a bad quick trip on the water.
Thanks for posting!
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“but that launch is five minutes from me”
That’s a totally reasonable run, and you won’t have to put up with as many crowds as you would in Slidell.
“Every other boat was throwing a cork (why?)”
Those are the “a bad day on the water is better than a good day at work” people. They’re happy to just be out there and usually see throwing a jig (or learning how) as being outside their comfort zone. Good, more fish for the rest of us.
“Then there was an old timer trolling up and down the tracks all morning. Didn’t know people still fished like that.”
Absolutely. Trolling works well. I don’t prefer it, but it does work. Buck Perry has a good book on it. He mastered the art a long time ago. I think trolling would work well in other locations as well.
“my goal was to just go and see the area and get away from Biloxi marsh and Delacroix.”
Yeah, and that’s it. That’s how it’s done. You just have to get outside your comfort zone and make fishing actual conditions your comfort zone. It’s great you went out there and gave it a try. If you can learn the Trestles you will unlock other spots across Louisiana’s coast.
I wasn’t there, and I haven’t heard any other reports out of the area. So it could have been a tough day. Or it could have been a day when you just have to be legitimately good at jigging. Those days you are casting back to fish several times in order to get a committed bite, and you are making at least 3-5 casts at each piling from different angles.
Either way, the best thing you can do is put in your TOW and get experience. Which you did, and is something most people do not want to do. So good on you.
Great report, thanks for posting.
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“I can’t seem to find redfish to save my life.”
Sounds like you’re fishing Hopedale/Biloxi Marsh. Have you seen all the bowfishing charters on the right hand side as you go to Hopedale Marina?
Yeah, that’s part of your problem. The other part was the Freshening. And that redfish have become more popular amongst charters in the last 10 years hasn’t helped, either.
The redfish have absolutely taken a nosedive in the last ten years. It’s possible to have 50-100+ sightfishing days, but you more likely than not need to go to Venice. After that, you’re better off catching them deep, where arrows and dead shrimp on a cork don’t work.
“Delacroix, Biloxi Marsh, Lake P, Lake B… do they just not hold reds as much as they used to?”
No.
“How are the Rigolets?”
Even worse.
Go to Venice and everyone should practice catch/release.
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Devin
AdministratorApril 17, 2026 at 11:35 am in reply to: Little Lake/Hackberry Planning 4/18/2026In addition to what I posted above:
“I want to know Little Lake better, but its such a HUGE body of water I kind of don’t know where to start.”
That’s the entire point of my courses, chiefly IF101 and Spring Fish Location: to narrow down where to fish based on the conditions. I really don’t see any point in re-typing those here.
The short of it is that I would look for a shrimp pattern/diving birds, and check tidal highways for where they could be running. I’d look hard at non-shrimp spots like oyster reefs, rigs, etc., too.
If the wind allowed, I’d start fishing at the top of Barataria and work my way south toward Independence Reef.
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Devin
AdministratorApril 17, 2026 at 11:33 am in reply to: Little Lake/Hackberry Planning 4/18/2026“I’m feeling like the trout may have started moving out already this year?”
They are definitely spread out. I bet they’re as far inside as west Lake Pontchartrain and as far outside as Breton Island, for reference.
This time a couple years ago I smashed the trout under birds at Independence Reef. So I’d consider that.
“I am extraordinarily bad at judging distance on the water.”
Sounds like you will get better with experience. Get that TOW. Don’t try to be perfect. Perfect is the enemy of good. Just get in there and learn.
“How do you guys approach points? Shore lines?”
Depends. If it’s shallow I’ll come off plane a distance off and troll/drift in. If it’s deep enough I won’t throw up mud, I’ll idle in and graph, look at the bottom, see what’s out there.
So your answer is “it depends” and you’ll have to use your best judgment. If you screw it up, don’t sweat it. That’s why you pick a bunch of spots, right? You can come back later if it looks good and try again using what you learned.
“Whats the secret to knowing whether they’re holding a few feet off of a point or shoreline or 50 feet?”
You cast at both and put good presentations there. It’s not realistic to expect to magically know where exactly to cast before you get there. You’re gonna have to cast around and pay attention to the water.
“If you don’t hear from me it was a bust”
Not posting that report is the second worst thing you can do. The only thing worse is getting lucky on some fish, catching them, not knowing why and then running to the Internet to brag about it.
If you don’t post a “bad” report, then how can you possibly know what went wrong? Because one of us (like me) could probably ferret that out if given enough information.
That and letting us know where not to go sure is helpful, and could set up someone else for success, and maybe they’ll slide some intel your way and you’ll ultimately benefit. Don’t you want to know where to go?
Does this make sense to you?
Man, breaking Louisianans of this “bad” report mindset could be the toughest thing I do in my life. lol!
All these things that I mentioned are what I do and it works, not just on one trip but over all of my fishing trips. That’s how I see it: long term success. You should, too.
Good luck, I hope the wind lays down for you.
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I’d look hard at the Long Rocks.
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Those images look good. Looks like it was wavy out. lol
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A five degree rise is normal, especially if it’s sunny out. Also consider that some bodies of water will be warmer/cooler based upon where they are. Like, the water at Carrollton is colder because it flowed from up north, whereas the water in a dead end canal will be significantly warmer because it doesn’t change out as much.
I think something’s off with your transducer. I would check that it’s imaging correctly, too.
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Good luck!
