Devin
Forum Replies Created
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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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In 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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“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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Hey Jeff, thanks for posting.
Some more information would be good. Conditions? What boat are you in? Equipment? Can you jig casting tackle, suspending baits, etc.?
What are we working with here?
After that, based off the reports we’ve had, I wouldn’t launch out of there at all, not unless the wind is laying down and you can get into Lake Borgne. I’d also start looking at the Long Rocks, if the wind is right.
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Yeah, I’m looking at Buras Bayou area (because it’s more like a bay/lagoon now) and think that orange route you have is good. Checking out those bayous to the north of your orange route would be worth your time as well.
After that, I’m looking over that bay/lagoon area and you will want to go over that with a fine tooth comb. I see lots of oil field trash.
Your GED homework will cause you to shine like a rockstar here, or fail miserably.
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Okay, thank you for posting this. I love solving navigational puzzles.
Here’s my initial reaction looking at these routes on my phone, until I can get a better look on my laptop.
“This was recommended by a guide as the safest route.”
Assuming this is a competent guide (I don’t see why not) then that’s your answer.
Is that route convenient for you? Nope.
But that’s fishing. It isn’t meant to be convenient, nor will it ever be.
However, I do find it hard to believe that there isn’t a shorter route. That’s because not all guides are navigational wizards and we all know what assumptions are.
The thing with bayous like the one you highlighted is that they tend to deliver silt to the end where it fills in. So you can be running down the bayou, doing fine, then nail hard sand.
But what I find interesting about that bayou is that it gets wider over time. It’s moving more water and it has defined edges.
I think you can run that bayou.
BUT I would come off plane 100 yards ahead of the end and graph it out past its mouth.
I would not run it at speed in the dark wanting to get to my first fishing spot. I’d slow down and probe it out.
Look at the past imagery and see how the river has been forming that land and water. There could be a navigable channel there.
And you would be smart/prudent to patiently explore it.
Because that’s exactly what I planned to do last year: make a safe route that keeps me protected from the wind as much as possible, going from Beshel’s to South Pass.
I do not have access to that file right now, and won’t for some time. But I do recall going over the body of water in question and thinking it was navigable.
The plan was to set aside a day to run those routes in a forgiving hull, but it never came to fruition due to weather.
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+1
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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!
