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The second plan is to punch out further away from where those awful bow fishing boats go. I can’t guarantee they don’t run out toward the opposite side of the Rock Dam, but it sure would be harder for them to do so.

That and last month I saw one prowling the east side of Borgne as the sun was going down. <insert expletives>

You want to fish big points. It looks like you’ve got a bunch of smaller ponds and interior bodies of water picked out, but the bigger schools run on bigger shorelines. Think offshore bass. It’s kinda like that, you’re just fishing the shoreline on the bigger body of water, preferably where the tide flows the most.

Also, check out this planning post for more MRGO intel.

Again, pick out big points and the big coves between them. Use the alphabet spots I marked as examples to go off of.

“Bait and wait” with cork and dead shrimp will work if your pops isn’t up for staying on the trolling motor and chunking/winding a gold spoon, wake bait or spinnerbait.

Devin

Administrator

April 7, 2026 at 5:35 pm in reply to: Hopedale Plan

Okay, here’s the deal. I want you to think critically about this, so I’m going to show you how. Like, one time when I was fishing Chickamauga I took it for granted that there is no tide there, and that fish wouldn’t wait for current like they tend to do in Louisiana.

Boy, was I wrong.

I learned the hard way that there is indeed current in Chick: the hydroelectric dam….when it generates. Which is at midnight, when I am not fishing.

Not that you can’t catch bass during the day (I did), but it was something that I was oblivious to. It was something that I didn’t know that I did not know.

That cross-training in bassin’ helped me out as an inshore angler, so maybe some cross-training in inshore fishing will help you crush the crappie. Or not. But we can try.

So the first thing we gotta look at is the wind. And it’s probably gonna blow its ass off and just suck. It will be probably anywhere from 10-20mph out of the SE, which actually isn’t bad. You just need to pick your shorelines out that are in the lee of the land (which you already have in mind). Or, the wind could magically lay down and let you punch out to spots in open water.

What’s good about the SE wind is that it will raise water levels. It will make ponds and shorelines much more fishable because you’ll be able to float your boat into them and fish over aquatic grass without getting snagged so much. So that’s a plus.

Gimme a minute and I’ll pick out some spots that I think you should fish.

Next is tide. You’re coming in on the ass end of a neap tide. The 17th-18th should have a better tide. The 15th is gonna be neapy. The 16th should fall in the evening.

I also have a hunch that you want to catch redfish more than trout. Correct me if I am wrong.

Next, another thing you may not know about that area is that it absolutely gets hammered by bow fishing rigs. Fishing ponds nearby in and around Shell Beach/Hopedale for redfish will probably amount to pissing in the wind. I hate it, but those awful charters have really put the hurting on redfish. Even if you do find some they are likely to be easily spooked.

So I would run a little further out. Here’s what I would do:

From wherever you are staying, you can run across the MRGO to Fort Proctor and fish in front of the fort there. That can be good fishing. Then run to Doulut’s. Be sure to swing wide around all the rubble just east of the mouth of the bayou you came out of. After that, you can run closer to the shore to stay out of the wind. It shouldn’t be too rough.

Then hit Douluts.

Then go up the east side of Lake Borgne and hit those spots I marked. You can fish those rocks by casting to them. Throw a topwater if its overcast, you could catch speckled trout that way. Also fish the breaks between the rocks where there is aquatic grass growing like what you see in the screenshots attached to here. Put that .kml on GED to see it closer for yourself.

Go simple stupid with dead shrimp under a cork. Campo’s will have the dead shrimp. They will prob try to sell you on live shrimp if they don’t have it. Live shrimp is okay to soak and wait for fish to swim to it if your pops isn’t up for power fishing.

I’m not saying fish just those spots, but fish those spots and spots that look like them.

Alright, so that’s your first plan.

Devin

Administrator

April 7, 2026 at 4:40 pm in reply to: Delacroix 4/7/26

Man, given the hellacious wind today, I’d be happy with that. Great work. Got some tracks and got a handle on some fish.

As for Sweetwater, I just get there earlier.

Devin

Administrator

April 7, 2026 at 4:36 pm in reply to: Lake Lery Hazard

Can you be more specific?

Are you referring to the dredge pipe?

Devin

Administrator

April 7, 2026 at 4:35 pm in reply to: Hopedale Plan

When exactly are you arriving and departing? Are you driving down from OK on the 15th? Or the 14th? When exactly do you leave?

Devin

Administrator

April 8, 2026 at 7:04 pm in reply to: Contact your legislator about the Menhaden Legislation

Y’all have it all wrong. Every Louisiana person I’ve talked to about this does. That is not good. We will lose the fight if we don’t get it right.

It’s not about bycatch.

Say it with me: This issue is not about bycatch.

This issue is not about bycatch.

The issue is about MENHADEN.

If the menhaden are gone, the entire ecosystem collapses. This is nothing new. This is not speculation or rhetoric. It’s already happened along the east coast and has been collapsing fisheries since the 1800s.

If the menhaden are gone, we will lose the shrimp, the crabs, oysters, trout, redfish, everything.

We do not need more studies. We do not need deliberation.

Menhaden fishing needs to be OUTLAWED. It’s needs to be ELIMINATED. It is as simple as that.

Take my word for it or read this detailed article explaining why.

Devin

Administrator

April 8, 2026 at 12:50 pm in reply to: Treble vs single hooks for topwater baits

I’m more of a Troutmasters One guy. I think all of the captains in Too are great anglers, but (not naming anyone in particular) most of them spent their time taking people fishing to catch limits rather than focus on actual big fish.

I felt like One was about the “quiet killers” and guys who would focus on the big fish.

Just my opinion. Given the state of things, I think anyone would be foolhardy not to read both books and glean what they can.