[Nate]

Well… My dad got things taken care of on the farm and is flying in tonight. I fished the west side of Lake B hard today and it was tough. I caught a stud Jack, I think it’s a big one, in the Chef, saw a piles of sheepshead on rocks and ponds but the redfish eluded me. I caught a little one and had one slot come off at the boat. I love catching them but apparently just not very good at it.

[Nate]

I found a lot of sheepshead today on the rocks in the picture. I didn’t spend a ton of time working them but there were TONS of them. I even had them hit a swim bait. I found bigger ones in ponds but zero redfish.

[Nate]

I’m no expert but I caught them in June sight fishing shallow water with live shrimp. I’m driving that way now to try it again. If I have any luck I’ll pass the info on to you.

[Nate]

Bait fish?

[Nate]

As for the heavier tackle to Texas rig. I typically fish a 7″ heavy Falcon with a heavy weight when I need to punch through heavy cover.

Catching Speckled Trout is fun but I prefer other things. That being said, to this point I have made trips to catch Redfish. 1) I like catching them. 2) I love eating them. Most of the post I see about a Trout is fried. If I am going to eat fried Speckled Trout, I would rather eat a Crappie or Blue catfish from my home lake. If you know a way to freeze them and cook them in another way, I am all ears. But, I have a freezer well stocked with Redfish now, so my mindset is starting to change on what I do when I make the trip.

My friend is absolutely insistent on going to the Oyster Bay area and fishing back through the marsh. Honestly, I am okay with it. All the knowledge I have of the are has been learned on one guided trip in Lafitte, LAFB, YouTube and a few weeks of fishing on my own this year. Spending a day on the water with someone who has been there a while should only speed up the learning process. My only concern is the distance, but I am sure it’ll be fine. I don’t wanna but I’m probably gonna!

I am somewhat familiar with all the locations you mentioned. I am staying in Eden Isles this trip, stayed at a house on Lake C and a house on Old Spanish Trail in June. I haven’t fished most of these areas but I am vaguely familiar with the area.

[Nate]

Yep, just the same as I use side scan to locate Crappie at home, I idled along the powerline and was able to see fish hanging around the cover. I had an impatient friend with me. We threw a few 1/4oz jigs at them but needed to step up to 1/2oz to get them done and keep them down. I should have used Livescope and put the bait in their mouth. I am curious if I could have fished them vertical like a crappie.

The Sheepshead head were pretty finicky. I went to a 6’10” Falcon ML with 6#, my favorite crappie rod. I pitched small live shrimp on a #2 mosquito hook at them with no weight. Fish suspended in slightly deeper water were a lot easier to catch. Whether suspended or cruising the shoreline I had to find a way to get it ahead of them a ways and drag the shrimp into their view. 100% of fish that saw the shrimp, but were not spooked, ate it. I stopped at the marina each morning for a few dozen shrimp. I would rather fish plastics, but this experience was well worth dealing with shrimp.

I saw a few Redfish but not many.

My Humminbirds are Helix and yes, I upload files from a PC>

As for the Power Poles, I rarely find Crappie in shallow enough water to use them. What I do use them for is when I have fish near a rocky shoreline with a strong wind blowing in, I drop them all the way down and use them to stop me before my boat is pushed in the rocks. They act as underwater bumpers in a way.

[Nate]

I have fished hard for two days.

Day one I found speckled trout in the marsh, no redfish. I worked Goose pond. It looks great but the hydrilla makes for tough fishing. I saw a few fish here. I also fished a few ponds on the north side of Lake B, NADA.

Day two I worked the power line and platforms near Kenner. We saw a few fish on sonar but never got a bite. I talked to a local who also got skunked. At midday I fished an area that has been dredged for a housing addition. I didn’t catch anything but learned a lot. The reds were WAY back in the grass. I’m not sure how anyone would have reached them. There were a lot of sheepshead and black drum cruising the shoreline and I was able to see them on the outside of the hydrilla cruising. I am going to regroup and try to sight fish some of these fish with shrimp today.

This morning I am headed back south of Lake C. We shall see what happens.

Fishing has been tough but we are working diligently to figure it out before we leave Saturday. My buddy suggested hiring a guide. That’s not for me but we may do it just to catch something.

[Nate]

Heard. I was looking at submerged grass between the Chef and Rigolets, in the marsh between Lake C and Lake B then off to the east of the Rigolets. I 100% will check out the power lines. I mentioned your video to some friends yesterday on the way down. I also had a local friend ask to hop in the boat Wednesday. He thinks he has a lead on some big trout. I got the hookup on a house on Lake C with an awesome dock and great lights. We run up and night fish your lights and let the kids fish our dock. I’ll for sure keep you posted as the trip develops, we will be hear a wee this time and likely looking to buy a house down here.

[Nate]

Targeting redfish but will peck around for speckled trout too. We are headed to Slidell now. Stay just off Lake C.

[Nate]

I just want to catch as many as I can. I’m staying in Slidell so the closer the better. Do you fish the Violet area with a swim jig or something different?

[Nate]

What is the max wind you would feel safe running Lake B? It looks like 5-8mph with 8-13mph gusts are predicted. We will be in a 20’ bass boat.

[Nate]

Is fishing behind this storm a good plan? I’m starting to think about the mud it’s going to kick up.

[Nate]

Would you trailer the boat to Kenner or run across Lake P from the Chef?

[Nate]

Do you know off the top of your head which video in 101 you talk about transferring KML files to Humminbird?

[Nate]

Thanks for the guidance, Devin. I had no idea about the bowfishing pressure. You are correct, I was targeting a lot of the smaller ponds. We fished Lafite last year and this was a winning strategy for our guides. We are more interested in catching reds and sheepshead than trout but don’t want to overlook a trout bite if they are on. I will spend some time looking back over my plan and post it before we go and likely while we are there. I appreciate the help!

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  Nate.