December is a Geaux Anywhere Catch Anything Kind of Month

Whether you are new to kayaking or a tenured pro now is the time to be on the water in south Louisiana.  Right now you can choose to make an hour paddle or only 15 minutes and you can be on fish.  The abundance of Bass, Speckled Trout, and Redfish that have been flooding the docks and soft coolers in the backs of kayaks has been amazing.  Anglers that are used to catching 10 or so fish per trip are now coming home with limits of multiple species. 

If you’re looking to fill the dinner table with trout, look no further, the fall/winter transition has happened and the marshes are full of keeper size fish.  If you’re looking for larger trout, I’d suggest sticking with artificial lures, slow moving topwaters, slow moving suspending lures, and jigging plastics.  This month I have made a steady comparison between live shrimp under a cork verses artificial lures and time and time again, the artificial lures have won the battle of quality verse quantity.  I can’t exactly explain the rationale behind it, but trip after trip this month, it has happened time and time again.  If you want to fill the bag quickly with keeper sized fish, you just can’t beat live shrimp, but if you’re wanting to upsize you’re catch, make the switch to plastics.  Lately I have been able to find schools of 14 to 15 inch trout fishing live shrimp under a cork, and then in the middle of the frenzy I would throw out a topwater/suspending lure or a Matrix Shad under a cork and 7 out of 10 times I would bring in trout in the upper size length of the school  and up to 21 inches.  This is obviously not a scientific study and has only been confirmed by myself and clients, but the results have been duplicated weekly.

Within range of most kayakers, trout and reds have been found in high numbers from Little Lake all the way to Lake Lery.  Clean and moving water has been a constant find when drifting over the trout.  If you want to run to Lery, the western side has been producing better than the eastern shore.  If hitting Little Lake, start your search around the island right as you enter the lake on the left side and don’t ignore the mouth of Little Lake near the rocks.  I have found most trout aren’t sitting on the bank, and while it’s natural to want to work lures in the direction of a shoreline, shake things up some and work away from the bank.  This time of year I try to make it a habit of looking for trout away from the bank and reds towards the bank.

No matter where you decide to take you’re adventures, do your best to find current lines and clean water.  Now, clean water doesn’t mean crystal clear, it means water that is the cleanest of the surrounding areas.   Another option that has been producing well is the mouths of main canals that enter into larger major canals.  With high waters lately, the marshes are draining into one canal which is then being drained into a deeper major canal, and that’s where the fish have been sitting, both trout and reds.

The bridges near the north shore are still not on fire yet, there are some good fish holding there, but the bite tends to stop after daylight, but if you are looking for 4 to 6 big trout, it’s a great option if you’re chasing some trophy fish; it’s only going to get better as the temps continue to drop.

Shell beach has been producing a lot of fish lately, working the points of Lake Borgne to the drains coming in to the MRGO, trout, reds, and some bass have been spread out throughout the area.  You may not find them stacked up in one spot, but if you put in the work you can definitely fill the fryer.

Hopedale Lagoon is always a winter time hotspot for the kayaking community and this winter is no different.  If you like to jig, work the banks for reds, or troll this is an area you have to learn.  There are some points that are covered in oyster shells were the lagoon meets with Ameda, and also directly across the lagoon.  An easy way to learn where the shells are is to troll.  With a quarter or eighth ounce jig head and paddle tail thrown out behind you, keep your kayak at a speed of 1.8 to 2.1 MPH and in time you will come across some trout.  As you land the first fish, you can either choose to troll back over the same area time and time again, or you can turn around and get back to where that strike happened using a jig head and paddle tail and its highly likely there is a small pile of shells that the trout were sitting on, u should feel the shells during the jigging process.  If you can find it, it’s likely you can pull 5 or 6 by jigging and then move on to trolling again in search of another shell pile or school waiting to inhale your lure.

Always remember to where your PFD and dress accordingly, even if the air temp is a nice 75 degrees, the water this month is getting colder with every front that passes and the last thing you want is to have a 2 mile paddle home while soaked in freezing wet clothes.  

Good luck and until next time,

Stay Safe & Catch1

 

 

 

 

High Water and Changing Patterns

 2015 has been a phenomenal year fishing for me,  from traveling across the country fishing a freshwater kayak series to stepping into the IFA redfish tour Boat division to running more charters than I have ever imagined, it's been amazing.
As I sit here watching it rain and listening to the clock tick ever so slowly in anticipation of the LSU vs Alabama game tonight at 7pm, I can't help but think of how I have let my blog slowly decrease in activity over the past several months.  For a couple years now I have worked hard to build an audience and an avenue where I could share my experiences, successes, and failures, and to those that follow my reports, I apologize.  So today is the day where I get back on track and refocus on doing what I love, sharing the outdoors with anyone and everyone that's willing to listen or read about it.
 Lately our waters have been in a constant change in south Louisiana.  One day the waters in Delacroix are 4 feet low and the next they are 4 feet above normal and there is water running over the highway.  Situations like this can present a boat yard of pinballs throughout the marsh bouncing around like crazy hitting every bumper they can in an attempt to catch fish.  The sight fishing guys get bummed because now there are 24 foot bay boats sitting in the middle of their shallow water hotspot popping corks in waters that they normally can't get in, the duck hunters are bummed because its 80 degrees out when it should be 50 or 60, and the marsh is so flooded the ducks have endless opportunities to eat and hide in newly formed flooded ponds, and the kayak guys get challenged by the rate of speed the water is falling and 10 paddle strokes now equals only a few feet of travel at times.  With all this change that can drive anglers insane, there is always one thing that is constant, fish need to eat.
 While we can't always pick the best days to hit the water, like when the sun is shining, the pressure is low, and the tide is at 1.2 feet and falling, it's up to us to adapt to what's going on.  I won't ever pretend to know everything outdoors, and while it seems my mind is fading more and more with every year of age I endure, I have learned a few things over the years that have helped me continually fill the box in tough times and in times that matter.
 Right now the trout are moving in, or for a better term, have moved in.  Over the past week, myself and my clients have landed trout from 10 inches to 23 inches with several pushing the 5 to 6 lbs mark.  We have caught them in 18 inches of water while sight fishing reds, and in 30 feet of water jigging plastics.  We have pulled reds from deep in the grass chasing shrimp in just a couple of inches of water to drop shotting plastics and dead shrimp in 20 feet of water.  The patterns haven't held for days on end, one day it's shallow, one day its points, one day is channel bends, one day it's deep holes or choke points.  But that's what's great about fall fishing, the fish seem to be everywhere, and while I am confident that some scientist somewhere can break down exactly why and when our fish do what they do, I have always found that trial and error produce more consistent results through sticking and moving rather than sticking to a plan that you read about somewhere.
 Here are a  few of the steps that I have been walking lately that have kept the box full whether the sun was shining or the rain was falling, both in shallow water and high.
If the water is extremely high and the tide is falling out fast, go deep for trout and reds in a man channel with a drop shot set up.  A main channel being one that the marsh is draining into and then it is draining into an even bigger channel.  I don't mean just roll up into Bayou terre aux boeuf and start slinging drop shots, but as a point of reference, bayou terre aux bouf would be considered the "bigger channel" .  Try a couple spots like this and find what works, if that's not working move shallow, find some drains that are filtering out of the marsh itself, these would be small cuts that you wouldn't dare put your boat into, but if the current is falling out of it from the endless grassy marshes around, try the mouths of them.  Don't just hit one and give up, hit 5 or 6 of them and when you find one producing, work it until it stops producing, move on to another, and then circle on back again and see if it has become active again.  There are days when I may stop at 15 different locations and only 3 of them produce, but they continue to produce all day long if you keep giving them a break to explore other areas. 
If you want to move on from the marsh and go into really deep water to try your luck, the most consistent thing I've seen lately is that the bottom is golden.  If your lure isn't reaching the bottom, odds of you being out fished
 are 10 fold.  I watched a client this past week catch trout off the back of the boat 7 to one to her partner on the front of the boat.  It wasn't the location or a special reef she was fishing, the only difference in the presentation was that she let her lure get all the way to the bottom.  When going deep this week, you have to learn patience, not necessarily patience for the bite, but that 10 to 12 seconds of stagnant time anxiously awaiting your lure to reach the strike zone.  It's a great time to hit your reels
 with a little lubrication, Reel Magic or whatever you normally use to keep your equipment in top shape.
While the sight fishing game is still going on as our waters continue to clear up, keep in mind it is duck season and most ducks fly early and get shot
 at early, so if you're headed to the shallow ponds, let the sun get high, redfish will bite all day.  With a short season on big ducks, let those guys have their fun, and you can come in later in the day and have yours.
I hope some of this is useful for you and helps in putting together a plan that will help you land more fish, but at the same time encourage you to step out of your normal comfort zone and find new areas to fish, and new techniques to use during high water tides.
As the water begins to recede following all of east winds that have flooded our marshes, I'll follow this up with some shallow water tactics based on
 what's happening out there as we get into a normal fall/winter water level or pattern.

Until Next Time,

Good luck, Stay Safe, & Catch1

When plagued with rain, wind, and muddy waters, open up the history book

 Fishing in south Louisiana is well known for the phrase that lines most of our local license plates, "Sportsman's Paradise", due to the many species that lie within our coast lines, from quail to deer, Tarpon to Tuna and Speckled Trout to Largemouth Bass, there is an abundance of game that people travel thousands of miles to experience.  But recently, we have been under an aerial attack of constant rainfall mixed with high winds and muddy water. And while many parts of the Louisiana coast have continued to produce great numbers of specs and reds both inshore and off, you have to really pick your days wisely and most of all safely. 
Over the past several weeks I have been following schools of redfish throughout the marshes of Delacroix, La.  And while it usually seems easy to just launch your boat or kayak and begin catching reds within minutes, this past weekend was a completely different story. 
Most recently, I have spent my time within a 10 mile radius of my launch location, and every day I ventured out I was able to quickly get on some good action.  Clear and shallow water site fishing around vegetation that was matted up on the surface, like a field of 3 day old cut hay, seemed to be the ticket.  The thick grass was keeping the water filtered and it was almost like fishing in an aquarium.  There were many times where the fish weren't tailing above the water, but with the clarity being what it was, we could see the fish in pods up to 50 to 70 yards away glowing in the sunlight.  It was weeks of nonstop action, and easy numbers for clients.  Sometimes we would go just half a day and easily see over 100 redfish.
And then just when you began thinking you hung the moon, a 25 mph south east wind blows in and shakes it all up.  On one day the water levels were normal and the next they were two feet higher, all the grass matts were now below the waters surface, the 12 inches of water we were catching them in was now 3 feet deep, and what seemed like an army of redfish the day before, quickly turned into a popular hunting ground that was cleaned out by a forest fire.  There wasn't a redfish to be found for miles. 
After about 5 stops in the normal hot spots and only landing a few specs and bass where the reds were supposed to be.  We finally decided to make a move to deeper water.  It wasn't deep to most, but when you have been fishing 10 inches to 3 feet all day, moving into a fast moving canal with a point on it and a drop off from 3 feet to 11 feet, that's what we consider deep.  We ended what started out as an extremely slow and frustrating day with a box full of redfish in less than an hour.  Now, the question is why?  Why did these fish move out of the shallows?  All of the bait in the world had been blown up and into where the fish were the day before, but on this day with water levels were two feet higher and they were all gone.
What was it that made them move and congregate into deeper water, and were we catching them coming back into the shallows, or were we catching them congregated in the deep? It's a little bit of that "chicken and the egg" question.
Now, it's never uncommon for fish to move on a daily basis, and staying ahead of that pattern is what really separates the consistent anglers from the not so consistent ones.  We have all fished with people that swear by an area, because last time they fished it they caught a million fish, but when you show up with them you catch nothing, and they give that dumbfounded face followed by, "I don't know what happened, they were here last time???"
This is a great opportunity for a teaching lesson, nothing major, just the simple things like: what time of year was it, what were the conditions, falling tide or rising tide, south wind or north wind, before a front or after a front?  These are just some simple questions that you need to ask yourself before venturing off to ones honey hole, or better yet your own honey hole.  Get a journal(or what I refer to as "the history book"), record the same information time and time again, and within a year, you will already have a good idea of what to expect next year.
Redfish and trout, along with hundreds of other species,  can be very predictable if you understand and follow the patterns.  Keep an eye out on the forums and local fishing magazines, document where the reports are coming from and pin them on a map.  Over time, you will notice that year in and year out the same patterns and transitions begin to arise.  Sometimes they may be a week or three ahead of or behind schedule, while other times they may be spot on.  If you take the time to read books, like Trout Masters for example, you can learn a lot about the habits of fish, and more important than learning their habits, is learning what causes those habits.  Knowing this will keep you ahead of the fish and following their transition before they even make it, like spawning salinity, when do they spawn, where do they spawn, where do they hold before a spawn, the forage hatch, is it shrimp or pogies this month, big shrimp or small shrimp, what does a north or south wind do to certain areas in terms of clarity, salinity, and temperature.  It may take a little homework, but if you document it as you live it, you will always have it as a quick reference, and the next time your buddy says, "lets go hit my honey hole," you can quickly respond with a few questions or possible suggestions that could make your day on the water a lot more enjoyable.


Until Next Time,

Stay Safe & Catch1

June Sght Fishing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=066UnyffFQw