I got a suggestion for you if you got an interest in fishing this coming weekend. . .
Head down to Cocodrie, launch at Coco Marina, and make your way out to the Whiskey Pass area. There are lots of 25 and 30 pound bull redfish lurking in those waters. Then when they wear you out, put away the heavy tackle, scoot on over to the site of the Old Sulphur Mine and pick up your limit of really pretty speckled trout.
“Frank, the fish we’re catching now are mostly resident fish, meaning they stay here in these waters all year long,” Capt. Eugene Foret explained to me this morning without missing nary a hook set. “The bulls, which are not bulls but really sows—they’re females—run about 28 pounds on the average when taken out of here.
“They occupy the centerline channel in the passes and most often prefer cracked crab, which is their all time favorite thing to eat. Veteran anglers fish this bait on 30 to 40 pound test line fitted with a 4 or 5 ounce lead egg sinker and a stout shock leader. But that bit of information is not what’s really critical—the most important requisite when fishing bull reds is patience, lots and lots of patience. You have to just sit there and wait for them to find your crab offering. It may seem like the waiting goes on for eternity, but they will eventually find the bait. . .and that’s when all hell breaks loose.”
The ensure a good catch (remember, all these fish will be well over 27 inches so you can only keep one), never never horse them. They’re power houses in a struggle and they’ll win every time if you fail to “play” them right. Let them run when they want to, take up slack line only when they swim toward you and give you line to take up, and don’t try to put a “green fish” in the boat. Allow him (or her) to wear himself out before attempting to hoist him over the gunwale.
“This is where the conservation end of this process comes into play, though, Frank,” Capt. Eugene noted. “My recommendation is to keep the smaller legal fish—16 inches and slightly over. This range class serves up as better table fare and lacks the unpleasant bloodline found in their older cousins. Plan to make the smaller fish the major part of your creel limit—all the others, especially the bulls, should be put back in the water immediately. These are your brood fish, the ones who make tens of thousands of redfish babies. It obvious why putting them back is so essential.
“Besides, these big guys just don’t eat all that good. “Serving them on a plate is like chewing into a combination of cotton, Kevlar, and Manilla rope all woven together. You’re a better man than I am if you can actually eat a fish this big. Let her go make her babies.”
Capt. Eugene also commented that it’s not mandatory that you make early morning post-dawn trips for these brutes.
“As long as you end up actively fishing when you’re in peak tidal range you’ll find the bulls quite willing to accommodate you.”
But this weekend there’s lagniappe, y’all! Not only can you go to Cocodrie and catch a mess of big reds, when you get tired fishing them you can mosey on over to the old Sulphur Mine location, throw chartreuse-colored plastics on a quarter-ounce jighead, work them on a straight slow retrieve, and come real close to bagging respectable limits of really nice speckled trout.
So based on the information I just presented to you, this might be a worthwhile Saturday and Sunday to fish the waters at Cocodrie. Just don’t take any unsafe chances, wear your PFD’s, and be courteous to you fellow fishermen. Oh—and I’m told that as opposed to years past Coco Marina and its restaurant won’t transition into “winter mode” this year and close down. Both facilities will remain open all the way through November, December, January, and February. And some of the charter captains will also book winter marsh trips this year. So make a note, y’all.
Meanwhile, I’m gonna plan for a venture into Lake Pontchartrain next Thursday. Kenny Kreeger and I promise to give you the absolutely latest updated information the minute we get back to the dock.
Tight lines and good times to ya,
Frank Davis
