DELACROIX, La. -- If you’ve made plans to get in a little fishing this weekend, I’m here to promise you a good weekend for catching mess after mess of speckled trout. All you gotta do is head due south out of Delacroix Island and keep going until you reach the northern side of Grand Point Bay. That needs to be your fishing destination this week, because that area, along with the ponds and lagoons surrounding it, is holding big concentrations of speckled trout.
“To catch your limit--or near limit--come this Saturday and Sunday, Frank”, Ron “Capt. Ahab” Broadus, my Delacroix guide Thursday, boasted about the action “in his backyard.
“All you have to do is seek out the multiple flocks of feeding seagulls, slowly drift under them, cast as close to the frenzy as possible without spooking the birds (or the fish underneath them), and immediately begin putting lots of trout into your boat.
“One note of caution, though--many of the fish you'll catch will be just inches short of legal. So whenever in doubt, stop and measure the trout you catch to be certain they’re 12-inches or greater before dropping ‘em into your Igloo. And it should go without saying that you need to put the throwbacks back in the water ‘real easy-like.’ These are the fish you'll be catching next Spring. Oh, yeah. . .a popping cork with a 12 inch shock leader and a quarter-ounce jighead baited with a Deadly Dudley ‘Blue Moon’ baychovy is the ticket."
Best time to fish right now at Delacroix is right at “first light.” The trout are opting for a sunrise bite for several reasons:
1-The water is cooler;
2-The tidal currents are conducive to fish feeding:
3-Usually there is more natural bait up on the surface at early morning;
4-It’s easier to spot feeding gulls that mark fish school location at the time of morning when contrast lighting is subdued:
5-And finally, the major bulk of the trout will instinctively stop the bite around 9 a.m. or so.
“One other thing,” Capt Ahab noted. “Use your trolling motor to continually move around testing the waters. The last thing you want to do is pull up to a spot, drop anchor, and spend the entire morning there. . .catching no fish! If you work over one flock of birds and the trout under them slow down or stop, simply move to another flock of birds. You certainly got a number if flocks to choose from.
“I’m going to submit that with a little bit of technical skill and a lot of perseverance, you’ll have no problem catching specks this weekend.”
If you aren’t quite sure how to approach and fish under diving birds and you want to “learn hands” and firsthand-on from a fishing pro, feel free to contact Capt. Ahab and reserve a date to fish with him. You’ll not only catch fish aboard his boat, by the end of the trip you will have learned how to catch them next time in your boat.
Capt. Ahab can be reached at 504-914-6063 or 504-835-8398. As always, bookings are made on a first come first serve basis.
So that’s the deal for this week. . .and now you know exactly how to fish these trout. Meanwhile, tight lines and good times to ya…..
Frank Davis
