Just a little after daybreak this morning, Capt. John Aucoin and I made our first fishing trip at Golden Meadow since weeks before Hurricane Gustav and not since Hurricane Ike went roaring through last month.

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Frank shows off just one of many trout he and his crew hauled in Thursday at Golden Meadow.

“But we’re fishing here now because for all intents and purposes we’re technically back in the action,” Aucoin explained as we made our way out to the broken islands in Timbalier Bay.  “Even though the marsh, bays, lagoons, and bayous have significantly changed in both appearance and makeup, the fishing now is quite possibly better than it’s been in a very long time.

“All us old timers agree that it’s probably because the storm surge that violently rolled over all of Golden Meadow brought not only a massive amount of good gulf water into the inside, but all the fish that travelled with it as well.  Then when the water reversed its trek and poured out again, it seemingly left all the fish behind.  Those are the fish that are so voraciously hungry and the ones that everybody down here is catching right now!”

From Catfish Lake to Bayou Blue to Lake Racourcci to Timbalier Bay, the angling activity within the past couple of weeks, especially for monster speckled trout, has been “turned on.”   At each of the spots named here, plus all the spots adjacent to them, trout averaging 3 to 5 pounds have been caught routinely, taking especially for monster speckled trout both natural (live) and plastic bait with reckless abandon. 

“What you gotta do first is find clean water—find the clean water and you will automatically find the fish,” Capt. Aucoin went on.  “Then target the fish you find by looking for fish slicks, casting under diving gulls, and tracking down live minnows, live shrimp, and even basic plastic (mostly the smoke-glitter split-tail beetles). 

“Then you rig the terminal end with an unpainted, round, quarter-ounce lead head jig that’s fitted with the appropriate bait plus a popping or chugging cork that drops the jig down about 20 inches.  The new rigging at this point has tantalizing effects on the specks (and sometimes the reds) that are in population.  In short order, they come to supper, kinda like a string of ants rushing to the sugary droppings left over from a church picnic.  And those are the specks we’re catching this morning!”

Capt. Aucoin went on to explain that once the “cork action” ceases, however, it is time to remove the cork and switch over to fishing tightline cast and retrieve.  It’s a sure fire way to get the best of both worlds—“corkin’ and castin’.” 

Proper strategy includes making a long cast, either towards or away from the shoreline, and slowly—without any popping or twitching or chugging—bringing the bait straight back to the boat.  Trout on the prowl readily strike bait presented in this manner. 

There is one word of caution, however, for folks heading down to Golden Meadow to fish.  Decide on which spot you want to concentrate on and proceed to that spot slowly and carefully. 

“There’s lots of stuff submerged all over Golden Meadow since the two storms,” Capt. Aucoin noted.  “Much of it lies totally—but barely—beneath the water surface.  Without a doubt, any boat encountering the sunken wreckage is going to be significantly damaged, or worse yet, is going down!  So wherever you go, go slow!”

By the way, all you fishermen who don’t have the whys and wherefores (nor the kind of boat it takes) to get out there on your own and catch these whoppers unaided can always call Capt. Aucoin at 985-632-06988 and book a charter trip.  Of course, keep in mind that booking a charter is always a “first come first served” kind of thing; so if you know the date you want to set aside to fish you can make the trip arrangement simply by picking up the phone and cutting your arrangements in stone. 

Now next week I’m off to recently flooded Lafitte to get a pre-autumn insight into the post-hurricane activity there.  Phil says that the roadside ditches, most of the larger waterways, and a number of other locales are packed full of chilly-morning fisheries, primarily red drum, black drum, sheepshead, and speckled trout.

So. . .this weekend pack up the family roadster, head down the bayou, and have your best trip of the year so far.  I’ll post the final discover right here next Thursday at the exact time we get back.

Until then, tight lines and good times to you.

Frank D