Speckled trout are the most popular saltwater species around these parts, but this weekend another fish takes center stage.
On March 19 in the New Orleans area, the Catholic and Italian-American community will honor St Joseph’s Feast Day with altars. On those altars will be fruits, vegetables, home baked Italian bread loaves and pastries. What you won’t find is meat and what you are very likely to find is fish, mainly redfish, baked whole.
Securing traditional redfish is not as easy as it once was. Redfish, declared a “game fish” for several years, is available commercially only in limited quantities. So that means recreational fishermen get lots of requests to share their catch with church groups and individuals setting up altars and if you’ve been assigned the task of supplying St Joseph Day redfish, best spots right now are the bays and ponds in Delacroix Island, Shell Beach and the lower marshes on the East side of the river in Plaquemines Parish.
Best baits are jig heads tipped with market shrimp under a popping cork. So what’s the ideal size for a St Joseph’s altar? A 24 to 27-inch red is perfect. One more tip, if you can’t find a redfish, it's maybe the best kept secret: a black drum the same size, baked using the same recipe is every bit as and maybe even a little tastier than a redfish.