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“Venice is just so incredible. It is so indescribable that no words can express the beauty of it that can only be understood by seeing it in person. The Mississippi River Delta is so vast and so exciting that it can easily become overwhelming.”
Dude, yes. Bang on. Yet people will tow to <insert same ol’ spot> even when the most badass reports are coming out of Venice. Just blows my mind. People will go to The Wall and weed through throwbacks all day while nothing under 15″ breathes water in Venice. LOL
” I rented a cabin in Boothville Saturday evening so I didn’t have to wake up insanely early to leave my house on the Northshore Sunday morning.”
Great call. Worth every penny, I am sure. Especially with that LNG and Belle Chasse traffic!
“My plan was to check 3-4 spots for Speckled Trout first thing, and if it wasn’t happening at any of those spots, then I was punting on Trout and going straight to flipping the canes for bass and redfish”
Brilliant.
“When I got about a half mile from the mouth of Red Pass, I noticed shrimp jumping literally everywhere. It was the absolute Mother Lode of shrimp, and they were absolutely engulfing red pass all the way out into the gulf.”
I cannot wrap my head around how they get into that marsh. The River is constantly pushing them away and when it’s high it’s the worst water for them, right? So how the F do they get in there? A trout I caught in The Jump last year coughed up some shrimp, but that could’ve come from a guide. So how in the hell does a thing with barely any swimming power go UPSTREAM?!?! I’ll die before I ever learn it all.
“so I elected NOT to make the run to Sandy Point and Scofield Beach out of an abundance of caution”
Good move. Better safe than sorry. But did you see guide boats or anyone else running in that direction?
“So I punted on Trout right then and there and headed into a canal that fed into Locust Pond in search of Redfish and Bass.”
Yeah, I’m guilty of that from time to time. This is why for new areas I measure things out on GED so I know how long it really is, and that gives me a better idea. I understand that’s a lot of homework to do.
“The water was pristine. Absolutely crystal clear.”
The clearest water I’ve ever fished for specks or reds has been in Venice. People just don’t know. The River is where it’s at. They just don’t know. They will go to the Trestles and strike out three times in a row and just won’t make the drive to Venice when the river is low.
“I was throwing a Texas rigged Net Bait craw in cobalt blue, with a pegged 3/8 oz bullet weight. I saw plenty of bass swimming around the shorelines, but all of them would turn their nose up at my lure.”
Green pumpkin may have been better. I’ve never had much luck sight fishing bass if they’re not locked on a bed. Flipping canes on a non-sloping shoreline has worked best for me, or bomb casting swimbaits and spinnerbaits in ponds. I think they’re more cautious. Like, my buddy Ty had an aquarium by his front door that had a bass and redfish in it. The redfish was a slack-jawed idiot with a dunce cap it on. It had no situational awareness at all. It just sat there. But the bass was like the freakin’ Predator. If someone walked through the door, it turned to look and would follow you across the room. I think bass are just a sportier fish.
“Then like an idiot, I left there and made another long run to Baptiste Collette”
I get it. I do the same thing. The long run to greener grass. With this hindsight, I would’ve tried High Line Pond, or at least how to get back there.
“However, this trip was not a waste.”
No, it was not!! I wish more people understood this. What you did is how you catch fish over the long term. Like I said in that other post: you are the tip of the spear. You are there early as all get out, by about a week or two. Those fish are gonna be in the River bigger than sh*t because more bait comes out of there than anywhere else. It’s The Saltening in high gear. More water, less fish. Now you have tracks getting you around, especially from Grand to 1st Spillway, that’s a big deal, because a lot of that is dumb shallow.
You’re killing me with this Venice report. My Tracker is broke right now and I am leaving it that way so I can get actual work done, or I will be towing to Venice every week. LOL I’ll have fun, get good video, etc. but that’s not necessary right now for LAFB. lol
“Looking back, my motor was fine. Gave me zero issues.”
More good news.
Boyce, excellent report, thanks for writing it. My only problem with it is that it’s making me antsy for Venice. I’m glad you see what I saw, and now you understand why I get frustrated when people don’t see the point in going. It’s another planet. Bring your spacesuit.
