Devin
Forum Replies Created
-
“The MS River is at 2.5 ft at the Carrollton Gauge, so I am thinking it is Venice’s time to shine. I am not sure if I remember what the River level was at when Devin was fishing Venice last December, but I think it’s right around what it’s at now? Correct me if I am wrong.”
Yes, that is correct.
“My thoughts are the trout will be in the passes in deep water, so my plan thus far mostly focuses on that.”
I’m not confident on that. Water temp is 83 at Pilot Town. But it’s Venice, so who knows? I would be curious to check 1st Spillway and the rocks further downstream of it. That’s your #12. Fishing the inside is what people usually do, but I have had success fishing the outside of it, like up against the riprap on the river’s shore between the rows of pilings.
After that, Scofield Beach out of Red Pass. No intel, just a SWAG I would make, especially on a rising tide.
I would definitely graph The Jump. If I saw tons of bait or fish sitting on the bottom then I would try it.
High Line Pond could be good for sight fishing redfish, but I haven’t been in there since 2020. It’s probably silted in even more. GED is your hero here. But it is teal season, so maybe don’t go in there.
Make sure your trolling motor is 1,000% unf*cked before relying on it in the river.
The Wagon Wheel could be good for reds.
You should understand that maybe fishing a little further out would be good for speckled trout with the current water temp. The rocks at the end of SW Pass could be enough, like even the ones on the outside of the south part of the river, if that makes sense.
Otherwise, you have an adventure ahead of you.
-
Just letting you know that I haven’t forgotten about this. There’s a million other things in LAFB that need juggling right now, but this is still on my To Do List.
Thank you for being patient!
-
“I depend heavily on my foot pedal trolling motor when I fish, so that was a punch in the gut right off the bat”
Ugh, same here. Without it my ability to fish different spots is hurt and has to be changed from what was planned. I hate that. Sorry that happened to you.
“7 keepers all 14”-16””
Okay, not bad. I’ll take that with a dead trolling motor battery!
Otherwise, great report, thanks for posting it!
About your motor (just in case): I think ethanol is fine if it is being burned every day. We ran ethanol in three airboats and a slowboat at the swamp tour and had no ethanol-related issues. The problem with ethanol is that it separates out of solution and leaves a layer of water at the pickup in your gas tank. So, if one goes fishing in October, then stores the boat until the next fishing trip in April, and there is ethanol in that bad boy, there will be a disaster.
I’m sure you already know this, but I’m stating it anyway for others who may read your report. It sounds like you fixed your problem, but I would keep an eye and ear peeled on that motor in the event its something else, especially going to Venice.
-
It looks like it sets up just like Martello Castle or Bayou Thomas: it’s a scoop. More on this here at 20:23 in this video inside 101: https://www.lafbelite.com/lesson/if101-5-2/
I’d park about where those boats are, either a little north or a little south, then hang a Heavy Drop Shot off the side of the boat. Or, if you’re not scared to cast upstream (and why would you be?), fan cast around the boat.
I’d expect to use at least a half ounce of sinking weight, but don’t be surprised a 1oz bank sinker wins the day.
I’d be sure to fish there when the tide is falling its ass off.
-
Excellent report! It’s good to see that some fish are out there, away from the usual community spots. Hopefully this spells good things for Bayou Biloxi’s fall action. That would be wonderful.
Great report, thanks for posting!
-
Yeah, try to get there before everyone and their mom does, then move out to where the fish go once its pressured.
-
“Water temp was low 80s”
Yeah, it’ll get better once it stabilizes around 74. There could be some early-movers to catch, however. It just needs to cool off. This time of year and the winter/spring transition are my least favorite to fish. lol
Great report, thanks for posting!
-
“I’m really enjoying the switch from Facebook. Devin, the website looks great”
Yeah, me too. lol Thank you so much!
“I know it’s not the most exciting report, but hopefully this can spark some conversation about where the trout are in their transition in the Grand Isle/Barataria/Lafitte regions. My guess is they’re still a little further south than where I was, or, as I mentioned earlier, could be holding to non-shrimp areas. What I can tell you is that the bait is there, and once the cooler weather arrives, I bet the fishing will only improve.”
It’s hard for me to say without seeing what the action is like on a hard falling tide.
-
“Made the short ride to where Bayou Bonfouca enters the lake and shrimp were popping everywhere.”
That is a historically good fall fishing spot. The may not be concentrated, so drifting is good, especially across the tape grass there. It could be a grind game, but that might be better than running and looking for something better.
“As we headed towards the trestles, I noticed crab floats were stationary so I figured we’d go straight to the southern most end where water would likely be moving. It was coming in pretty decent down there so I cast a drop shot a few times with no luck.”
Ace move.
“As we crossed Lake Bourne we spotted some diving birds so we gave that a shot and ended up with a sail cat and the action died pretty quick.”
Last year that was the pattern: open water birds. It was just so weird, but that’s where the speckled trout were. The catch is that some birds were just gafftops and other birds were specks. You just had to ride and look. But it worked to put together decent boxes.
“Made it back to the launch about 2pm with around 120 miles down and about 1/3 tank of gas left. And one trout, 2 sail cats and 1 hardhead.”
I can relate. I know! But I applaud you for helacious grind, Viking seafaring spirit and posting a report to let us know how it went.
Now you have those GPS tracks, so that’s good. But next time you go fishing out of Slidell, maybe consider fishing the grass along the shoreline between Hwy 11 and Trestles, then trying Mud Lake in Rigolets during a falling tide and fishing diving birds.
All the while, look for birds in open water like mentioned earlier.
Great report, thanks for posting.
-
“Venice is like another planet where everything grows freakishly large”
It is definitely another planet. It’s just amazing. I wish I had a camp down there and fished it every day. I would learn so much.
“All in all I was happy with the day. My buddy had never caught snapper out of his boat or fished Venice so I was happy to share in that experience while on my own sidequest.”
Just epic. I love it. What an adventure.
“I just need to get 2 more rods to replace the ones I broke Saturday.”
What PAL were they?
“no electronics or special gear, just Old Man and the Sea style”
Excellent book!
-
“Would you fish the same spots on an incoming and just expect less fish?”
Pretty much. You can sit there and try anyway, but it will most likely be a grind.
I think the key for incoming tide is to try fishing spots that are non-shrimp, like oyster reefs, grass mats, and whatever else outlined inside Fall Fish Location. These are places there are bait like croakers. Definitely take advantage of that morning bite.
-
Do you have routes for East Bay? My understanding is that getting in and out of it is tricky as there are lots of sandbars and sunk wellheads to hit. The only way I’ve ever accessed East Bay is from the mouth of the River, I have not been down Joseph’s Bayou. I don’t plan on going anytime soon, but this could be good intel for Boyce.
-
Outstanding!
-
+1 that is correct
-
And it’s not as hot AND that’s when fish bite better because it’s cooler. It can be a lot of fun, just take it slow at first. Get your safe routes beforehand if you can.
