Today is Feb-24th and the speckled trout are showing up on the oyster reefs right on time. All it took was a little bit of warm weather to warm the water up and the shrimp started coming in. We all know what happens when the live shrimp start showing up. That’s right, the food chain follows. I had two trips last week not expecting to do as well as we did. The first trip was Tuesday morning as I had four guys on the boat from Mississippi. They wanted to go catch some red fish but when we got up that morning the wind was laid down so much I mention to them about trying to go out on the south side of Barataria Bay to look for some speckled trout. They were game, so we headed south across the bay only to find the water out by the barrier islands was beautiful. Very light winds out of the southeast and the clarity of the water was next to perfect. We bounce around a few oyster reefs and wasn’t doing to good. I was beginning to think we were still a little early into the spring season when suddenly one of the guys hung into a nice trout. I told another guy on the boat to throw right where he had just caught one and wouldn’t you know he hung in to one. I spun the boat around and set both power polls and those guys went to work. The bite was fast and furious for about fourth five minuets and then it slowed down a little bit. We stayed on anchor right there and was able to box up a full limit for all four men in that one spot. All the trout were caught on live shrimp three feet under a popping cork. What a surprise that was for us not thinking we were going to do anything, but it was such a wonderful day we through we would take a ride out their just to do a little scouting and to see if we could find a few speckled touts. With that, guys had a wonderful time and decided that was good enough for that day. We headed in towards the log cabins and saw many flocks of sea gulls diving on the way in. That only verifies that the live shrimp are moving in and that will bring the speckled trout in also. Upon arriving at the camp site, the guys were kind enough to help me clean the fish. We had an assembly line going. I was flaying, the next guy was cutting the bones, the next guy was washing, and the last guy was bagging the slabs up. It did not take lone to clean one hundred speckled trout. What a wonderful time we had on the water that day. The ride out in the morning was picture perfect, the catching of the trout, the ride back in to the fishing village and all the stories we told while cleaning the fish. That my friend is what it is all about.
The other trip I had was Thursday and that trip was with two guys and their girlfriends. What a completely different day that was. It is amazing how just two days latter the conditions were like night and day. We got up that morning with a stiff wind out of the southeast at about twenty miles per hour. The water was a little stained and it was falling hard with that east wind. I knew we couldn’t run out to the barrier islands because it would have been too busted up out there. We decided to stay inside and fish the pipe line canals and duck ponds for red fish. Even through we were in protected waters, the wind was unforgiving. It truly was tough to throw your like. We had a rocky start fishing the first hour with no luck, but then we hit a spot where we were fishing behind some trees that was about twenty foot tall. As soon as we got to this spot and got tucked in behind those trees we started catching some beautiful red fish. It wasn’t one after the other, however the bite was very entertaining. The guys were nice enough to let the girls have the front of the boat, so they were casting to the bank as we were trolling down the canal behind the tree line. They were doing so good the guys started to get a little aggravated and wanted to swap places with them on the boat. I had to step in and say no, I wanted everyone to hold their positions on the boat. The girls thank me for taking control of the situation and they continue to rub it in that they were catching more than the guys. As it always turns out the guys was able to put some nice red fish in the boat by the end of the trip. That made it much easier for me to call it a day when it was time to come home. Laughing and cutting up on the boat while the day unfolded was more fun than catching the fish. You will hear me say all the time that the most important part of a fishing trip is building memories. Yea catching speckled trout and red fish is a lot of fun, however when you get back home, and you are telling the stories to family and friends, it is the memories you remember the most. Once you eat the fish that is really the only thing you have left to talk about. I don’t care if it is young people or old folks, it is just human nature to try to out fish everyone else that is on the boat. I see it all the time, I guess it is just the way it is when you get on the water with friends. Bayou Log Cabins Fishing Lodge located thirty five miles south of New Orleans Louisiana.
