So it is May and the cool fronts are still coming and the wind has been blowing out of the northwest for three days now. The speckled trout egg sacks are filling up and the spring season is under way however the late cool fronts are making things a little different this year so far. The brown shrimp were in and with the late cool fronts we been having they have been moving in and out with the blows. The speckled trout will always follow the fish so they have been moving in and out as well. The reports here from the boat launch have for the most part been good. People are still catching speckled trout near the north side of Barataria Bay and all the interior bays. With the late cool fronts we are also catching beautiful speckled trout outside by the barrier islands. All fish are being caught on live shrimp three feet under a popping cork. Some folks are trying to fish with soft plastics and are not doing as well as the people using live shrimp. I just had a group come in this morning that got one hundred live shrimp from me this morning and they couldn’t stop telling me how glade they were that they got those live shrimp. It was two guys and they had three small girls and the mission was to put them on some trout. They came back at ten thirty with a box of nice speckled trout and the young girls was telling me all about the fishing trip they had. You know we can go out most of the time and catch a box of speckled trout but when you can take children out and put them on the fish, now that is what it is all about. Those girls was telling me in detail all about how they caught just about every one of those fish. I can tell you for sure that they will never forget that fishing trip with there dads far as long as they live. Something about taking kids fishing and catching a few fish is the most satisfying thing you can do in the outdoors.
The live shrimp used to catch speckled trout with is like gold. I have been catching live shrimp now sense March and they are getting more and more plentiful as the summer gets closer. The size is getting better as the spring season is coming to the end and the summer time is getting closer. Fishing live shrimp is something not everyone dose but after you try it for a time or two you will never go back to fishing with plastics during the warm months. The trout are use to eating live shrimp and there is absolutely no substitute when it comes to catching speckled tout. There have been a lot of baits that have come out trying to duplicate a live shrimp but none has been able to prefect the bait. If you talk to some folks they will tell you that they have found a bait that looks just like a live shrimp however the trout know the difference. That is the bait they feed on all the time so they know the difference between the real thing and something that came out of a store. Now fishing with live shrimp I use twelve pound test green line to the cork and then form the cork I put a three foot leader using forty pound big game line to a number six double extra strong bronze trouble hook. The color of both the line and the trouble hook means a great deal when fishing trout. They see more than you think they do so it is important to use the colors I mention to give you the best results when fishing speckled trout.
You hear me talk about boat positioning a lot and that is because it is fifty percent of the reason of how you are going to do on that fishing trip. First of all you never want to park your boat relative to a spot that you are looking right into the sun. Second you never want to park your boat so that you are throwing into the wind. Most of all you never ever want to park your boat to where you are upstream of the fishing spot regarding the tide. If you tide is flowing under your boat and to the fishing hole your boat is scaring or deflecting all the natural flow of live shrimp and other bait feed to where you are throwing your line. Believe me it is important to learn how to park your boat relative to fishing a certain spot.
Now the reason you go fishing means a great deal on how you will enjoy the day. What I mean by that is if you leave the dock with the attitude that you have to catch a box of fish in order to call it a good day or not. You may find yourself more disappointed than if you left the camp with thinking you going to enjoy the day no matter what you end up with. Enjoy the ride out early in the morning looking at all the wildlife and take the time to look for the seagulls diving and working the live shrimp on top the water. Look for signs of fish breaking the top of the water around the points where the current may be coming around. There are plenty of signs of both wildlife and marine life to look for as you are travailing out to your fishing spot, you simply have to take the time to notice them. Learning to appreciate the time you spend on the water is truly half the battle of enjoying a fishing trip. Catching a box of speckled trout and red fish is of course the other half.
Thirty five miles south of New Orleans Louisiana lies Bayou Log Cabins Fishing Lodge and it is a fantastic place if you just want to get a way and enjoy the bayou life.
