As you well are aware of the wind has been the topic now for the last three weeks. On days that we can get out to the barrier islands with our trips we have been doing great, however most days here lately we have been staying in the protected waters and fishing the marsh. We have been catching both red fish and specked trout in the duck ponds and dead end pipe line canals. Normally this time of the year all the speckled trout have moved out to the barrier islands for the spawning season. The trout we have been cleaning are full of eggs and are still in the inside waters. This year is so far is very unusual for the specks to still be on the inside. I can tell you that the human harvest so far this year has not been too much because of the wind that has been barring down on us for just about three weeks now. I’m not saying nobody is catching limits of trout but what I am saying is that the days are few and far between in regards to the days you can get out there to where they are spawning. Well when it comes to fishing we will take what mother nature gives us. If the wind wants to blow like she has been doing we just stay in protected waters and keep catching red fish until she decides to settle down. One thing I know for sure is that when the wind does lay down the fishing is going to be absolutely off the chart. All signs are pointing to a fantastic year in terms of what we have been catching on the days we could get out there.
Two weeks ago Kelvin Ford came down to fish with me and we shot a thirty minuet show that aired this past weekend on Louisiana Outdoors Adventure on Cox Cable channel. As I understand it the show will be airing again on satellite television in about two more weeks. The day we shot the show the wind was blowing about eighteen to twenty five out of the southwest and the water was pretty dirty just about every place we went. We did manage to box up some beautiful red fish that made for a good show. I received a lot of calls off of the show airing and I look forward to taking a bunch of new clients fishing in the near future. Of course while shooting a outdoors show it is not all about catching one after the other, you have to pause after you put one in the boat and talk a little bit about the conditions and how they effect the fishing and many other things so the viewer can appreciate the show and maybe learn a thing or two. With live shrimp being a big topic for catching speckled trout this time of the year I talked a little bit on how to keep the shrimp alive on your boat while out on a fishing trip. It is important that when you put your live shrimp on your boat in a close loop system that you do two things. First thing you have to do is provide plenty of D.O. {D.O. is Dissolved Oxygen} and the second thing that is very important is that you somehow keep the water temperature from getting too hot. Now that can be a little bit of a challenge as we get into the hotter months of the summer. I’ll give you a tip on how to keep the shrimp from getting too hot while on your boat during the hottest part of the summer. I took a compartment that was adjacent to my live shrimp well and installed a one inch clear hose in it as a coil system. I came in to the top of the compartment with the hose and just started going back and forth until I got to the bottom and then directed the one inch hose discharge back to the live well. Then I fill the compartment up with ice so that the water passing through the one inch hose is chilled by the time is reaches the bottom and then discharges back into the live well. This process will cool the water temperature down to a level that will keep your shrimp alive in the hottest part of the summer. Remember having live shrimp on your boat during the summer months will make your chances much greater for catching speckled trout. Sometimes catching a box of speckled trout is more than knowing where to drop your anchor, it could be something such as having the right bait on board.
I think we are entering a great time of the year for speckled trout fishing here in and around the Barataria Bay area and May and June are two great months to fish the speckled trout mainly because the hottest part of the summer is not here yet. Once July and August get here it is not only hard on us but I think the water temperature get to a point that the speckled trout move out in the gulf for deeper and cooler water. Again I am not saying you will not catch trout during the hottest part of the summer but in the past the bite has slowed down during those eight weeks. I also find that is the time of the year when the big bull reds move in on us. What is great about that is we always have something to fish year around for our customers. Sometimes we have folks flying in to New Orleans Louisiana for a verity of reasons and want to book a trip while they are here in the city. I like the fact that the big reds move in during that time of the year as it fills the void for those eight weeks while the speckled trout has a tendency of slowing down a little bit.
