Higher river in March typically means redfish
Capt. Nash Roberts III (800-887-1385) said he and his son concentrate entirely on redfish this month.
“The only time we change our game plan is if we have several days in a row of mild weather and light winds, the water clears up and levels rise, we might go try a few of our favorite trout areas,” Roberts said. “But we basically target reds this month, and we usually run across the river to do it.
“The river is typically high in March, so we launch in Empire and go through the locks. Then it’s a 4-mile run to Ostrica and then out to those east-side bays and ponds we like to fish — basically between Ostrica and California Point, at points, cuts, coves, or any of the little broken marsh islands in any of those shallow bays.”
Roberts said the water is almost always stained due to the higher river, so they use stinky bait to attract ravenous, roaming reds.
“Live or dead shrimp under a cork is our staple bait in those waters, and also Berkley Gulps in virtually any color,” he said.
Roberts said they also tight-line Deadly Dudleys in black/chartreuse, and have a lot of success that way.
He operates out of the Port Sulphur area, and said East Bank anglers can opt to launch at Beshels Marina in East Pointe a la Hache (504-333-4469), and from there fish the banks, bays and ponds all around the American Bay area.
“We cross the river from Empire, which can be an adventure when the river is high, or west-side anglers can drive across to the east side on the Belle Chasse or Pointe a la Hache ferry and launch out of Beshels,” he said. “I like to stay farther south from American Bay in the Bay August, Cox Bay areas, but all will produce reds this month.”
