One of the major keys to being a successful angler is being mobile and following the fish around with the changing season.
Just because you caught them somewhere last week, doesn’t mean they’ll be there this week. Heck, just because you caught them somewhere yesterday, doesn’t mean they’ll be there today.
The atmosphere is constantly changing, and fish respond in different ways.
In the early part of April, Capt. Travis Miller finds speckled trout to be thick in the marshes and lakes
But, even though they don’t abandon the latter area, the guide oftentimes switches gears to areas that crowd with boats in the summer.
“Our fish stay in the lakes through May, but as it gets calm and the water cleans up toward the coast, they start marching that way,” Miller said. “You can really lay the hammer down on the coastline in April, for sure.”
He targets areas such as Pelican Pass, Oyster Bayou and Fish Bayou.
“You can litter the whole coast, pick your spots, and the more you fish it, the more you’re going to learn where the productive areas are,” Miller said. “Pelican Pass is a very popular place to fish, and a lot of people will start there in April.”
However, Miller said the bite does have a shelf life.
“They usually stay there through mid-June,” he said. “Once that water temperature gets smoking hot, they’re out of there.”
He said if you’re looking for a wall-hanger, this most likely isn’t the place to surrender it. However, it’s a stop worth making if you’re looking to put meat in the box.
“I rarely catch hammers there,” Miller said. “It’s more of a male stop; it’s not really a female stop.”
There are two rigs that you better have in your box.
“As soon as I get to the coastline, it’s either a double rig or a cork,” Miller said. “I don’t usually throw single rigs anymore.”
He constructs double-rigs with ¼-ounce jigheads. He said that size of jighead is a staple in Dularge.
“We throw ¼-ounce year-round except for when the tide rolls at the rigs,” Miller said. “Then we’ll step up to a 3/8-ounce.”