Shrimp, croakers and pogies all ideal for June bite
June is a great month for speckled trout out of Grand Isle. If the weather cooperates and this disturbance in the Gulf doesn’t create any lasting issues, specks should remain in a feeding frenzy as the dog days of the summer spawn begin.
Speckled trout specialist Tommy Vidrine said it’s the absolute perfect time to fish with any variety of live bait — shrimp, croakers or pogies, if you’re proficient with a cast net.
But he advised patience, because trout won’t be the only thing gobbling down whatever live offering is dangling from your hook.
Vidrine calls them “the undesirables” — sheepshead, hardheads, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel and even bull reds that pop lines, take hooks and otherwise interfere with the trout bite.
“You just have to weed through other predators — that’s just part of it,” he said. “It won’t always be trout after trout after trout. With pogies, you have jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, and the bull reds love them.
“If you’re fishing with croakers, you’ll have a mix of catfish, Spanish mackerel and hardheads. And everything loves shrimp — that’s just part of the deal when you have that volume of bait in the water.”
Action this spring has been gangbusters on the west side, from Caminada Pass all the way to Timbalier Island — and Vidrine doesn’t expect that to change through June.
“I think that’s going to continue, but Grand Isle itself will be catching fire, too, with people fishing on and behind the island — even in the front of the island on the rocks near the state park,” he said. “And going east, toward Four Bayous, that area should be solid, as well.
“They’re also going to be catching on the back of the island, too. Fish aren’t quite as big in the back, but with shrimp under a cork you’ll catch the heck out of them on the Hotel Sid platforms. All those little islands will be good early in the morning. Dutch Island behind the game warden’s station, and all those cuts. But it’s kind of shallow back there so once you get some hot June days, it’s going to be best late in the afternoon or early in the morning.”
June also means the peak of surf-fishing on Elmer’s Island, he said.
“The surf will definitely light up,” Vidrine said. “If you’re going in the surf, the bigger fish will be caught on croakers — that’s automatic. You’ll have some solid fish in the surf on Elmer’s.”
And if you’re fishing from the actual beach early in the morning, Vidrine said to not be in too much of a hurry to head for deeper water.
“Lots of surf fishermen go way too far out too early. At daybreak, you don’t even need to get your feet wet — or maybe just your ankles. Throw in that first trough in about 2 feet of water,” he said. “Try there first before you go to the second sandbar because you’re passing up some of the biggest trout at daybreak. They come in that first trough early because it’s cool, and that’s where the breaking waves push all that shrimp and bait.”
If you’re just looking for a fun trip with the family in June, Vidrine said it won’t get any easier than live shrimp under a cork at Grand Isle — even if you have to weed through some “undesirables.”
“You can’t go wrong there,” he said. “You’re going to catch a lot of fish, and you’ll be happy with all the action.”