Head to bigger, deeper water for August specks
You’ll have to run farther to find fish this month, and you’ll have to get an early start, according to Shell Beach Charter Capt. Jacques “Jakamo” Laboureur.
“August heat and humidity can be brutal, and it discourages some anglers from getting out on the water altogether,” said Laboureur, with Jakamo South Fishing Adventures. “I’ve had some tell me they’ll start fishing again in October.”
But Laboureur said if you dress for it, leave early and quit early, you’ll be done before the blistering heat gets up into scorch mode.
“This month I like to leave early and I generally make the run out into Bay Eloi and sometimes even deeper into Breton Sound since the trout tend to go deeper where the water is a bit cooler,” he said. “It’ll really depend on where the fish are. Sometimes they huddle over nearshore oyster reefs in the early hours of the morning, but as soon as the heat turns up they disappear into deeper water. Sometimes I’ll try first fishing the reefs with live shrimp about 3 feet under a cork and see what we can put in the boat and then venture farther out as necessary. August can be a challenge but it can also pay off with good numbers of trout, though the trout do tend to run smaller this month.
“By now the big fish have spawned and moved into deeper water, so much of what we catch will be school size trout so be sure to have a measuring tape or stick, and cull out the undersized fish. The good news is you should find plenty keepers and they’ll be the perfect eating-size trout.”
Laboureur said Bay Eloi should produce fish at the various wells, platforms and structures, and the Rocks at the end of the MRGO can be productive this month also.
“The Rocks have been hit-and-miss,” he said. “We’ll catch a bunch one day and only a few the next, but they’re always worth a shot. Try fishing the channel side, 15-30 feet off the rocks, with live shrimp and a light sliding sinker or just a split shot a few inches above your hook, no cork. Or you can fish a sliding cork. The water is deeper that far off the rocks but the bottom is littered with rocks so bottom rigs do hang up. And there’s usually a lot of bait-stealing junk fish out there this month, but that’ll be true just about anywhere you fish in August.”
Laboureur said all the usual summer hotspots should hold some fish in areas like Five Wells, the Dope Boat, Little Central and Big Central and the satellite rigs around it.
“Bring plenty of live shrimp and some sturdy tackle and spool up with braid because you’ll have to fish the bottom where there is a lot of debris, and there are always a bunch of toothy critters (sharks, Spanish mackerel, etc.) hanging around those deeper water rigs,” he said.
