Redfish raring to go deep at Dularge

When anglers think of redfish, very rarely do they dream of catching them in deep water — but Capt. Marty LaCoste fishes them in that zone in September.

“That time of year, the redfish are all in their deep holes — 20, 30-feet,” he said.

Not to say you can’t catch any redfish in the shallows, but the deep water is a lot more comfortable for the fish, according to Lacoste.

“The water temperatures get so warm, the redfish move out of the shallow water and go to where the water is cooler,” he said.

Lacoste fishes the reds in curves of the deep bayous because that’s generally the deepest part.

“A lot of the places are on a ledge that has oysters shells,” he said. “They’re attracted to the deep water and the oyster shells on the bottom.”

One of the important things to pay attention to, LaCoste said, is the time of the tide change.

“Most of the time, these fish are going to bite 45 minutes before the tide switches, during the switch and 45 minutes after the switch,” he said.

LaCoste mentioned the redfish don’t care if the tide is rising or falling.

When fishing in such deep water, Lacoste said using enough weight on a Carolina-rig to get to the bottom is crucial.

“Most everyday, you can get away with a 1-ounce weight, but there are days when the current is super strong, you may have to go to a heavier weight,” he said.

LaCoste fishes with cracked crab, which can be tricky to rig correctly.

“I’ve got a big pair of scissors, so I basically cut the claws off, and I cut the crab in half,” he said. “ I (hook) it through the middle of the leg and through the shell.”

However, the fish can get pretty particular as to which part of the crab they want.

“Sometimes, the fish are so picky, they want the shell off of it and sometimes it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Not only is it more time consuming to take the shell off, but it also makes it easier for trash fish to mangle the crab.

“When the bite is slow, you deal with the catfish and croaker stealing the meat out the crab,” he said. “That’s when leaving the shell on comes into play. With the shell on, they can’t steal the meat as fast.”

About Joel Masson 177 Articles
Joel Masson is an avid angler who has fished South Louisiana his whole life. He lives in Mandeville and can be reached at Joel.masson19@gmail.com.