Bobby Lamb, at Atlantic Marine in Waveland, Miss. (228-467-2847) has a camp over in East Pointe a la Hache, where he, his wife Emily and their three children love to spend their weekends fishing away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. And surprise of surprises, they actually prefer wintertime fishing over the action in the summer.
“The summer heat and humidity is sweltering, and since the Mardi Gras cut started pouring fresh water into the area, the rides are long to find decent, fishable water,” Lamb said. “That’s still our No. 1 challenge each day even in winter — how far will we have to go to find good water. But our winter advantage is that the north winds that deplete the Delacroix marshes send all that water our way, so we get a good influx of water on the days that make fishing difficult elsewhere.”
Fortunately, he said he’s finding good water and good fish in the in-between areas, where Delacroix waters merge with Point a la Hache’s.
“I try Second and Third Bay, Big Four Bayou, Wreck Bay and Battleground Bay, and work north from there, up to Thorn Tree Bayou, Little Crevasse, Bakers Bay and Grand Pointe Bay,” he said. “The farthest I usually run is to Skippy Lake and Point Fienne Bay, and only when I have no other options, Oak River. I try to stay out of Oak River even though it produces fish, because it can be a parking lot on weekends.”
Lamb’s tactics are simple.
“Since our winters usually stay on the mild side, I generally fish the bays all winter, just drifting around cuts and points, using live bait (if available) under a popping cork, or Berkley Gulp 3-inch shrimp in the pearl or glow colors,” he said. “I find they hold up well and produce both reds and specks.”
Lamb said he follows that routine on all but the coldest days, when he’ll yank the corks and fish slow off the bottom on a 3/8- or ½-ounce jighead with a pearl or glow Saltwater Assassin, or Norton sand eel in watermelon color.
“On the really cold days I prefer to park in a deeper bayou where I know there’s an oyster bottom, and just fish slow, bouncing my bait off the bottom and up the ledges,” he said. “Remember, you have to slow down your retrieve on those cold days because the fish are just not going to hit aggressively.”
