Veteran Shell Beach charter guide Capt. Jacques “Jakamo” Laboureur (504-303-1494) said, “To me, June means two things: One, fish the MRGO rocks, and two, fish the reefs in the big, fringe oyster-laden bays.”
“I could also say try fishing Bay Eloi or Breton Sound, or under the birds, or any number of places that’ll probably produce some trout this month, but this is the simplest and easiest way to catch fish — and they’ll be nice fish,” he said. “Go to the rocks. I generally focus on the long rocks, and you want to look for any signs of bait in the water. It doesn’t matter whether its little rain minnows or mullet or shrimp — if you see bait activity, fish there.
“Try the various points, try any place you see water coming over the rocks where the rocks sunk, and be sure to bring live shrimp in the baitwell. Don’t just fish up close to the rocks, but fish farther off of them also. That’s a common mistake I see people make at the rocks, and the other common mistake is most people fish too shallow under the cork. You want to catch more fish? Fish deeper. I fish 4 to 5 feet deep under a cork, which is a chore to cast, but you’ll catch more fish than if you fish 2 to 3 feet, guaranteed.”
Laboureur said the action isn’t always fast and furious, but it’s usually steady, and if you’re catching fish steadily, it’s better to stay put and pound it out than to run all over and potentially come up dry.
“My No. 2 target this month is the oyster reefs in Lake Anastasia, Lake Eloi and Lake Fortuna,” he said. “Get up in the oyster poles and drift and fan cast on all sides until you find fish, and then try to sit on them until the action plays out. Then you resume drifting. If you get no action, try another section of reefs and keep moving until you find them.”
Live shrimp is again the best bait there, fished 3 to 4 feet under a cork.
