A trip to Cote Blanche bay this time of year will have you telling stories over and over again.
What is it about the flash of gold in green tinted water that makes so many of us go bonkers to the point of embellishment?
From Point Chevreuil to Point Maroon, the shell beaches and grassy banks of Cote Blanche Bay produce a lot of those flashes. What is more, flashes with distinct black spotted markings — I might add.
I barely had the boat anchored when I heard the distinct sound of Christine’s bait hit the water, followed by her pat, “fish ploosh” saying. The water at the mouth of the deep little bayou rolled up into the bay, confusing any organism washed out by its current.
It was apparent the redfish weren’t confused. The next thing I heard was line zinging, and Christine singing, “GET THE NET! GET THE NET!”
I netted the fish and took several pictures. The fish was that pretty golden color with beautiful markings. Now that was the way to start the day.
I removed the fish from Chris’s line and she re-baited it, quickly tossing back into the same exact spot as before. Once again she said, “fish ploosh.”
Suddenly — BAM! — it was on again. Line was zinging and Chris was singing, “GET THE NET! GET THE NET!”
Once again I scrambled for the net. Christine’s pole was bent over in a strain. I watched with great satisfaction how the fish refused to give in, as it raced by the boat near the surface of the water. The flashing gold color looked 3 feet long. Suddenly, the line went slack.
When Christine reeled in the line there was nothing on the other end. Her snap and swivel, leader, hook, weight, everything was gone. All I could figure was the sharp edges of the fish’s gill or a shell may have cut the line.
“Did you see how big that fish was?” I said, spreading my hands wide.
Clearly disappointed, Christine tied a new rig onto her pole and proceeded to toss it in, but there was no “fish ploosh” this time. What’s more, the fish stopped biting. As quickly as it started, it ended.
Still excited, on the way home we stopped by Chris’s folks’ house to tell the story to them. I held my hands out so wide, providing them some indication of how big “the one that got away” was. We retold the story to several others, and each time I held my hands out so wide. Only, I came to realize, each time we told the story my hands got farther and farther apart.
Oh God, I thought to myself. What if I were to have to appear in court for this story? Trying to recall how many times I had told the story, it dawned on me that there were too many witnesses.
There were too many to bribe, discredit or kill. The only thing I could think to do was hire a “famous” attorney.
Yes, that was what I would have to do. With all of the media surrounding this story, he would come up with something clever in front of all of the cameras, like: “If the net don’t fit, you must acquit!”
He would coach me for cross-examination. I would be instructed to wear a tight-in-the-shoulder suit coat while on the stand. This would limit how wide I could spread my arms, should the prosecution ask me to demonstrate how long I thought the fish to be.
Expert witnesses could be brought in to testify that I use 1.5 magnification reading glasses. My family physician could go on record stating that this may have contributed to the “possible” differences in perceived length, since I was not wearing them that day.
My attorney would ensure that a jury of all bass fishermen was selected. He would request they be sequestered for a weekend. A quick verdict would surely come if he were able to pull that one off.
The biggest piece of evidence was still out there swimming somewhere, I thought. Perhaps, we could get a continuation based upon the defense’s inability to subpoena the witness for questioning at the trial.
I pondered if we should request a change in venue. My gut feeling was surely somewhere in South Louisiana there was a judge that was a friend of sportsmen.
What was I thinking? The only sportsmen they saw on a regular basis were those who violated fish and game laws.
Maybe, I could get out of this by playing the blame game and not taking responsibility. Or maybe I could plead temporary insanity.
Take my friend and local bait-chunking, lure-spinning, rattle-trapping, angler aficionado, Ray Beadle. He has been in this fix himself once or twice before when the fish are biting.
According to Beadle, Cote Blanche Bay produces awesome red fishing that he fondly refers to as “Marsh Mules.”
Beadle told me how he likes to use a Johnson spoon in the grass beds around the Bayou Carline area.
“There is a nice secluded area on the left as you come out of the bayou,” he said. “My old friend, the late Al St. Romain, and I fished the area for 10 years before he passed. We liked this area because it offered protection from the south wind and a little from the north wind.
“I’ll tie a stainless steel swivel to the large spoon so the line won’t weave curly cues from the bait’s wobbly action as it passes through the grass. When them “mules” hit, and the 20-pound Stren goes sideways, all you see is grass hung up on the line for 30 feet. You’re just about to drive your 6-foot rod through your chest, when your adrenaline goes through your ball cap and chills run up your spine.”
See what I mean? Redfish cause these moments of temporary insanity that bring out the worst in people — particularly fishermen. Is it any wonder that reality gets mixed up with a little confabulation?
Another local who has done his share of fishing around Cote Blanche Bay is Eric Hofsommer. Hofsommer likes to use Rat-L-Trap’s saltwater version in a blue/silver color.
“I like to stay around 50 to 60 yards off the bank,” he said. “I’ll then cast toward the bank at 45-degree angles. Most people who fish the area use shrimp, but I personally prefer artificial bait for the area.”
Christine and I fall into the “most” people category, as we typically use shrimp when fishing the bay.
We’ll put in at the Burns Point public campground landing, and head north to the first canal, where just to the left of the opening are grass beds growing out of the shell bottom. The beds run along the beach all the way to Luke’s Landing.
Yellow Bayou empties into the bay along the coast line as you go farther north, then Bayou Carline as you proceed west, toward Point Marone. All of the openings produce fish on given days.
Both Beadle and Hofsommer recommend fishing what’s known as the Humble Canal across the bay from Burns Point. Both concur that the artificial bait of choice for the area surrounding the Humble is a ½-ounce blue/chrome Rat-L-Trap.
Beadle also likes to throw a green/chartreuse grub.
“I’ll use a ¼-ounce white or yellow head with the grub and bob it for a few minutes to see if the specks are in,” he said. “There is a green triangle sign with a “1” on it at the corner of the canal where we first stop to fish.
“If the specks aren’t biting, we’ll head down toward Point Marone and fish the Traps. We like to go as far as the pilings and then turn around and do it all over again.”
Beadle has told many people about this technique, but admits few people follow the advice.
“I guess people just love to anchor up and drown shrimp. Me, I’m a bass fisherman at heart. I just got to chase them reds.”
Another area that produces fish is the grass beds south of Burns Point, toward the beacon at the mouth of Bayou Sale. Well within a quarter-mile run from the park as you’re going south, you’ll want to check out the pilings that run along the coast as well.
During those hot early days of fall, many deer hunters from the surrounding leases in the area have fished for specks here. If the deer aren’t moving due to the warm temperatures, the fish always seem to be.
If you’re seriously considering a trip to Cote Blanche Bay, you should consider the amenities offered at Burns Point. The campground is a public facility that provides full RV service, restrooms and showers for campers at reasonable rates.
The launch fee is only $1 if you’re not camping and only down for a day of fishing. Parking is available, but most weekends can be crowded. Campers have fewer problems with parking as camp sites offer plenty of room for RVs, boats and trailers.
If you happen to be lucky enough to camp at one of the bulk-headed bayside sites, you can fish from the bank. There’s nothing like sitting in a lawn chair with your favorite drink, enjoying the bay breeze, when — BAM! FISH ON!
Weather conditions, periodically can put a damper on fishing trips in Cote Blanche Bay. Be sure to check the weather conditions ahead of your trip, to be safe. The bay’s shallow waters are known to get pushed out from hard north winds as fronts pass through. When the wind blows hard from the south and also the west the bay can get quite dangerous for small crafts.
Most anglers heading to the Humble from Burns Point head west-northwest from the landing. Fishermen new to the area should use caution when crossing the bay. Mornings often find the bay waters like glass, but wind changes can create choppy conditions.
The truth about Cote Blanche Bay is if you’re willing to spend a little time getting to know the area, it will produce the kind of redfish results that you can’t help embellishing over. The gold-flashing kind of embellishing that dreams are made of, with black emblems to boot — and I’m not lying.
In the meantime, I guess I need to just take my lumps.
“Call the next witness.”
“State your name.”
“John K. Flores.”
“Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth …”