Cooler water temps make live shrimp bait of choice, guide says
Limits of speckled trout are being caught in the Hopedale area now, but anglers should be patient and prepared to move frequently to fill their box.
“It hasn’t been quick and easy. It’s one of those deals where they’re everywhere and nowhere,” said Capt. Jakamo Laboureur, with Jakamo South Fishing Adventures in Shell Beach. “You just have to keep moving.
“It’s not a ‘one-stop shop’ type of deal.”
Laboureur said he’s had success this week fishing live shrimp under a popping cork drifting the oyster reefs in areas near Lake Robin, Bottle Lagoon and Bayou Batola.
“When the tide is falling and you can get off the major bayous into the smaller drains, I fish the first major point, and if I catch a few, I drift,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll be 200 yards off the bayou, but I’m still in the current. Sometimes that’s where they’ll be.”
With water temperatures hovering between 50 and 55 degrees, the shrimp have been the most effective bait.
“It’s weird. Lately the shrimp have been doing it, but we’ve had to work for them,” he said. “I switch it up all day, constantly trying different things.
“I feel like when the water temperature warms up above 55, you’ll probably do better on the plastics.”
