For a charter captain, fishing can be a little hectic.
With all the things they’ve got to think about each and every morning to ensure their customers have a fun and productive day on the water, the fun of fishing can sometimes be tough to recall.
That’s why Capt. Travis Miller with Miller Time Fishing Charters (985-981-6434) loves heading out in the afternoons if he finds himself with a little free time.
“Man, there are so many great things about fishing in the afternoon rather than the morning,” said Miller. “It’s a great time to get out there by yourself without the hustle and bustle of other boats and so worried about limits of fish. I guess the best thing is there is no hurry to do anything.”
All that’s well and good, but a lazy fishing trip in the afternoon isn’t worth much if you can’t catch fish. According to Miller, there isn’t anything to worry about if you plan your afternoon trips out of Bayou DuLarge.
“The one thing I’ve noticed is that you don’t have to hit an exact tide at the exact time,” he continued. “Take October for example. Then you have to hit a falling tide for shrimp to come out of the marsh.”
During March, Miller explained that having a late-afternoon incoming tide isn’t all that bad of a deal because there just isn’t a ton of bait falling out of the marsh system even when it does fall.
Although he doesn’t stress about limits during the afternoon, Miller has discovered the fishing to be a little bit weird.
“One thing I’ve noticed down here at DuLarge is that the best afternoon bite is generally about an hour before sunset,” he said. “And for some reason, they get tough to catch about that last half hour before the sun actually disappears.”
And although he’s not a huge fan of fishing a cork, Miller says late afternoon is often the best time to work the cork because the fish have had time to move up on the flats as the water warmed up throughout the day.
To get in on the best bite, Miller often leaves the dock with an eye on giving himself a good four hours of fishing time.
“With more limited time than leaving at daylight because of it getting dark,” he concluded, “you are at the mercy of what the fish are going to give you. You’re not going to be able to run around and hit 15 spots and keep picking on them to get your limit.”
But the best thing Miller has discovered about making late afternoon trips out of Bayou DuLarge is that he passes a lot of boats coming in as he is going out, which is especially helpful if you are headed to a popular community hole.
Although Miller didn’t tout the opportunity to catch afternoon limits of fish, I have seen enough of his internet reports about late afternoon trips to know that coming in without a limit is more the exception than the rule.
