Few anglers think to fish the spots where passes meet bays, but on the east side of the river, that’s precisely where the specks will be.
Charlie Thomason isn’t a big believer in the anecdotal notions of how the changing of seasons affects fishing.
The veteran angler’s B.S. in Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries compels him to stick with the scientific field’s hard facts.
But there’s one saying an old fishing companion taught him about the time between the fall and summer pattern for speckled trout fishing that’s seldom, if ever, failed him.
“As soon as the tallow trees turn red, turn orangish, that’s when transition is happening. The shrimp are moving out, and the fish are moving in,” said Thomason. “They’re what people call Chinese ball trees or China ball trees.”
To many inshore anglers favoring the frenzied behavior and the mild flesh of speckled trout, transition is as much a dirty word as any of the others ill-suited for polite conversation.
“It’s just a deal where people want to stay in that summer pattern,” said Capt. Barry Brechtel of Big Fish Charters and Breton Sound Marina. “They want to keep going out farther and farther into the Sound, even with the price of fuel, I guess because it’s comforting to them.”
No doubt, it is easy to get comfortable with summertime fishing, as energy-zapping and frustrating as it can be. There’s something about that feeling when you hit it right. Trout nailing the baits before the reel can be engaged is about as thrilling as it gets. It’s addictive, and very difficult to get away from.
“It’s a hard thing having to break that mental habit. You have to leave the dock with a whole different gameplan,” said Brechtel. “Rather than going out there with a bunch of rods rigged for live bait, I’d have a 1/4-ounce jighead with your favorite paddletail, a couple of cork rigs.
“Live bait is a good choice, too, but not quite as important as it is fishing in the Sound. But don’t try to be a hero and go without it.
“No matter what the situation is, you’ve got to move with the bait. The bait this time of year is going to be shrimp, which are moving out of the marsh and into the areas closer to the outside waters.”
Some of it might have to do with the air temperatures, which rarely feel better than they do in August, the hottest month of the year. But there’s no doubt that the days are getting shorter, making the water temperature drop, if only a little.
“Of course, there’s going to be a drop in the water temperature soon enough, but more than that is the amount of light penetration that affects the fish,” said Thomason.
Coinciding with the fish’s signal that it’s time to begin the move to the inside is the mass of shrimp that begin pouring out of the marsh and into the open waters in earnest. Much like the gorging trout do when the brown shrimp make a break for the open Gulf, the white shrimp’s mass exodus from the ponds is a signal for specks to begin building up fat for the unpredictable winter months.
Whereas spring feeding is in preparation for the stressful spawning season, cold fronts bringing the kind of infrequent, though devastating, freak freezes necessitate active feeding beginning this time of year.
“What’s going to happen is that the fish are moving in and the shrimp are moving out. Once you find that line where they have collided with each other, you’re in good shape,” said Thomason.
Though Thomason says anglers can still target bigger fish on the rigs with live bait, the big numbers of speckled trout this time of year can be found closer to the marshes.
“The big fish will be the last ones to make it inside, but the big mass of good-sized fish will be moving away from the deeper water,” said Thomason. “That’s not to say you won’t catch fish out there, but the numbers will be way down compared to what was caught in the summer.”
Brechtel and his group of guides have a successful back-up plan for days when summer weather turns sour. Fishing the “edges” of Breton Sound in lakes such as Fortuna, Machias and Two Trees and islands such as Deadman’s and Gardner often serve to produce good summer catches, though the throwback-to-keeper ratio leaves a lot to be desired.
Edge fishing in the transition period often sees the keeper ratio improve to 90 percent, way up from the normal 50/50 keeper count when rare summer winds prevent chasing the fish in the Sound.
“Basically, we’re fishing the same way,” Brechtel said. “The size improves a lot, as does the number of keepers. The better fish are moving in, and you’re going to get a lot more of the 2- to 3-pounders.
“One of the best ways to find the fish is to look for the areas with hard bottom. Places where you’ve found some fish, you get out the anchor and have trouble getting the Cajun anchor to stick the first time or your regular anchor drags a little bit, that’s a good sign. You may be aggravated because you drifted over the fish, but if you remember that area, it’ll produce in the future.”
While Brechtel simply moves a bit closer to his jumping off spot, Thomason chooses a specific area to target transition speckled trout. The Pointe a la Hache area not only has historically produced big numbers of transition fish, it has plenty of the type of structure he prefers.
“A lot of people make the mistake of fishing the shallow areas around the islands like they do in the summer,” said Thomason. “The passes in between the islands are generally where much of the action takes place. And I’m talking about passes that are up to 20 feet deep or more.”
Smaller bays in the general area including California Bay, Whiskey Bay, Bay Gardene, American Bay and Bay Crabe often provide thin enough spaces in between islands to create the kind of water flow needed to carve out these deeper areas.
“There’s a large number of fish that move into that corner this time of year from the east and southeast. Breton Sound and the deeper part of Black Bay is where they come from,” said Thomason. “Of course, this kind of migration takes place all along the Gulf Coast, but the Pointe a la Hache area is a little bit different. Because it’s closer to the river, it tends to get a little bit more of a variety of bait, even though there’s no doubt what the fish are feeding on the most.”
Thomason adds that there’s no secret as to why the fish are set up where they are in the current.
“(The fish) will be in the first 5 feet of the water column, but they’re there because the shrimp are being pushed through there,” he explained. “They know that the food source is going to be there.
“Like most inshore species, they’re opportunists. They’d much rather sit and wait for it to come by rather than chasing it.”
Though Thomason’s emphasis this time of year centers on fishing the passes, it’s important to remember that this is not fishing like, for instance, how one would for black drum, fish that thrive at the bottom of deep, heavily flowing water.
In actuality, the technique could scarcely be more different.
“Where you ideally want to be set up — and it may be up to a quarter mile from the pass itself — is in 5 to 8 feet of water,” he said. “That’s usually where the oysters are going to be growing, and that’s where the current is not super strong.”
In keeping with the path-of-least-resistance theme, trout favor the 5- to 8-foot zone in order to ambush shrimp and other baitfish in a sort of “reorientation” zone, where they’re not being pushed strongly by the current but are not quite ready to resume their normal activities, especially evading hungry predators.
“It’s an area where the bait has a chance to settle down a little bit and start feeling more comfortable,” said Thomason.
Another key to fishing this kind of structure is to concentrate on the shelves.
“It’s on the ledges where those fish are going to be. That’s where places a little smaller like Battleground Bay and Island Bay are good. They have lots of little bayous and passes coming out of and through the islands, exactly the stuff we’re talking about,” said Thomason.
Brechtel concentrates a great deal on points on the edges throughout the warm weather season and, of course, the transition period is no different. By fishing the “curls” on the downcurrent side of the point, he often finds trout awaiting easy meals.
“For the most part, the redfish are going to be cruising the upcurrent side of the point, and the trout are going to be in the little curl on the downcurrent side, waiting for the bait to wash to them,” said Brechtel.
Thomason says that this time of year, when it comes to actual fishing tactics, centers generally around a very basic technique with very specific weapons.
“It’s crucial during the transition period to use a popping cork and to make as much noise as possible with it,” he said. “I like any of the corks with the wire through it like the Pogo Pop.
“For soft plastics, I generally go with two baits: the glow-in-the-dark Saltwater Assassin Sea Shad in the curly tail and the treuse goose Sea Shad.
“You want to rig them with a ¼-ounce jighead, and for the most part, I keep my leaders at a foot and a half.”
As far as hard plastics go, Thomason makes the switch to subsurface plugs for the most part.
“This is a time for the Catch 5s, the Catch 2000s. The Mann’s Baby One Minus is a deadly bait this time of year,’ said Thomason. “Even though much of the food going through is going to be shrimp, they’ll definitely eat a baitfish.
“The 52M series of MirrOlures is really good because it’s a slow sinker. You can pinpoint where those fish are holding and put it in the exact spot every time.
“For whatever reason, the best colors for them are purple demon and hot pink.”
Though everyone holds their collective breath when tropical systems draw near the coast, Thomason says one of the best ways for fish to be “fast-tracked” into the more reliable fall pattern is for a tropical system to pass close enough to the area. Once the fish are pushed in and are presented with the baitfish supply available in the area, they’re likely to stay.
“Once they’re inside, they’re not going back out,” he said. “The food source is there for them.”
Capt. Charlie Thomason can be reached at (504) 278-3474. Capt. Barry Brechtel is available at (504) 610-6914.
