DuLarge trout moving south

One look at the fishing reports on this site is enough to make the most honest of those among us develop enough of a cough to call in sick. Calcasieu? They’re biting. Pontchartrain? Biting there too. Venice? What’s not biting down there? My goodness, now I think I’m getting a touch of fever. I guess I better call in myself because I’m heading to Cocodrie with Captain Bill Lake (985-851-6015).“We’ve been doing well most every day the past week,” Lake said. “We got blown out two days ago, but we rebounded with 75 by nine in the morning the next day. The fish are definitely moving south. In fact, they’re dang near on the coast already.”

Lake said that the fish he’s been slamming haven’t been the typical 12 to 14-inch DuLarge trout. They haven’t even been close.

“It’s been nice fish every day,” he said. “We’re not popping the giants every day, but everything we’re catching is between 16 and 20 inches. We aren’t even catching any throwbacks. In fact, nothing’s been under 16 inches the past few days.”

The key to really whacking the trout right now is finding a combination of oysters on the bottom with shrimp or mullet on top.

“They aren’t on a soft bottom right now,” Lake said. “They’re on solid oyster reefs in about two feet of water. Two of the past five days, we’ve caught them under the big shrimp. It’s been great when the tide changes and starts coming in. It brings the big shrimp in with it and the trout have got them going crazy on the surface. Look for mullet if you don’t see the shrimp.”

It isn’t any use to ask Lake what he’s throwing because everybody already knows the answer. He’s been catching all his fish on… drum roll please… an LSU Bayou Chub Minnow.

“The trout are biting best on a steady retrieve,” he pointed out. “Of course, you can’t slow it down too much anyway because you’ll hook the oysters every time if you bump it on the bottom. They’ll eat some topwaters if you want to throw them too. I don’t use them with a boat full of customers because it can get a little dangerous.”

Lake has found out the past couple of days that Upper Sister and Upper Mechant have slowed down. The specks have made their move, and places like Bay Voisin and Jack Stout Bay just below King Lake are holding a lot of fish.

“I figure we’ve got about two or three weeks left on the inside,” he added. “After that, we’re going to have to move to the coast – probably by the first of May.”

About Chris Ginn 778 Articles
Chris Ginn has been covering hunting and fishing in Louisiana since 1998. He lives with his wife Jennifer and children Matthew and Rebecca along the Bogue Chitto River in rural Washington Parish. His blog can be found at chrisginn.com.