Persistent easterly winds keeping river water at bay, creating good conditions for specks
The Delacroix fishing outlook is far better this year than in 2015, said Capt. Chad Dufrene (985-637-6357).
“Last year we had a west wind that prevailed all summer long,” Dufrene said. “It was good for us during hurricane season because it kept the Gulf of Mexico clear, but it was awful for speckled trout anglers. Those persistent west winds flooded all of Black Bay with cold, muddy river water that poured through the Mardi Gras cut in the (Mississippi) river. All that fresh water dropped the salinity, and pushed the speckled trout farther south and east from Black Bay.
“It was terrible. All the usual summer hotspots were dead all season, and we had to run to Breton Island and all the way to the east side of the Biloxi Marsh around Comfort Island to find fish.”
But Dufrene said 2016 is different.
“This year we’ve had consistent east winds, and that will make a huge difference in Black Bay,” he said. “The river isn’t as high, and the steady easterlies should keep the river water pushed against the western shore and funnel it farther south and not into Black Bay. And so far that’s been the case, and the fishing action is breaking out all over.
“This is when you want to hit all the old hotspots, like the Wreck, the Compressor, Lonesome Island, Belle Island, Stone Island, the Black Tanks, Breton Island and all the usual hotspots that produce in the summer. As long as we continue to see those steady east winds, you’ll catch trout in Black Bay.”
