If the November weather’s right, Calcasieu can produce 100 fish a day for those who know the secrets of the lake.
Anglers fishing the coastal areas below Cocodrie are catching fish, albeit smaller 12- to 14-inch ones. Capt. Marty LaCoste with Absolute Fishing Charters (985-856-4477) has the remedy for the tiny-trout syndrome, though. He said to head to the satellite rigs about 6 miles offshore.
“Man, you got to pick through so many throw-backs just to boat some 12- to 13-inch fish off the coast,” said Lacoste. “The fish on the rigs have been bigger, though. They’ve been pretty nice, running anywhere from 17 to 20 inches.”
Lacoste says everything he’s catching below Cocodrie right now has been on plastics — even the smaller fish along the coast. His most productive tactic has been fishing with tandem-rigged LSU Bayou Chub plastics.
“The water has been a little stained out on the rigs the past couple days,” he said. “That hasn’t seemed to mess up the fishing, though. When they’re up near the surface in a feeding frenzy, you can throw that tandem rig out and just reel it straight back in. But when they go down, you got to work it slower and bump it on the bottom. When they’re on it good, we’re catching them two at a time.”
Lacoste added that he’s also been picking up some fish on the satellite rigs on a Carolina-rigged live croaker, although the size on the live bait hasn’t been that much larger than what he’s catching on the plastic.
The bite has been best when the tide just starts to fall, but Lacoste said he has been catching some good trout at the end of the rising tide right before it turns.
“And the last couple of weeks, I’ve been noticing that we do better by fishing the downcurrent side of the structure we’re fishing,” he said. “I’ve been putting my boat up against the rig and throwing out away from it.”
Redfish are a hot commodity on the inside below Cocodrie right now, too. Try fishing the LSU Bayou Chub and gold spoons.