The shoreline of East Cote Blanche Bay is a redfish wonderland. And don’t be surprised when other species take your bait.
Going east is 180 degrees from what Horace Greely had in mind back in 1865 when he quoted John B. Soule in his New York Tribune editorial.
But had Greely or Soule owned a bay boat, neither would have encouraged young men to go west.
East Cote Blanche Bay isn’t the mecca Big Lake, Cocodrie and Venice are; nor is it known for monster bull reds. However, when the Atchafalaya River spring rise begins to wane and moves into its summer pattern, no longer influencing the central coastline with its muddy waters, redfish action in the bay turns on.
And June is the month to be there.
Fishing the crescent from Burns Point to Jackson Bayou, anglers find plenty of scrappy reds that are willing to smack lures and pop wrist joints out of place.
Devastated by the likes of hurricanes Lili, Rita and Ike, the coastline’s grasses have been damaged by salt water time and again. But the influence of high water each spring replenishes the central Louisiana marshes, causing the aquatic grasses to recover quickly.
Therein is the draw. The grass beds extend out away from the bank up the coastline, creating excellent cover where reds hide to ambush baitfish, crabs and shrimp.
Every so many hundred yards, starting from Burns Point, are outflows along the bay’s edge. Beginning with the 29 Canal followed by Oyster Bayou, Yellow Bayou, The British American Canal, Jackson Bayou, Humble Canal all of the way to Point Maroon, the mouths of these outflows always have redfish patrolling them.
Pressing the snooze button one to many times on a Saturday morning this past year found me putting over at Burns Point well past 8 a.m. Upon arrival, some fishermen were already picking up.
In the normal way all fishermen do, I asked how the fishing was.
“Left ’em bitin’,” he answered.
“Where at?” I asked.
“Yellow Bayou,” he said as he drove off.
Just as I cranked up, another couple of guys came in idling slowly, so as to not to swamp me with their wake.
“Do any good?” I asked.
“Left ’em bitin’,” one of them replied.
“Where at?” I asked. It felt like one of those dejavu moments.
“Yellow Bayou,” he said.
Undeterred, I pressed on north along the coastline to the grass beds near the mouth of Yellow Bayou, hoping to leave a few biting myself.
Patterson resident Billy Brewer fishes the coastline above Burns Point, and regularly leaves them biting.
“We use shrimp on a popping cork or fish the bottom,” he said. “All you have to do is fish toward the grass beds, and you’ll catch all nice reds.
“The last time we were there, we saw some boats anchored out away from the grass beds. We anchored out and started tearing them up. Everything was over 21 inches and uniform. We didn’t catch any rat reds or hardheads at all.”
In addition to an abundance of grass beds, there is also plenty of structure to fish as well. Coastal erosion has taken its toll on oak-lined cheniers, leaving ghost-like deadfalls, stumps and logs out away from the bank in the shallow water that reds hang around.
Below the surface is a mixed sandy-clay and shell bottom ideal for producing and supporting a variety of crustaceans and baitfish that move with the tides in and out of the surrounding marshes of the bay. Like most places along the Louisiana coastline, the fishing tends to be better on a falling tide, when fishing the bayous, drainages and canals that empty into the bay.
On high tide, the grass beds look fishy, particularly for those who prefer chunking lures. However, don’t overlook the deeper channels in the middle of the outflows where fishing on the bottom often produces some nice catches.
Using a 1/0 or 2/0 kahle hook tied with a snell knot 24 inches below a ½-ounce bullet weight can be deadly with a shrimp.
Local angler and owner of Cuddin Eddie’s Pepper Relish and Barbecue Sauce, Eddie Darce enjoys putting a redfish or two on his backyard pit, spiced with his products.
The Centerville entrepreneur pointed out red fishermen shouldn’t overlook the wellheads in the shallow waters of East Cote Blanche Bay.
“We’ve fished that area many times over the years,” he said. “We pull up to the various wellheads along the way to the Humble Canal and Bayou Carline, and pick up reds and specks using some plastic baits but mostly ¼- or ½-ounce jigheads with only a shrimp tail on them.”
Darce equates the techniques he employs with those he uses when fishing bass.
“We put the trolling motor down, and fish like we are fishing bass, throwing the jig with the shrimp tail,” he said. “The technique is like fishing a worm.”
Being willing to change up and fish several different ways virtually guarantees putting some fish in the boat.
“We fish the grass beds and the shell bottoms all the way up the coast toward and beyond the bulkheads,” Darce said. “But we just don’t just fish toward the bank. We also fish the opposite side of the boat away from the bank. We also pull up to the mouth of bayous or places like Humble Canal and anchor over and fish the bottom. We’ll pick up some catfish, sheepshead and a bull red now and then.”
One tendency redfish anglers have to put up with is the constant influence the wind has on the bay. Prevailing winds from a westerly direction of any intensity tend to stir up the water, making it cocoa-like.
Under these conditions, unless a red by chance runs into your drowned shrimp lying on the bottom, the day may be spent fishing and wishing instead of catching.
Another condition of the westerly winds is the chop on the water causing the seas to make an otherwise leisurely day get to feeling uncomfortable. When this occurs, hanging around the stretch of East Cote Blanche Bay between the Humble Canal and Jackson Bayou may prove to be a more comfortable alternative, where you may find some success.
Lures worthy of mentioning that are effective are spinner-type baits like Redfish Magic, Johnson silver or gold spoons, Rat-L-Traps and Stanley’s saltwater swim-jigs. The Johnson spoons are excellent because they are weedless, allowing you to toss them virtually into the grass.
Other excellent artificial baits include soft plastics such as H&H Cocahoes, Deadly Dudley Bay Choveys and Stanley Wedgetails fixed to a 3/8- or ½-ounce jighead under a popping cork or some of the newer shrimp plastics.
Redfish anglers need to look for clear water when fishing along the bay. However, stained water is good too. The Rat-L-Traps and Stanley swim-jigs are most effective under these conditions as they provide the vibration and sound indicative of a distressed shad or other baitfish.
Rest assured, redfish anglers who fish from the first canal above Burns Point to Yellow Bayou will have plenty of opportunity to try a variety baits in their repertoire.
