Like the mythological phoenix, Bayou Bienvenue has risen from the dregs and burst into life.
Everybody wondered if the fishing action around Bayou Bienvenue could ever recover. Like so many other fishing areas in Southeast Louisiana, Bayou Bienvenue was adversely affected by the BP oil spill and the opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway. Two big whammies of that magnitude hitting back-to-back were enough to put most fisheries on life support. And as if that weren’t enough, Bayou Bienvenue faced more uncertainty than any other area because of the dam built across the MRGO in Chalmette, and the closure of Seabrook.
Since the 1960s, salt water was able to flow in and out of the area from the Gulf of Mexico, and while that proved disastrous when hurricanes struck, it certainly made for some excellent fishing. Speckled trout and redfish were abundant, and the close proximity to Chalmette, New Orleans East and much of the metro area made it a perennial hotspot. You could count on the big trout to show up every year in the MRGO, and areas like the Bulk Plant, Boh Brothers and Seabrook became well- known local hotspots.
Several launches and bait shops catered to a regular crowd of local fishermen who found the area so convenient they could even fish on workdays, putting in a few hours on the water either before or after work.
I made some phenomenal trips out of Bayou Bienvenue, and have memories permanently etched in my mind of trout in the 5- and 6-pound class tearing up our topwater baits and inhaling our MirrOlure 52s we trailed behind the boat in the MRGO.
And then everything changed. The MRGO was dammed off at Hopedale, stopping the main saltwater flow into the area, and we all wondered what the fallout would be on the fishing. Throw in a couple storms, the BP debacle, the spillway opening, the Seabrook closure and “the Great Wall of China” built across the MRGO in Chalmette, and you had a recipe for the total destruction of the Chalmette fishery as we knew it. Saline levels plummeted, fish got hard to find and all those regular fishermen looked for other places to fish. We all wondered whether the fishery would survive.
Well, you can wonder no more because Bayou Bienvenue is back! Like the fabled Phoenix that rose from the ashes, the action has turned on and remains unabated.
Jimmy Dixon Jr., owner of Bait Inc., on Paris Road in Chalmette (504-277-3755), says he was holding his breath there for a while, waiting to see if the area would rebound.
“The fishing got real slow for quite a while, and we sure weren’t selling much bait, so things looked pretty grim,” he said. “And then it was like Mother Nature turned on a switch, and the fish just showed up all over.
“Speckled trout and reds and flounder, and some white trout, drum, sheepshead — it’s been great.”
Dixon also arranged a fishing trip for me into the vastly changed area with his former son-in-law, Wayne Ferry. Ferry is one of the die-hard locals who fishes exclusively out of Bayou Bienvenue, is intimately familiar with the area, and he welcomed me aboard his 17-foot G-3 on a recent excursion. We loaded the baitwell with some live shrimp, and headed down Bayou Bienvenue through the locks and then across to the ICW.
“I made a lot of trips out here with Mr. Jimmy Dixon Sr., before he passed away, and he really taught me everything I know about fishing the area,” Ferry said, as we motored into the marsh off the ICW. “Just about everything I do and every spot I fish are the places he brought me and taught me to fish, so they must be great areas because they’re still productive.”
He slowed the boat well before the area he wanted to fish and slowly nudged the bow onto the shore, just enough to hold us without having to drop anchor or stick a pole. A good current was flowing, and Ferry pointed toward the middle of the no-name passage we’d just motored through.
“Use live shrimp about 3 feet under a cork, and cast into the middle,” he said. “The water is about 6 feet deep here, so if they don’t hit under the cork we’ll try the bottom.
“I’m mostly a live-bait fisherman, and as the winter weather begins to set in, I’ll switch from fishing live shrimp to live minnows, and I’ll usually fish them on a plain jighead on the bottom.”
Within minutes, our corks disappeared, and we both had trout on the line. Some hits were as aggressive as spring and summer bites, while others almost seemed lazy, like when those bait-stealing pinfish and needlefish nibble at your shrimp. In fact, the needlefish were out in force, and they kept us busy trying to keep our bait from them, but at the same time, trout were in the mix, and occasionally what we took for one was the other. One good thing was that these were pretty decent-sized fish, and very few of the trout had to be measured.
“They’re right here where I left them yesterday,” Ferry said, as he reeled in yet another respectable trout.
Wayne’s World
Ferry has his own boat, and he has a job that gives him a week or so off at a time, so he can trailer his boat anywhere to fish. But he chooses to fish almost exclusively out of Bayou Bienvenue. Why?
“Because it’s so convenient,” he said. “I can spend my time fishing rather than driving all over in my truck trailering my boat from one place to another, and because I know the area pretty good and can usually always find some fish out here somewhere.”
Ferry has a cadre of local buddies — Mike Ohler, Joey Jeanfreau, and a few others — who make the area their home ground as well.
Some of his favorite winter hotspots include:
1) The “Running Water” spot, actually the mouth of a big washout at the MRGO, past the mouth of Bayou Villere and at the junction of Bayou Ducros.
“Mr. Jimmy showed me this spot and gave it the name ‘Running Water,’ because it always seemed to have a good current even when nowhere else did,” said Ferry. “He said if the water isn’t moving here, forget it, because it isn’t moving anywhere else out here.
“We caught a lot of fish here together, and it’s still a great spot. The trout are at the mouth, and I just nudge the bow up on the shore and fish either under a cork or on bottom, with live shrimp or minnows, depending on what’s available at the bait shop.
“I actually prefer fishing with minnows in the winter. Just hook them through the eyes and fish a plain hook or jighead. Just throw them out there, and if there’s fish around they’ll find them.”
There are often redfish hanging along the bank nearby in the pond, but Ferry cautions anglers to avoid running back into the big washout because it’s very shallow in the back.
“There is a channel back there, but if you don’t know where it is, you shouldn’t run in that washout,” he said.
2) The deep turns in Bayou Ducros.
“The bayou makes several hard turns and the water is deep there, so those are great spots to nudge your bow ashore and fish along the drop-offs and on the bottom,” he said. “Again, live bait, either shrimp or minnows, is the ticket.
“Fish on a plain jighead or a Carolina rig.”
3) The MRGO at the pipeline crossing. Ferry says this area has a little bit of it all — both deep and shallow water — and it can hold both reds and trout.
“Fish the bank for reds and the mouth for specks, both under a cork and on the bottom,” he said.
4) The Castle. According to Ferry, there are several areas to work a bait around the old Martello Castle, which is now little more than a pile of brick rubble.
“Most people just anchor or troll around the Castle and fish under a cork with live baits or plastics, and sometimes the trout are stacked up out there,” he said. “Others work baits behind the jetty, usually on the lake side of the MRGO, and you can catch trout and reds there.
“Or you can anchor somewhere between the jetty and the Castle, and fish the bottom. There’s usually a lot of current flowing through there, so you’ll need some heavy weight to get your bait all the way to the bottom.”
5) Bayou Bienvenue at Lake Borgne.
“I mostly fish here about 3 feet under a cork with live bait. Toss into the current,” said Ferry. “It’s one of those spots where they’re either there or they’re not.
“Give it 15 minutes or so — at least enough time to work the area — and if nothing’s happening, move on.”
6) The ICW at the shell pile. A perennial hotspot, especially in winter. While we were fishing in the pond, Ferry got a call from Mike Ohler who was fishing the shellpile and catching bigger trout. So we moved and anchored nearby, and tossed our baits up toward the bank. The bottom drops off pretty steeply, and fish tend to hang along the ledges. I tossed a live shrimp on a Carolina rig, and almost immediately caught a nice trout. Minutes later, Ferry followed suit.
The drawback in the ICW is the constant boat and barge traffic, but the fish are apparently used to it and the action stayed constant until I had to leave.
7) The no-name ponds off the ICW.
“The water is pretty shallow in these ponds, so you don’t want to venture into them on a low tide or with a boat that draws a lot of water,” he said. “This area is good on milder days and when there’s water in the marsh.
“Fish about 2 feet under a cork with live shrimp or minnows.”
8 and 9) Three Island Bayou and Bayou Thomas at Lake Borgne.
“Nudge ashore or anchor and fish the bottom,” said Ferry. “You can also try a cork up close to the bank and points.”
10) The Hot Water Canal.
“This is a winter favorite for a lot of people, but to be honest, I don’t usually fish it,” he said. “It’s usually pretty crowded, the bottom is littered with debris near the mouth and I’d just rather fish elsewhere.
“But many anglers do it regularly and obviously catch fish there.”
11) The Locks at Bayou Bienvenue. Again, not one of Ferry’s favorites but a long-time hotspot in the area. Jimmy Dixon Jr. says to fish it under a sliding cork set about 10 or 11 feet deep, with live shrimp or minnows.
“You’re liable to catch anything there — reds, drum, specks, white trout, sheepshead, croaker,” he said.
12) The Wall.
“When it gets cold, the Wall gets productive,” said Ferry. “Fish the Violet side of it, on the bottom and you can try under a cork.”
The trout were biting, but I had to make a short day of it, so we pulled anchor and headed back to the dock. We had more than 30 nice trout in the box.
Not bad for a short morning trip, close to home and a quick boat ride.
Yep, Bayou Bienvenue is back!
Destination Information
Directions: From downtown New Orleans, take I-10 east to I-510 south/Paris Rd. Stay on I-510 until it crosses the bridge and becomes Paris Rd. Look for the marinas on your left.
Three launch sites on Paris Road provide immediate access to the area:
The Gulf Outlet Marina (504-277-9980), located behind the Casino/Motel; The Friendly Fisherman Bait Shop next door has live and dead bait.
The Bayou Bienvenue Marina/Bait, Inc. (504-277-3755); live and dead bait.
Claudia and Stanley’s (the old Eddie pinto’s); backdowns only.
Maps. Nevalost #10, Standard Aerial Map #10
