Falling tide “clogs up” the drains with fish
Although the month of February is looked down on by a lot of South Louisiana anglers, Capt. Kris Robert finds great success fishing this time of year. Speckled trout and redfish can be plentiful, and for the latter, he fishes the marshes off the Intracoastal Waterway near Chef Pass.
Robert focuses a lot on cuts in the marsh where the water falls out to catch redfish.
“I’m looking for drains,” he said. “We had a huge influx of 15 ½-inch redfish about 4 months ago, and now if you fish the drains off the Intracoastal like Bayou Platte, it’s now those 16-inch redfish. Perfect sized redfish.
“There are an abundance of redfish out there right now.”
Robert likes to bounce around from one cut to the next until he finds the redfish and one of the key elements is a certain tide direction.
“I would rather a falling tide because it is dragging everything out of the marsh,” he said. “If you get somewhere where everything is draining, they’re going to be there.”
Bright colors
As far as lures, Robert prefers the Matrix Shad line of baits on a 5/16-ounce Goldeneye jighead. A lot of anglers prefer natural-colored baits, but this time of year, Robert likes bright colors that stand out — specifically the lemon head and pink champagne colors. He feels like the fish are bulking up in the winter.
“If I throw a pink or a lemon head in there, it’s something that’s going to show a bunch of colors to them, and they’re going to feed on it,” he said.
If trout are also a species you’re wanting to catch, Robert recommends fishing Geoghegan Canal. He fishes the ledges and flats in there with 3/8-ounce Goldeneye jigheads. Not only does this place produce trout, but anglers can expect some really nice fish.
“The fish are going to be way bigger,” he said. “Those are the fish that stay here.”
This area can get jammed up with boats, and the effect that has is dictated by the actions of the anglers around you.
“If you’ve got a lot of people who don’t know what they’re doing, like someone who just pulls up and throws the anchor, that’s going to stir up everything.,” Robert said. “But if you have someone who pulls up and gets on the trolling motor and doesn’t drag that anchor through there, (it’s fine).”
