Fall + Cocodrie = trout and redfish
Some equations are simple common sense, and for fall trout anglers, Cocodrie makes plenty of sense because it produces many trout.
“The trout season down here already kicked off in September,” according to long-time Cocodrie Charter Captain Mike Ledet (985-790-1044).
Ledet spends a lot of time on the water, and he said anglers had a long, tough summer finding trout, but the specks showed up in September and by now the season is shifting into full gear.
“We have great fall action throughout the Cocodrie area,” he said. “It starts up in September in Madison Bay and Lake Boudreaux, when the camps out there start catching trout at night under the lights. That’s when we know they’re on the move, transitioning from the outside bays into the inside.
“That action started up weeks ago, and now the trout have moved in all the up to Lake Chein into the Montegut area. Shrimp are jumping in the marsh canals: I see them as we run through them, so I know there are trout chasing them.”
He said the rocks and weirs in Bush Canal, along Placid Canal and Bayou Little Calliou are all good places to wet a line.
For bait, Ledet uses 2½-inch cocohoes in the motor oil color or H&H beetles, tight-lined on a 1/8-ounce jighead, or you can fish them under popping corks.
“I downsize my bait just a little bit in the fall to match the hatch, because the shrimp they’re feeding on are a bit smaller,” he said.
But October isn’t just about trout fishing in Cocodrie.
“Reds start moving into the deeper holes in the Montegut area, and places like Bayou Dufrene, Bayou Barre, Slip Camp Canal, Bayou Terrebonne and the Lapeyrouse Canal all hold some nice reds from now on till the end of the year,” Ledet said. “The bonus is you’ll also catch sheepshead, drum and white trout in the same spots.”
The captain said dead shrimp on the bottom is the best bait.
“There are many places to launch your boat so you can have a short run to your favorite fishing spots,” he said. “Sportsman’s Marina, Tradewinds, Co-Co Marina, Harbor Light, Sharkeys, Terry Lapeyrouse’s (are) all great places to put your boat in the water.”