Grand Isle action has already started
Flounder normally move out of the marshes in early fall and into more accessible waters, then they make their way into the Gulf of Mexico by December. But this year has been a little odd, and anglers at Grand Isle are thrilled by the changing in timing of a big-fish bite.
Avid angler Ulysse “Bootsie” Toups Jr. caught 24 flounder in three days in early October, fishing along Highway 1 near Grand Isle and he said many of his friends have been having similar success on big flounder.
“They usually start to show up around this time of the year — usually around October, November and December — but this year, they started a lot earlier,” said Toups, who is from Marrero. “They started off in June and July, and we were picking up a lot in September.”
“I try different stuff, but this week, it was a slow retrieve,” Toups said. “When you feel like you’re hung up, just leave it set, because he’s got it in his mouth, and he’s probably swallowing it. I give him one or two seconds, and then I set the hook.”
His favorite lure
Toups’ favorite lure for flounder is a soft-plastic Gulp! bait on a jighead, in part because of the built-in scent. He doesn’t think that color necessarily matters, but he does prefer the new penny and porgy colors.
“My friends been jigging the piers using a Tsunami swimbait,” Toups said. “Right now, the way they’ve been feeding, if you hit ‘em in the head or come close to them they’re going to hit it. You just have to be in the area where they’re at.’
Toups said reports he’s getting indicate the flounder are all over; he had a fishing buddy catch close to 30 in three days on the bridges along Highway 1. According to Toups, many of the sloughs along the highway leading to Grand Isle have been full of flounder as have piers around Caminada.
