Golden Meadow reds bite despite wind

As much as Capt. Chad Dufrene (985-637-6357) would like to get to the trout along the coast below Golden Meadow, the wind just isn’t letting him do it right now. That’s all right with him, though, because the redfish in the ponds are keeping him busy while he waits for the winds to lie.

“I just got back from a redfish trip,” said Dufrene as he was hanging up his fillet knife for the day. “We don’t have any place to hide out of Golden Meadow, so when the wind blows we have to move to the ponds and target reds.”

In two days of fishing for redfish in the ponds west and northwest of Catfish Lake, Dufrene and his customers have caught 58 and 66 fish, respectively. These reds were anywhere from 1 pound to 8 pounds, and the bite has been as good as Dufrene could ever recall.

“They’ll eat a live minnow under a popping cork,” he continued, “but I had some guys today who were bass fishermen, and they wanted to throw spinnerbaits. I tied on a few Bayou Buck ZZ Spot Spinners, and those guys couldn’t beat the redfish off of it. We put those spinnerbaits to the test today, and that strong wire held up well.”

All Dufrene and his crew had to do to get bit was to drop the trolling motor near a bank and start chunkin’ and windin’. The best ponds were the clear-water ponds with grass.

“We were catching them two, three and four at a time,” Dufrene added. “We took along some minnows in case we had to resort to them, but that didn’t happen today. You might want to take some live bait, though, in case they turn off the spinner. Get it out there under a cork, and you won’t miss a beat.”

When he has been able to get out to Lake Barre, Timbalier Bay and Lake Raccourci, Dufrene has found the trout to be thick. A glow/chartreuse ReAction Bayou Chub fished on a tightline has been working best for him.

“In the last 10 trips I’ve gone on for trout, we’ve limited in nine of them,” Dufrene said. “This isn’t Venice, though, so we don’t have any place to hide. When the wind gets up, it’s either the reds in the ponds or nothing.”

And Dufrene will take reds on the inside over nothing any day of the week. He recommended anglers bring a good supply of spinners and spoons along with the live bait for insurance.

It’s no problem catching reds in Golden Meadow right now. Just don’t stay in one place too long.

“Keep moving and you’ll get them,” Dufrene concluded.

About Chris Ginn 778 Articles
Chris Ginn has been covering hunting and fishing in Louisiana since 1998. He lives with his wife Jennifer and children Matthew and Rebecca along the Bogue Chitto River in rural Washington Parish. His blog can be found at chrisginn.com.