Cobia, bull reds, slot reds and catfish all part of a great day’s catch
Capt. Sal Gagliano of Southeast Charters (504-782-7593) pulled up within trolling distance of a satellite rig south of Venice on Wednesday morning.
“They have been here for the last week,” he said confidently.
That was all Bassmaster Elite pro and Sportsman TV host Greg Hackney of Gonzales had to hear.
Although the seas were rough, Hackney was on the deck running to put Capt. Sal’s jig exactly where instructed.
Sportsman TV producer Jared Serigne’ hustled to get his camera rolling in time to capture Hackney’s first hookset.
“He’s on!” Hackney said.
Suddenly, his line slacked, and Hackney was immediately disappointed.
Not to worry though, Capt. Gagliano had another rod ready, and Hackney had a new fish on in no time.
With his drag screaming and rod in a huge arch, the angler had quite a battle on his hands.
A few minutes later, Hackney stood on the deck showing off a 28-pound cobia (ling, lemonfish.)
Another cobia was taken on an adjacent satellite rig just a little north of the initial location.
“Only in Venice,” Hackney said when considering targeting the next species of choice – bull reds.
And it didn’t take long for Gagliano to motor over to a cut on the east portion of a channel tributary at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Fishing a series of slicks varying in size and running parallel to the channel, Hackney had a huge red on a Strike King Red Eye Shad.
“Ohhh, it’s a good ‘un,” Hackney said as his drag screamed again and Serigne’ filmed the action.
Once the 30-inch bull was netted and onboard, photos were taken with Hackney’s trademark grin on full display.
“You just can’t beat the fishing in Venice,” Hackney said. “There ain’t no fooling around when these fish hit. Just about everything swimming out here puts on a huge bite and a heckuva fight!”
A little later, Gagliano himself hooked onto another 30-incher.
“Booyah, we struck gold,” he said.
Serigne’ finally put the camera down and got into the action with some fine slot reds taken along the roseaus in the river.
“This is so much fun out here,” Serigne’ said. “Let’s see, we caught a huge cobia, bull reds, slot reds and catfish. I just love the action and diversity.”
According to Gagliano, the Venice bull red bite, the cobia action and the delightful lagniappe of huge tripletail will continue until November.
Cobia will range 15- to 70- pounds near the satellite rigs, and Venice’s famed bull reds can run upwards of 40 pounds.
Some of Venice’s best inside and outside fishing is heating up, and now’s the time to plan your adventure.
But if you can’t make a trip, at least you’ll be able to see all the action on Sportsman TV in the near future. Stay tuned.
