Stan Mathes, the Plaquemines Parish director of economic development and tourism, fished a volunteer fireman fishing rodeo last Saturday. His scorecard for the day was 64 trout and 3 redfish – not bad for fishing out of a parish that’s seen more boats chasing oil than fish in the last few weeks.
“There was a lot of open water right now out of Point a la Hache,” Mathes said, “and now there’s even more open. All the stuff out by Iron Banks, Battledore Reef and even farther out is open. And it’s close. From Beshel’s Marina, you’re only looking at a 7- to 8-mile run down the back levee canal and out into Cox Bay. Then you’re right there in Breton Sound.”
Mathes says he saw lots of birds diving and shrimp jumping during the fishing rodeo. And to top it off, he caught some quality 14- to 16-inch fish under the birds throwing just about any soft plastic he could find in his boat.
“The water is really not that bad,” he continued. “You get out there, and there might be some freshwater on top, but you get underneath that and there’s lots of good saltwater… you can see it swirling up in your prop wash.”
Mathes pointed out that the bird and shrimp activity is as good as he’s seen it since just after Hurricane Katrina. Shrimp are flipping all over the water, and the flocks of birds are really working them over. He recommended getting in front of the action and using a trolling motor to close the gap so as not to shut down the activity.
Although plastics are working well under the birds, Mathes says you can’t go wrong fishing live shrimp about 2 to 4 feet under a cork for fishing around the structures. Beshel’s has plenty bait as does Delta marina down the road a bit in Empire.
“You could certainly launch at Delta Marina,” Mathes added, “but the run out to Breton Sound is a little more complicated from there. You would need to go through the locks into the Mississippi River, go down 5 miles and go through the Ostrica Locks. It’s definitely another option, though.”
Although he hasn’t been out to the wreck recently, Mathes shared that a friend of his fished it just a few days ago, and he came back with some beautiful trout. In other words, there is plenty fishing to be had to the east of Plaquemines Parish. Just stay in touch with www.louisianasportsman.com to stay on top of fishable waters as they open and close.
A listing of Plaquemines Parish marinas can be found at www.plaqueminestourism.com. Contact Beshel’s Marina at 504-329-4827 or 985-333-4469. Contact Delta Marina at 504-657-5116 or 504-657-5207, or visit www.thedeltamarina.com.
