This is the time of year for which we’ve waited long months, when we finally get cooler weather, and short runs from the dock can result in great catches of trout and redfish.
Interior waters are looking extra promising this year because of that continual influx of saltier water brought by the steady stream of storms in the Gulf. The high water inevitably brings bait with it, and the bait attracts the fish that attract us.
Capt. Marc Fradella (985-290-2908) said he had an excellent October despite dodging storms, and November, according to him, “should be outstanding — perhaps the best month we’ve seen in years. The best part, I’m not running far from the dock to get on the action.”
Fradella said that in a good year — without the Spillway openings — great fishing usually breaks out throughout the southeastern Louisiana marshes in November, and this year the fishing should be off the charts everywhere.
“There’s some really good fishing right now very close to the launches, in Hopedale Lagoon around Ameda, also in Lake Amedee and the bayous connecting to it, and I’ve been catching some nice fish in Lena Lagoon also,” he said.
The Biloxi Marsh should teem with fish, from Stump Lagoon up in all the bays, bayous and passes, which should produce plenty fish whenever you find moving water, he said.
Bait
Fradella said the key is to find clean, moving water, especially when you see bait in the water. He prefers fishing a falling tide, but any moving water is going to produce.
“You’re also going to want to bring live bait, because the fish do get finicky, and sometimes, that’s all they’ll hit,” he said. “I do good in the fall with plastics, too, like VuDu shrimp in chartreuse, natural shrimp color or clear/red flecks, also on the curlytail Salt Water Assassins in chartreuse or clear/chartreuse and on the H&H tandem-rigged glass minnows or sparkle beetles. The trout have been gorging on shrimp and glass minnows in the marsh so if you match the hatch you’ll catch fish.”
Fradella said he’s fishing mostly about 2½ feet under a popping cork, and his tactics are simple.
“I fish around the mouths of bays and at drains into the bayous from the marsh,” he said. “I park and fish at good, flowing drains, and I like to drift in the bays until I find some fish. On windy days, I’ll fish the lee shorelines of bays with live shrimp under a cork, and with those plastics if they’ll hit them.”
