According to Capt. Ryan Vincent of Reel Cajun Fishing (504-442-5636), fishing action picks up in April and just gets better each month all the way through fall in Lafitte.
Vincent is the nephew of the late, long-time Lafitte area Captain John Pounders III, who died of a sudden heart attack in December. I had the privilege of fishing with Pounders on numerous occasions over the last 25 years, and often also along with his dad, “Papa John.”
I was certainly saddened to learn of Pounders’ death, but glad to hear his charter legacy would continue out of the same location by his nephew and his dad.
Vincent said it was his uncle who got him started in the charter business over a dozen years ago, and his take on the prospects of a productive month of fishing are good!
“This month I’ll focus on hunting redfish in all the duck ponds as long as there’s enough water to get in them,” Vincent said. “I’ll target shorelines, points, cuts, coves, up alongside grass, and anywhere I see bait activity.”
Reds start to show
Vincent said reds will also start showing up this month along shorelines of Bay Round, Bayou Dupont, 3 Bayou Bay, Bay Long and the marshes on the south side of Little Lake. He said he’ll fish the various points and cuts and grasslines, and he will focus more on the windblown shorelines than the lee sides.
“The wind and waves push the bait up against those windblown sides, so that’s where the fish will hunt, and for bait I’ll toss dead shrimp about 18” under a popping cork, or Vudu shrimp in the natural colors with a chartreuse tail,” he said.
Vincent said you’ll probably need to move a lot to catch your fish because they tend to be scattered all over.
“You won’t often find them all schooled up in April so you have to hit and move,” he said. “Fish a point or cut, if nothing is happening, move, and repeat. You’ll find them but you’ll have to work for them.”
He also said trout start showing up in the bigger bays and lakes by mid-April.
“I love to run farther south later this month and check for the speckled trout action that begins out in Barataria Bay and Creole Bay, Hatchet Bay, Bay Rambo and in Hackberry Bay along the broken islands and platforms,” he said.
Tides matter
Vincent said the tides do matter.
“I prefer to fish trout on falling tides, but any tide will do as long as it’s moving, and reds aren’t particular,” he said. “For reds, on higher tides, I’ll fish the marsh ponds, and on lower, falling tides I’ll fish drains and cuts from the marsh. You just vary where you fish.
“For trout, the biggest factor this month is the winds. Obviously you don’t want to run out into the big bays on days with big winds, so choose the best days or just stay in the marshes and inside waters.”
