The great thing about catching trout this time of year for Captain Theophile Bourgeois (504-341-5614) is that he only has to run about 8 minutes from his dock to catch fish. The Pen and Lake Salvador are both holding trout right now, but Bourgeois said the key to catching them is that you just have to wait them out.
“Early morning is not a key thing,” said Bourgeois. “You can wait until about 9:00… for the temperature to warm up a little bit. Waiting on the water to warm up has been more productive than getting out there in the early morning.”
Bourgeois’ most productive trout bait the last few trips has been the Bass Assassin Blurp in the molting color. He’s been fishing this scented plastic very slowly under a popping cork or with a basic tightline presentation.
“The key to keep in mind is that it’s wintertime not summer,” Bourgeois went on. “Everything is slow-motion. Don’t reel fast. Even the hook-set… everything is slow-mo.”
As far as redfish are concerned out of Lafitte, Bourgeois says there are lots of reds around, but on low tides the ponds are fairly empty. He’s mainly been targeting the reds out in the bays or at the mouths of the trenasses to get back into the ponds.
“Typically on an outgoing tide, any cut will be productive,” he added. “Right now, we’re catching most of our reds on the Morning Glory and black/chartreuse Bass Assassin Sea Shads. But the molting Blurp shrimp is also working on the reds.”
Finding clear water is great, and anglers should concentrate in areas where the water looks its best because the visual thing is definitely good. However, with the wind the way it’s been the last few days; dead shrimp becomes “Plan B.”
“The thing is right now just don’t leave early,” Bourgeois concluded. “The specks in the canals have been OK, but they haven’t been on fire. And don’t be surprised if you catch some bass in some of the same areas. The other day I caught 15 bass on a shrimp under a cork in dirty, dirty water. You never know. It’s a grab-bag right now, and we’ll take whatever.”
