Redfish time in the Calcasieu Estuary! Bull reds come into the estuaries in the fall to spawn.
“In late summer and early fall, big bulls come in closer to shore to spawn,” said Tommy Adams of Fishing Tom Guide Service (318-675-9114, FishingTom.net) in Sulphur. “When bulls come in to spawn near the jetties and along the beach, we see pelicans and seagulls diving. Some schools will have hundreds or thousands of bull redfish, all bigger than 27 inches.”
South of Lake Charles, marshes dominate much of the eastern and southern shorelines of Calcasieu Lake, known locally as Big Lake. The East Cove Unit of Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge preserves nearly 15,000 acres of marshes in this area.
Several bayous flow from these marshes into Big Lake. Unfortunately, weirs block the bayou mouths, but tides still flow through gates. Anglers can always fish the lakeside of the weirs. At times, boaters can pass through the gates to fish the marshes.
Finger mullets
During a recent trip with Adams and Hayden Hoffpauir, we fished behind the weirs. First, Hoffpauir threw a cast net for fresh mullet.
On the marshy side, water flowed furiously through the gate with an incoming tide. When the tide flows through these weirs, big redfish congregate to eat whatever comes along with the flow. Other boats worked crab lines or threw cast nets for shrimp.
“I like to fish near people casting nets for shrimp because that’s indicative of where the shrimp are,” Adams said. “Where shrimp are is where fish want to be.”
The big redfish wanted live mullets. We tossed finger mullets about 3 to 8 inches long into the flow. On each cast, we almost instantly hooked up with massive redfish. We landed several, including some exceeding 27 inches.
“When three people each get hooked up with bull redfish at the same time with fish going in all different directions, we must dance and weave out of each other’s way,” Adams said. “That gets exciting!”
We also fished the jetties at Calcasieu Pass. When we hooked a fish, sharks grabbed them. Ladyfish inhaled our baits on almost every cast. I even caught several ladyfish on bare jigheads.
“We lose a lot of gear to sharks,” Adams said. “A couple big ones passed the boat, but most of the sharks were about 24 to 30 inches long.”
Keeper trout
Moving into fall, fishing should continue to improve. As water cools, redfish, trout, drum, flounder and sheepshead become more active. Flounder will start their fall migrations. Shrimp will move from the estuary to the Gulf. When shrimp migrate, everything follows. Look for diving birds or shrimp flicking on the surface.
The Calcasieu Estuary holds an enormous population of undersized trout, but many in the 13- to 20-inch range. Of course, the estuary can still produce specks exceeding 8 pounds.
“For big specks, I look for points and places with strong tidal flow,” Adams said. “Trout won’t stay in the strong flow. They get in the little eddies off the points just outside of the flow waiting to ambush any bait passing the point.”
To fish those points, Adams recommends throwing a ¼-ounce jighead with a Down South (www.downsouthlures.com) or Chickenboy Lures (chickenboylures.com) soft-plastic trailer in shrimp colors, like white or bone, with a chartreuse paddle-tail or live shrimp under a cork.
