Capt. Keith “Herk” Bergeron said big redfish were tearing up his topwater baits at Grand Isle, and why don’t I come down and get in on the action. So the next day we launched out of Bridgeside Marina (now free of all BP personnel and operations and completely back to being a Marina) and made a 10-minute run into Caminada Bay.
Herk said the redfish were thick around the various islands, and all you had to do was find some clean water out of the wind and look for signs of bait or movement on the surface. We saw it all, and Herk crept in close to a shallow cove and we started casting our topwater baits.
“The fish are very shallow in the early mornings, in just about 2 feet of water, but they’ll move into 3 to 4 feet of water later on in the day,” he explained.
The strikes were almost immediate, and came on almost every cast. But to my surprise, it wasn’t redfish pounding the topwater lures; it was trout, and some very nice trout at that.
It’s always a thrill to see fish knock your bait clean out of the water, and topwater fishing is absolutely my favorite way to catch a fish, whether redfish or trout. And Herk said there’ll be plenty of opportunities to catch both this month before it gets cold.
“The rocks along the State Park are still producing fish, and the beach along Elmer’s Island is still producing some very nice trout,” Herk said, adding that they’ll stay there for at least the first half of this month.
“You don’t have to fish topwater baits to catch them,” he said. “They’ll hit plastics under a cork or tightlined, and they’ll eat up small minnows fished shallow about 2 feet under a cork.
“You don’t know whether you’ll get into the trout action or the redfish action, or both, until you start fishing.”
We caught both. And by the way – the bull reds are in the passes, ready to inhale your bait and stretch your line.
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Editor’s note: Bergeron can be reached at 985.860.7855.
