As summer gives way to fall, southcentral Louisiana’s specks get the signal it’s time to invade the bait-rich waters near the shore.
The argument about whether to use live bait or artificial will rage the next couple of days, but the simple fact is that some big trout are biting all across Southeast Louisiana from Lake Pontchartrain down to Venice and over to Bayou DuLarge.
In Lake Pontchartrain, trout up to 5 pounds are showing up along the trestle with a few on the L&N Bridge. While artificials may pick up a few 16-inch trout in Pontchartrain, it’s best to leave the fake stuff alone if you’re looking for a big-shouldered momma.
Recent reports have the really big trout moving a little bit, though, so if you don’t get bit at your favorite piling, try moving around to see if you can relocate the fish. And many of the best big-fish anglers on the lake say it’s especially important to be quiet and troll up on the fish rather than run right up to them and shut down.
Big trout have turned their noses at the live shrimp near Slidell, and they are focusing more on live 3- to 4-inch croakers fished on a Carolina rig. Don’t even bother if the tide isn’t moving, and if the wind is from the west, you might as well stay home. The best times are at the end of the falling tide and right at the beginning of a rising tide.
Moving south a little toward Hopedale and Pointe a la Hache, 4-pound trout are showing up in Breton Sound. Like Lake Pontchartrain, these big trout are hammering live croakers on the ends of Carolina rigs.
Artificials are working just as well as live bait in the Venice area. Purple/gold plastics seem to be working best, with many fish reportedly coming on the LSU Bayou Chub.
The close platforms on the east side of the Mississippi are producing some of the largest trout. Carolina-rigged croakers are working well, but many anglers are getting by with artificials like the Bayou Chubs and Sand Eels.
Around Buras, Capt. John Taylor is reporting that some good trout are biting pogies and shrimp over the oyster reefs in the outer bays about the first 45 minutes into a slack tide.
Down on DuLarge, Capt. Bill Lake’s crews have also been working on the big trout with Carolina-rigged live croakers. Lake reported such fast action that several trout were following fish that he and his crew were pulling over the side of his boat.
We all know these big trout can be mighty fickle, but the fact is there are some good fish biting right now. You might not catch them every time you go, so put in enough time on the water to see what happens. You never know until you go.
