The jighead tipped with a soft-plastic trailer plopped into the water about a foot from a long row of rocks lining this waterway.
The curled tail of the plastic danced in the water as the lure slowly disappeared into the murky depths. It didn’t go far. Before it touched bottom, a large spot-tailed predator inhaled the offering and raced to the depths fighting against the drag.
Most Louisiana saltwater anglers envision chasing redfish in shallow, marshy ponds. Grassy shorelines certainly provide good action, but during temperature extremes, redfish go deeper. Look for reds on the rocks!
“When the weather gets warmer, redfish tend to go a little deeper,” said Jimmy LaCross, who guides for Bourgeois Fishing Charters (504-341-5614, www.neworleansfishing.com) in Barataria. “In August, redfish won’t be up in the shallow ponds. This area has many canals with rocks along the shorelines. From April through September, we’ll fish lots of rocks. Rocks attract bait because small creatures have so many places to hide. Little fiddler crabs crawl all over the rocks. Redfish love to eat those fiddler crabs.”
Habitat for small creatures
Umpteen canals slashing across South Louisiana chopped the marshes into shreds. In addition, formerly crooked bayous and rivers became straightened and deepened navigation channels that hasten erosion. Frequent storms rip giant chunks out overnight as fragile wetlands disappear at an alarming rate.
To slow down the erosion, waterway managers placed rocks along major waterways to protect the shorelines and keep them in place. In addition, rocky jetties, such as the ones at the Mississippi River Delta passes, mark channels or help keep them open water for navigation.
“The whole Mississippi River from Empire south is all rock along both banks,” said Nash Roberts IV with Fishunter Guide Service (504-650-1918, Facebook) in Port Sulphur. “Redfish gang up around rocks in the river and jetties in the passes. August can be a great time to fish for redfish along the rocks, especially in the Mississippi River. When the freshwater level in the river drops, salty water moves farther up the channel. At that time, we catch redfish right in the river all the way up to Empire.”
Rocks, concrete blocks and other hard structures provide habitat for numerous creatures. Crabs crawl around the rocks. Small fish and shrimp hide in the nooks and crannies. Where small creatures try to hide, predators hunt. Often, anglers fishing around rocks near deeper water catch much larger redfish than one would likely find in shallow marsh ponds.
“The canals have deeper water,” said Timmy Molinere with Timmy and Terese’s Cajun Paradise Lodge (573-230-4695, Facebook) in Montegut. “Rocks in the water have barnacles growing on them. Redfish love to hang around anything with barnacles. The rocks provide lots of cover for shrimp, crabs and baitfish. That’s why redfish are there. Bigger fish move in to hunt along the rocks and eat whatever they can find.”
What to use
Baits and methods that attract redfish in the ponds would work around rocks and blocks. However, rocks and concrete don’t budge. Placing baits in the wrong spots will almost certainly result in lost tackle.
“When we fish around the rocks with a shrimp on a jighead, we lose a lot of tackle,” LaCross said. “When the fish are biting, we won’t lose that many jigheads because by the time it gets to the bottom, we already have a fish on the hook.”
Along a major river or deep canal, the bottom could drop rapidly. Even in the deepest water, anglers only see the topmost rocks above the water, but rocks could extend well out at the bottom like a pyramid, especially jetties with water on both sides. For the biggest redfish, try a Carolina rig in deeper water. Bait it with a crab half, live baitfish or fish slab.
Sinkers can wedge in crevices. Hooks catch snags. With a curved shape, smooth texture and built-in balsa floats inside the weights at the top, banana sinkers slip over jetties, rockpiles, shell beds, oysters and bank rocks. For fishing bait, attach a fluorocarbon leader to a banana sinker and tip it with a circle hook. Sweeten the hook with shrimp, a crab piece or fish chunk. Artificial bait enthusiasts can insert a hook point into a plastic enticement to make a virtually snag-proof rig. Drag it along the bottom just outside the rocks.
The strike zone
A popping cork can keep baits out of entanglements and in the strike zone longer. Set the depth so the offering hangs just above the bottom or over submerged rocks. For bait, try live or dead shrimp, crab pieces, live cocahoe minnows, small mullets, pogies, croakers or other temptations. In a place with good tidal flow or current, throw the cork upstream as far as possible. Let the current carry it parallel to the rocks.
“I fish a cork around rocks for redfish all year long,” Molinere said. “We’ll shorten the leader to about a foot. Keep the bait at least two feet away from the rocks because any closer and the rig will get hung up very quickly.
Many jetties show openings where boats can pass through without going completely around the structure. Tidal forces pouring through these cuts scour holes by both openings. Big redfish commonly drop into these holes looking into the flow waiting to snatch any succulent morsel coming toward them. Position the boat downstream from a cut and toss baits upstream so the current carries it naturally.
“We’ll usually fish cuts in the rocks with shrimp on the bottom,” LaCross said. “People can also fish with shrimp under a cork. When fishing around rocks, people need to watch where they run the boat. Some cuts look open, but when we pull up close and look underwater, we see rocks.”
Just like on a weedy shoreline, when fishing around rocks, look for something different. Perhaps one rock sticks out a bit more than the rest. Maybe several rocks make a small point or create a little pocket out of the current. Shrimp and baitfish frequently get into these little pockets.
“In late summer or early fall, I look for clean water and schools of mullet or any kind of bait activity,” Roberts said. “I also look for anything that juts out a little bit or something erratic like a rocky point. Anything different that creates a little current might hold fish.”
A reliable gold spoon
Among the oldest and still most effective lures for redfish, a gold spoon works well around rocks. Most spoons come with a bar that shields the hook from snags. Some people tip a spoon with a soft-plastic trailer for added enticement or maybe even a shrimp piece.
“Throw gold spoons up against the rocks and work them just outside the rocks,” LaCross said. “Redfish get in schools along those rocks. If we find the right schools, we can sit in one spot and catch a few redfish. The schools go up and down the rocks. After catching a few, go a little farther down the rocks and catch a few more.”
Safety-pin spinnerbaits also come with deflecting arms that help keep baits from snagging. Anglers can work a spinnerbait from the surface to the bottom. Relatively snag-free, throw spinnerbaits into crannies. Buzz them just under the surface for the first few feet.
“We use spinnerbaits with heavier wire,” LaCross said. “We’ll tip the spinnerbait with a Matrix Shad when fishing clean water. A spinnerbait will sometimes bounce off the rocks so it’s less likely to get snagged.”
Sight-fishing reds
After hitting deeper water, let the bait sink a bit. Slow-roll it just fast enough to turn the blades. If the spinnerbait hits something, pause a moment to let it sink. The blade will keep wobbling and giving off vibrations like a dying baitfish. In the deepest water, let the bait hit bottom. Then, jerk it up so it flutters down again.
“On a clear, calm day, we’ll sight-fish for redfish along the rocks,” Roberts said. “Under bluebird skies with clear, calm water, we can get up close to the rocks and look for fish. When sight-fishing, I generally throw a spinnerbait or a black and chartreuse or purple and chartreuse jig. When it’s calm enough, we get close to the rocks and throw baits parallel to the structures. One of my favorite ways to catch redfish is to throw shallow-running crankbaits parallel to the rocks. A Rat-L-Trap is another good lure to throw around the rocks.”
Topwater baits can provoke vicious strikes from redfish. Fishing topwaters around rocks requires great casting accuracy. If the lure goes too far, those treble hooks will almost certainly snag something, but floaters can stay in the strike zone longer than many other lures.
“If people can cast accurately, topwaters would be a good way to fish around the rocks because they won’t get hung up on the bottom,” LaCross said. “Someone who knows how to cast and can work a topwater bait could catch a bunch of fish.”
When fishing turns tough in the shallow ponds, say, “I’ll have mine on the rocks!”