When the mercury in the thermometer virtually disappears and vicious north winds turn normally navigable bays into giant mudflats, intrepid anglers might still find some of the best redfish action all year.
“Windy conditions make it tough to fish the big open waters,” said Bobby Beroular, a longtime guide for Bourgeois Fishing Charters (504-341-5614, www.neworleansfishing.com) in Barataria. “In January, we get those north or northwest winds that shove all the water out the marsh and stir up the silt. When the wind gets really bad, we try to find places out of the wind with some cleaner, deeper water.”
Redfish can tolerate cold weather better than most other species, but they can’t survive without water. Just a slight change in water levels could make a huge difference in marshes typically less than three feet deep at high tide. When the north wind wails its cold, angry screams and drives water southward, redfish and other marine creatures must find deeper refuges.
“When the wind blows and the weather turns nasty, redfish hunker down in any deeper water close to ponds or marshes that drained out,” said Mike Frenette, who owns Redfish Lodge of Louisiana (504-782-0924, www.laredfish.com) at Venice Marina. “In the winter, I especially like to find areas that have two to three feet of water that drops off to five feet deep.”
Bump the bottom
All across Louisiana, petroleum companies dug thousands of canals for oil exploration and extraction. These canals offer deeper water than surrounding ponds and marshes. During a falling tide, water pours through small drains, called trenasses, from the ponds into deeper canals and bayous. The current carries various prey creatures with it. Redfish regularly congregate in the deepest part of the drain mouth facing into the flow waiting to pounce on anything that looks edible.
“When serious cold fronts come roaring through in January and blow all the water out of the marsh, I look for drainages flowing into deeper water,” Beroular said. “When I see a little trenasse, I get into position to cast to the mouth of it. In the winter, I fish jigs super slow, just slowly bumping the bottom. The trick for fishing those conditions is to make sure to keep the bait on the bottom.”
Anglers can also fish these drains with popping cork rigs dangling artificial or natural baits. Rig it so the bait suspends just above the bottom. Toss the rig as far upstream as possible. Let the cork drift naturally downstream with the current. Sparingly, pop the cork. In many places, live shrimp become hard to obtain after December, but anglers can use dead shrimp just as effectively. With prey scarce, hungry redfish might gulp down anything.
“In the coldest part of winter, anything we chunk out that redfish can eat might work,” said Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service (337-598-4700, calcasieucharters.com), who runs a lodge on Calcasieu Lake south of Lake Charles. “Dead shrimp is a very good way to catch redfish in the winter. Crabs and cut bait are also good for tempting redfish in the winter.”
Canals provide not only deeper water, but windbreaks. When companies dug the canals, they just dumped the mud on the shoreline. In the mostly treeless marshes, these spoil banks create the only relatively high, dry ground where shrubs and small trees could grow and help block the wind. Behind these banks, anglers might find cleaner, calmer waters.
At times, though, the windward shorelines produce the best action as long as water conditions remain good. Wind currents move plankton and other small items that baitfish eat. Where baitfish gather, reds come to hunt.
For fishing deeper water, nothing beats a jighead. Keep it on the bottom. In a strong tide, use heavier jigheads. Wind can create current that alters tidal direction. That flow might push a light bait up to the surface where any lethargic redfish probably won’t bother to rise from its lair to eat it.
“The jighead size depends upon the water depth and current strength,” Frenette said. “I want my bait to get to the bottom, the quicker the better. I don’t want oversized jigheads. In places with no current, I usually start with a ¼-ounce. I might move up to a 3/8-ounce in seven feet of water or less with very little current.”
Toss jigheads into shoreline pockets or near structure edges and drag them slowly over the bottom out to the deepest spots. The jighead creates a mud trail that simulates a crab scurrying along the bottom.
Crunching crabs
Redfish love crunching crabs all year long, but with few shrimp and limited baitfish in the marshes during the winter, spot-tails feed heavily upon crabs. A plastic craw or twin-tail trailer with a dark body and blue on the claws mimics a crab.
“Generally, when the water temperatures start to go down, the bait needs to hit the bottom,” Rue said. “Make sure that the jighead hits the bottom and drag it back so that it bumps on the bottom. When it’s colder, we sometimes never even feel the fish bite. We just lift up and there’s a little bit of weight on it. In cold water, redfish are not as active or aggressive as they are during the summer. When a fish bites in the winter, wait just a bit to stick it.”
People can tip a jighead with soft-plastic or scented trailers in multitudes of color combinations, but during the winter, color rarely matters as much as placement. Just pull it across a fish’s nose. In frigid conditions, redfish hunker down in the mud to keep warm and won’t chase fast baits very far from their lairs. However, one might slurp something passing temptingly close if it can snatch it without expending too much energy.
“Redfish lay on the bottom in the winter,” Beroular said. “We sometimes catch redfish covered with leeches. The only way they are going to get leeches is off the bottom.”
Some people also sweeten jigheads and plastic with a small piece of shrimp to add flavor and aroma to artificials, but just natural bait also works. Tread a shrimp up the hook or tip a jighead with a crab chunk. In the absence of live shrimp, Gulf killifish, also called cocahoes, mud or bull minnows, make great live bait for redfish, trout and flounder during the winter.
Live cocahoes
Rig a live cocahoe on a jighead through the eyes or up through its bottom lip and out its nostril. Drag it slowly a couple feet along the bottom, then let it rest for a while. Repeat. Don’t add any action. Just the squirming fish provides enough enticement for any cold, hungry redfish.
“Cocahoes are a great choice for live bait in the winter because the marsh doesn’t hold many shrimp at that time,” Beroular recommended. “A cocahoe looks like a small mullet and redfish love mullets. Cocahoes are tough and stay alive much longer than a shrimp, even in a bucket that’s not aerated.”
In deeper holes, fish a live cocahoe on a Carolina rig so it can swim more freely. Anglers can also dangle minnows under corks. Let the cork drift along a weedy shoreline, jetty or other structure.
“We typically fish cocahoes on a kahle hook under a cork,” Beroular said. “I position my boat so I can cast with the wind to my back and let the rig drift down the shoreline. In the winter, we don’t have to be really active with the cork. Just throw it out and let it sit. Give it a little twitch every now and then. With a cocahoe, give the redfish time to swallow it. Sometimes, reds just come up and slap it. We need to feel the fish on the line before setting the hook.”
Points also create windbreaks that hold redfish, especially in deeper canals. Water stacks up on the windward side, but the leeward remains relatively calm. Redfish usually position themselves on the leeward side just behind the point tip. They face into the flow watching for anything that looks delicious and ambush it.
“Points are always good places to fish for redfish,” Rue said. “The wind creates current around the point. Bait gets pushed against the points and swept around them. As we approach a point, I start on the windy side and throw up against the windy bank right at the point, especially if current is going around that point.”
Toss a popping cork laden with natural bait to the windward side and let it drift around the point. After rounding the point, let the cork drift naturally along the shoreline. Try to keep it as close to the grass or structure as possible. As it slowly drifts, a popping cork rig will keep bait in the strike zone longer.
Fortunately, many companies sell excellent winter gear that can keep people warm, dry and comfortable, despite the wind. Remember the old saying, “A bad day fishing still beats a good day working!” Sometimes, the best fishing can come on the worst days.
Chiller killer:
Dealing with hypothermia
Hypothermia occurs when a body’s core temperature drops too low and impairs body functions. It can occur even at temperatures well above 40 degrees.
Water exacerbates the situation by dissipating heat away from the body. If someone falls into the water or gets splashed with heavy spray, that shocks the body and it begins cooling. People start shivering, the body’s first attempt to warm itself. Teeth chattering follows and people slur their words. They become disoriented and can’t do simple functions adequately.
First, get that person out of the wet clothing and into something dry and warm as soon as possible. With the body unable to warm itself, victims need external heat. This could come from a heater, hot liquids or direct skin-to-skin contact with an unaffected person.
“People who go fishing in the winter need to be conscious of what the weather’s doing,” said Bobby Beroular. “They need to bring extra clothes in case something happens. I always carry extra clothing in case a customer didn’t bring enough or gets wet.”
As soon as possible, get that person into a heated vehicle or shelter and out of the wind. Away from a vehicle or building, make a fire if possible. The person might feel exhausted and drowsy, but don’t let the victim sit still or lie down. Keep the person moving. Don’t let the person drink alcohol because that slows a body’s ability to warm itself.
Treated early, victims recover quickly with no ill effects. If not treated, hypothermia could result in death.
