Tune into the forecast a few days before your trip, guide says
Although it’s not as front-laden as January and February, December sees more than its fair share of hard cold fronts. That can make fishing tough, but the key to overcoming the fronts is to pay attention to the conditions prior to your trip, according to Lafitte guide Capt. Theophile Bourgeois.
“The biggest thing a person can do for the month of December to help them be productive if they’re an artificial fisherman is pay attention to the predominant wind three days prior to their trip,” he said.
Bourgeois said it’s not a problem if the winds are up, but it’s important they’re out of the same direction.
“If it’s blowing out the northwest, you want to go to the northwest,” he said. “If the winds flip-flops from the south to north or north to south, stay home. But if you can get three days of continuous, steady wind out the same direction, it’s the best fishing in the world.”
Bourgeois is a soft-plastic enthusiast. He almost never brings live or dead shrimp on his boat, and he loves throwing a Yum soft plastic on a ¼-ounce jighead to the redfish. However, if temperatures increase, he makes sure to try a Bomber Drumbeater spinnerbait.
“When it warms up a little bit, I do like throwing spinnerbaits if they accept it,” he said. “If you visually see redfish and you throw at them and they refuse it, put it back in the tackle box and go back to chunking plastic.”
When he’s using spinnerbaits, Bourgeois particularly likes using the Bomber Drumbeater.
“It’s a No.4 blade, which has a lot of vibration,” he said. “If the fish are really spooky, it’s probably going to hurt you. If the fish are aggressive, and it warms up and they want to start eating, it’s a plus.”
Throw more bait. Bourgeois said you can especially load up on redfish if you have the stinky stuff this time of year.
“If you want to just catch fish in the month of December, hit your (cuts) on a low tide,” he said. “If it’s going to be low tide, find some deep cuts, and shrimp under a cork is no doubt the most productive way if you want to get numbers.”
