Local guide hopes successful trip is a sign of what’s to come
Vince Theriot wanted water conditions to get right before sampling the saltwater fishing on the Mermentau River above Grand Chenier.
After waiting months this year, the Coastal Guide Service owner took his new Haynie 24 High Output to one of his favorite fishin’ holes in late August. The speckled trout weren’t there, yet, but the redfish definitely were accounted for to give him hopes of a great September and October of saltwater fishing along the upper Mermentau River.
The Grand Chenier native explained why he focused on Calcasieu Lake for most of this year before turning his attention in late summer to the river below Catfish Locks.
The Mermentau River’s upper reaches were teeming with redfish and speckled last summer and fall during the prolonged and drastic drought. Fishing success was phenomenal. Fast forward to 2024: Early and frequent heavy rains in late spring and summer this year kept the water fresh in that region and, as a result, redfish and speckled trout stayed away.
“The Catfish Locks stayed open and all the rainwater in the early part of the year totally flushed the Mermentau River system. Now the locks are closed,” Theriot said on Aug. 30, the day after he and his brother caught two limits of redfish while also boating and releasing many more. It was his first river outing since January.
Finding and catching redfish up there in late summer, finally, encouraged him and fueled expectations about speckled trout moving far upriver, too, to join the redfish.
Targeting trout
Theriot, 65, said speckled trout fishing should be good in October between the Catfish Locks and upper Mud Lake along points and bends of the Mermentau River.
To catch speckled trout, the veteran charter boat captain said he’ll cast a lime light or shrimp creole Matrix Shad on a 1/8-ounce leadhead and tightline. He also offers the speckled trout a Vudu Wedgetail in various colors.
He plans to target ledges and sandy flats in upper Mud Lake areas, particularly around Little Pecan Bayou. Look for baitfish, he advised, and the presence of brown shrimp.
Theriot, who retired in April 2021 as an offshore installation manager for Hess Corp., said the average size of the speckled trout should be 13-plus inches long due to the proliferation of brown shrimp in the river at the time of his report.
Expect to hook up with beaucoup 18- and 19-inch long redfish, he said, mixed with 23- to 25-inch long reds. He and his brother released several of the latter on that trip Aug. 29.
“They’re all good eatin’ (size) redfish now,” he said.
