Louisiana Sportsman takes a look at what baits are becoming hot, and why.
The stretch of water between Yellow Cotton Bay and the Buras Canal has been pretty productive for Capt. Shawn Lanier lately. Lanier, owner of Fish On Guide Service (225-205-5353) has caught some limits of trout with enough eating-sized reds to make for some nice trips.
“The river is not up as much as it was,” Lanier said, “and you can find some pockets of clean water down the river where you can catch some fish.
“I would rather spend my time fishing than running, though, and I’ve got everything I need, between the fronts that is, right here.”
Lanier has been having a lot of success fishing from a couple days after a front up to, and even on the day of, the next front. The trout, which are mainly school fish, have been giving up some easy limits, but Lanier said he’s had to work a little bit for the reds.
“The problem with the fronts is the bad water clarity and wind,” Lanier explained. “As soon as things settle down, and it warms up a bit, you can get out on the flats and just drift around. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend even getting out there before 8 a.m. or so. That gives the sun time to warm the flats.”
Lanier has been catching his trout and reds on a Tsunami soft-plastic lure. He fishes it under a cork on the warm days, but if he’s out in bad conditions, he removes the cork and fishes it on the bottom of the deeper holes like Buras Canal.
“You’ve got to fish it slowly and just drag it around down there,” Lanier explained. “And a little piece of shrimp won’t hurt anything. You’ll probably get into some sheepheads; just stay with it and you’ll get a trout or two.”
The redfish that Lanier has been catching lately have been coming from the points along the cane shorelines. He suggested anchoring on the points where you get a couple bites, so you could stay on them a while.
“Funny thing is that you can’t anchor when you’re drifting the flats for the trout,” Lanier said. “It seems like every time I put the Power Pole down, the fish turn off. If I keep drifting, I can keep catching them.”
