Sometimes a little vertical lift is all that’s needed to turn finicky tuna into ravenous hordes.
A lot of people don’t have a lot of faith in the Ship Shoal rigs for trout this time of year, but Capt. Bill Lake of Bayou Guide Service (985-851-6015) reports there is a bunch of fish around the platforms in the 26 and 28 blocks. “I’ve been fishing there the past two or three weeks,” he said. “The best trout bite has been on the limestone and shell pads surrounding the satellite rigs rather than the big structures. Fourteen to 16 fet of water has been most productive.”
These trout are ranging anywhere from 14 to 22 inches.
“Some days we’re catching 14- to 16-inch fish, and some days we’re catching 16- to 22-inch fish,” Lake reported. “The size of fish can also change with the structure you’re fishing. Some structures give up only 12- to 14-inch fish, while others will give up 16-, 18- and even 20-inch fish on the same day.”
Carolina-rigging live croakers has been the most productive tactic around the rigs. While the fish will eat plastics on some days, Lake said you better not leave the dock without some croakers.
“We could only catch on plastics (LSU Chub) this past Tuesday,” Lake said. “But the next day, they wouldn’t touch it, so we had to go with the live bait. There is a bunch of fish on the structures, but they’re kind of temperamental. Just don’t go out without the croakers. That way you won’t come home empty-handed.”
Lake said he’s also expecting another spawn in September because the trout he’s catching have been full of eggs.
“They’ll also start making a push back inside toward the end of September,” he added. “I haven’t seen a big push yet. There are a lot of fish inside, but they’re all 10- and 11-inch fish that have been there all summer. The fish will certainly be back inside by the first week of October.”