Ideal tidal ranges point to good fishing this weekend.
The beaches, inshore islands, and reefs around Grand Isle were hit or miss for many fishermen this past weekend (June 30-July1) despite high expectations fueled by calm weather following many weekends of dismal fishing conditions.
But, as it turned out, the window of time to capitalize on beach fishing was short lived. Capt. Keith Herk Bergeron said.“We had 96 trout by 8:45 on Saturday,” Bergeron said. “We had to get out there early to catch the end of high tide.
“A big part of catching trout on the beach is knowing where to go and when the tide is moving.”
Bergeron found his mess of trout on the eastern side of Grand Terre.
“I put live croakers under a 16-inch Carolina rig, hooking them 1 inch from the tail above the back line.” Bergeron said. “This helps the croaker swim through the water in a more natural fashion.”
Capt. Greg Strocher with Easy to See Fishing Charters said he uses shrimp and cocahoe minnows as his bread-and-butter live bait.
“The last trip I went on, I bounced around those wellheads due north of the eastern point of Grand Isle in Barataria Bay, and lost all of my shrimp on small trout,” Strocher said. “Once I switched to cocahoes the larger trout started hitting.”
The wellheads in Barataria offer fishing protection from a westerly wind.
Another area that helps fishermen get out of any unfavorable wind conditions is old East Timbalier Island where the radio tower used to be; it offers protection from a northeastern wind.
Regardless of choosing to hit the front or back of Grand Isle this weekend (July 6-8); the tidal coefficient already peaked during the week, and the moon will be falling from its full phase. That means tidal ranges will still be around 1 foot, which should yield good trout numbers for the avid fisherman.
Click here to check the tide charts in your area, while detailed weather forecasts can be found here.
