Forget the dead bait — just hang plastics beneath popping corks for plenty of action
We left Riverside Marina about 6:45 a.m., cutting through the ribbon of marsh on the east side of the Mississippi River and heading out the California Point.
Capt. David Miles had us back at the boat launch for 9:45 a.m., with our arms sore from battling bull reds. We already had caught about 15 submarines when a line of thunderstorms ran us in.
And hooking up was easy.
“They’re in spawning,” said Miles, who guides for Cajun Fishing Adventures in Buras. “When they’re in spawning, they’re just eating everything in their path.”
The key wasn’t fishing any structure. Indeed, Miles ran through the complex of small rigs and pilings outside the marsh to reach open water.
“There wasn’t any real structure out there,” he said. “I’m looking for slicks and current lines.”
After only a couple of fish at our first stop, the guide ran another five minutes or so and dropped off plane near a line of slicks.
The bulls were thick, and soon we were pounding on fish.
And we didn’t use anything but Z-Man plastics dangled beneath popping corks. There wasn’t a backup.
“When they’re in spawning, you don’t need live or dead bait,” Miles said.
The Four Horseman Corks we used were like dinner bells.
“The cork brings them to the bait,” Miles said.
