Delacroix Report – 8/5/2016

The invasion of the little speckled trout is on. We have been seeing a lot of small trout over the last couple of weeks and it is getting to be more and smaller fish. The keeper to throwback ratio is close to 1 keeper for every 5 fish. It is fun catching fish, but my guests would also like to bring home a good mess of fish filets. My guests were able to get in an afternoon trip shortly after a heavy downpouring rain. The water was a little off, but fishable. We hit several good spots and found good moving water with a falling tide helped by brisk winds out of the west. We could not get a fish to take our offerings of live shrimp or artificial cocahoes. We kept hitting spot after spot until we found a decent bite at the mouth of a deep bayou where it pours into a small lake. We started picking up speckled trout in the 12-14″ class about 30 minutes before dark. We hit it hard right up until dark and worked for enough filets for a big dinner. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 7/30/2016

Perfect fishing weather for a usually hot summer. We got out early to the edge of Breton Sound and set up on an outer point. We had good incoming tide and light winds out of the Southwest. The speckled trout were hungry and we started filling the box on the first cast. The fish were smaller than usual 12-14″ and we had to throw a lot of small trout back this morning. The fish were hungry for live shrimp Carolina rigged on the bottom and they ate up artificial cocahoes on 3/8 ounce jigheads. We continued to wade threw smalls to get a good box full and we decided to switch gears and head toward the Delacroix marsh for some redfish. We worked a windward bank that is lined with oysters and picked up a bunch of reds in the 20-24″ class. These fish wanted live shrimp 2 feet under a cork very close to the bank. We ended the day early and took it back to the boat slip before the rains started to build up around us. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 7/16/2016

Another awesome fish catching day in the Delacroix marsh! My guests were treated to light winds out of the Southeast which made for a gentle glide out to the catching grounds. We set up on a coastal bay point with good incoming tidal water moving past the point and into a deep bayou. The fish were staged on the flat adjacent to the point and in the deeper water downstream of the point. We worked live shrimp both Carolina rigged and 3 feet under corks – both worked well. We also caught a bunch on artificial cocahoes on jigheads and under corks worked up on the flat. Most of the trout were 14-18″ with a few throwbacks mixed in. We also caught some redfish, black drum, sheepshead and flounder to round out the ice chest. We had a 40lb jack cravelle come in and crash the live shrimp cork party. We actually landed this beast after a 30 minute fight and released it to fight another day. The good times continue and the fishing has really been good in spite of the weather over the last few weeks. The weather has somewhat stabilized and the Mississippi River has gone down so the rest of the summer is looking up! Good luck out there this week.

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 7/9/2016

The speckled trout bite is still on! My guests were treated to a fantastic morning of trout catching. The winds were gentle out of the Southwest and the water was very low, but the fish were hungry. We hit a spot that had good incoming tidal movement and bait fish and shrimp jumping out of the water all around us. The action was fast and furious from the first cast. The trout were in the 13-18″ class with a good bit of too small throwbacks. The action faded as the tide slowed to a trickle and we headed to the dock early with an ice chest full. The fish wanted live shrimp Carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes on jigheads. The artificial out fished the live today by a long shot. The catching action should continue this week, but the weather may not cooperate with elevated rain chances all week. Good luck out there!

Delacroix Report – 7/7/2016

Excellent speckled trout fishing continues in the Delacroix Marsh! My guests were greeted with brisk winds out of the SW this morning. Usually a westerly wind is the kiss of death for fishing on the east side of the Mississippi river, but I found a spot where we were protected from the wind and the incoming tide set us up perfectly. The result was a full ice chest with fat trout in the 14-20″ class. These fish wanted live shrimp Carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes on jigheads slow rolled along the bottom. Most of the trout were caught in 8 feet of water, but some were pickup on the edge of the flat in 2 feet. The fish are on the edge of the big water right now and the action should continue until the next spawn is upon us. Good luck out there this weekend!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report 5/13/2016

The curse of the west wind strikes again! My guests were caught in the curse of the west wind today. The brisk wind had the water stained and significantly delayed the incoming tide. We hit a few falling tide spots and caught plenty of undersized speckled trout to keep a few. The fish were aggressive hitting the artificial cocahoes like they had not eaten in a while. The tide quit and we headed to a redfish spot to await the tidal turnaround. We caught 1 nice red, but they were not feeding in the slack water. We tried to wait out the tide, but it was taking forever to arrive. We decided to run outside to catch moving water which we found on the edge of the big water. We got into a good trout bite fishing plastics in 8 feet of water, but it did not last long. We decided to go back inside only to find that the area I wanted to fish was inundated with boats. People do not work on Fridays anymore? We found a good spot that was secluded and proceeded to get on the trout again, but they were mostly throwbacks. That was the story of the day, plenty of fish catching, but not as much fish keeping. Still great to be on the water and catching steady. The wind is to shift away from the West into the weekend and the good fishing should return. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report 1/8/2016

Foggy day today in the Delacroix marsh. Very difficult navigation when you cannot see the bow light on the boat. Thank goodness for advanced electronics! We hit a hole in a classic winter time hot spot – deep hole adjacent to an oyster lined flat and it was on from the first cast. We targeted speckled trout with Carolina rigged live shrimp and artificial cocahoes on 3/8 ounce jig heads. The plastics spanked the live bait today hands down 3 to 1. The trout were in the 13-16″ class and had very few throwbacks. The fish are firmly in the winter pattern and easy limits should be the norm until an inevitable invasion of fresh water from an abnormally high Mississippi River impacts the marsh. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix report 8/22/2015

Well the trout have finally started to show on the outside. We got some decent weather to venture outside and it paid off. The water is clear and salty. We hit several submerged reefs with a gently falling tide. We set up upstream and tossed over the reef and the speckled trout and bull reds were there. The fish wanted live shrimp carolina rigged and artificial shrimp on jigheads. We caught a few small croakers on the shrimp and used them wor live bait. Every croaker yielded a bull red in the 30-35 lb class. Too big to eat, but alot of fun to catch! The fishing should remain steady unbtil October, when they will start to migrate back inside. Good luck out there this wek!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report 7/26/2015

Had a group of kids this morning and the stiff breeze out of the Northwest kept us in protected waters. We hit the same protected shoreline with adjacent oyster reef and proceeded to work on some redfish and black drum. We worked dead shrimp on plain jigheads along the bank to catch most of the fish. One lone trout fell victom to our offering of live shrimp carolina rigged in the deeper water. The redfish and black drum have been our go to fish of choice due to the rough weather the last few week. Hopefully, the weather will stabilize and allow us to get out into Breton Sound to catch more speckled trout. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report 6/6/2015

Back at it again this morning. We got a late start and it got even later as we encountered a broken down boat a couple of miles out from the marina. We towed the stranded boaters back to the boat launch which delayed us, but you have to provide assistance when you can. Karma!
We finally hit our spot to find hungry trout, reds and black drum. We started to catch good with live shrimp under corks and artificial cocahoes. The action held strong until the tide stopped. We moved around a little with marginal results until the tide started to flow again. We found a small pond with a deep hole in the middle and worked live shrimp carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes and got into a good trout bite. These fish were a little smaller 14-16″, but no need to measure them. It got hot quick and we opted to take it back to the Island before we melted.

Captain Jeff