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 7/3/2016

Another day in paradise! We hit the edge of Breton Sound bright and early to find near perfect conditions. We found a spot that had deep water adjacent to an oyster lined flat. Shrimp were jumping out of the water everywhere and schools of speckled trout were on them quick. We got into a good bite on nice sized trout 14-16″ and really good eaters. The fish were aggressive and would maul anything we threw at them. We mostly used live shrimp Carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes on jigheads. It did not matter, the bait was getting crushed. We had a box full of trout and my guests wanted to try for some redfish. I called in a buddy fishing nearby to work on the trout we were leaving biting. When he arrived and got on the “spot on the spot”, we headed further inside to get on some reds. We worked a shallow cove with a couple of small sloughs that lead into marsh ponds. The reds were stacked up in the mouths of the drains and we boxed them on live shrimp 2 feet under corks. The sky darkened and thunder boomers started to build up so we headed to the dock early. Another great day of fishing out of the Delacroix marsh. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff

High Winds make for a Rough Adventure

The high winds this morning made an outside run a rough adventure. My guest opted for the inside tour and were rewarded at our first stop at an inner lake. The spot produced a good number of quality trout 14-17″. We were fishing live cocahoes carolina rigged on the bottom in 12 feet of water. The tide was falling for a change and the steady action continued until the water stopped moving mid morning. We then headed toward the outside to catch the incoming tide and found a few fish along the Oak River cuts. The wind died down and we decided to try outside. Ventured way out into Breton Sound and found good water, but no tidal movement. Stopped at the bull red spot and got 2 breakoffs. Hit several rigs and wellheads on the way back in and registered a goose egg. Good water, but no movement. Headed back inside to find the tide rising nicely in the marsh – very strange. We hit an inner bayou and found trout, reds and drum waiting. The trout and reds wanted artificial cocahoes in smoke and alvacado colors. The trout were 13-16″ with a few throwbacks and the reds were 18-22″. The reds and drum also wanted live cocahoes under corks. A nice way to end the day! The forecast looks good for the rest of the weekend although it will be hot. Get out there early!

Captain Jeff J. Dauzat

Good Fishing Despite the High Winds

Good fishing out of the Delacroix marsh in spite of the high winds. The tree tops whipping made it an easy call to avoid the big water this morning. My guests agreed and it was off to search the inner and middle bays and bayous for specks and reds. We were armed with live cocahoes and artificial cocahoes. Our first stop yielded a good mess of trout on the live cocahoes fished carolina rigged on the bottom. Our second stop was where an inner lake empties into Oak River. The specks were smaller, but both artificial and live produced eqaully well on the bottom. We hit a couple of other places along Oak River and each produced some trout, but no mother load. Our last spot was the best, yielding trout, a red and a flounder. All fish were caught on the bottom in 12-20 feet of water. The tide was incoming and the water inside is raelly nice right now. The early week looks good with the latter week looking hot with chances for rain. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff J. Dauzat

Fishing Rodeo Winning Fish

Fishing rodeo winning fish was the order of the day out of the Delacroix marsh. We started bright and early armed with live cocahoes and an assortment of artificial lures. The boat hit Black Bay at dawn to find dirty water and rough seas. We ventured deep into Breton Sound and found the clean, salty water that we were looking for. I set up on the lee side of a rig to get out of the rough seas and worked the edges with plastics and live cocahoes deep under a cork. Nice size trout fell for the artificial cocahoe with a slow roll presentation. The hot color was once again the smoke with a red tail on 1/4 and 3/8 ounce jigheads. The trout were all 2-3 lbs. Good fish, but these fish were not going to win first prize in the rodeo. The seas subsided and alowed us to get even further out into the sound. We worked several rigs and wellheads until we found the fish we were after, Bull redfish up to 30 lbs! These fish were hot and were mauling the live cocahoes carolina rigged on the bottom. My guests were all hooked up as soon as the baits hit the water. This repeated itself over and over again until they cried uncle. We released all but the potential winners to fight another day. We hit a few more spots on the way back in and picked up a few more trout and a nice sized flounder which may also make the prize board. The water outside is good, but the water at the close in rigs and the islands is dirty and fresh. I did not see any bird action in all our running today. Go long for the best results right now. Good weather and tides are predicted for the rest of the weekend. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff J. Dauzat

Howling Winds and Redfish in Delacroix Marsh

Redfish were the only target today out of the Delacroix marsh. The weatherman was not even close with the forecast. The wind howled out of the SE at 18 knots with 2-3 foot seas on the outside. The water quickly dirtied with the brisk winds and strong incoming tide. We ventured outside, headed to work the shallow rigs for reds, but opted to stay in the outer bays and work the islands and windward coves. This proved to be the ticket to limits of redfish up to 24″. These fish wanted live cocahoes, finger mullet and dead shrimp 2-3 feet under corks. The bait shops on the island were sold out of live bait this morning, so I was lucky to be able to castnet up some live bait at the boat launch in between boat dippings. I was told that a new supply would be arriving this afternoon for Sundays trips. We caught one nice flounder along with the reds. I saw birds working in Bay Gardene, Bay Lafourche and around Belle Island. We did not drift to see what size trout were underneath. Looks like more wind for Sunday. The water was dirty outside, but still looked fine on the inside. Good trout numbers are still in the deep holes on the inside. If you cannot get outside, try the holes for an excellent chance at a trip saver. Good luck out there!

 

Captain Jeff J. Dauzat

Late Start Proves to be a Winner

Good fishing out of the Delacroix marsh today. My guests and I got a late start this morning with the intention of staying later into the afternoon. This proved to be an excellent game plan as the trout and reds really came alive in the afternoon. We spent the morning and early afternoon working the deep holes of the inside and middle bays with minimal results. The outgoing tide stopped and the mid tide lull set in. We ran toward the outside to catch the incoming tide and continued to struggle. We tried live cocahoes, artificial cocahoes on the bottom and under corks, but could not muster more than a couple of fish here and there. The tide started moving well and we vetured back to the middle bays to work the deep winter time holes. Bingo! The trout and reds were ready for us. We worked them over and left them biting. The trout were 14-17″ and the reds were up to 25 lbs. The fish wanted artificial cocahoes on 3/8 ounce jigheads. The hot color was smoke with a red tail. We tried the live cocahoes and could not get a bite. We positioned up current and worked the lure cross current and down current. The fish wanted the winter twitch and took the lures on the fall or as the bait was left to fall back with the current. The fish sure came alive in the afternoon and made a good day out of one that was shapping up to be fair at best. Look for your fish in the middle bays with deep holes. Fishing the rising tide in the afternoon appears to be hot right now and we all could use to sleep in for a change. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff J. Dauzat

Good Catch of Trout and Redfish

Better weather and fishing conditions lead to a good catch of trout and reds toaday out of the Delacroix marsh. The winds were light out of the SE this morning and built to 15k into the afternoon. The water was much cleaner during the falling tide period, but dirtied as the rising tide pushed the roughed up bay water into the marsh. We got on a good trout bite early with the trout going up to 3.5 Lbs. The trout were located in a middle lake in 10 ft of water. We set up for a cross current presentation and beat the water with artificial cocahoes in alvacado, smoke and purple colors. The 3/8 ounce jighead was the ticket, outfishing the 1/4 in the strong current. Once the tide stopped moving, we moved to Oak River to catch more water movement. The trout were dead on the bottom in 18 ft of water. This action did not last long as the tide quickly waned. Ventured out into the outer lakes to catch the incoming water to find dirty and rough conditions. Tried several areas with no results. We then ran back inside and set up on a pass between two lakes. The trout and reds were active on the bottom in 15-18 ft. We pitched plastics and live cocahoes to pick up our fish. Unfortunately, we had to throw back 1/4 of our trout because they were too small. The reds were up to 12lbs. Things are getting good again! The weather looks good later in the week for fishing and the area is getting back to normal after the last front. Good luck out there this week!

 

Captain Jeff J. Dauzat