Delacroix Report – 7/23/2017

We hit the water a little earlier this morning to try and beat the crowd to spot “A”. Well, we did not win the race. We passed by the spot and there was already another boat. The boat was not on the spot right, but was too close for me to slip in. We decided to head outside to work some submerged reefs that are typically good this time of year. The West winds were marginal for going out, but doable. We set up to take advantage of the rising tide across the reef. The West wind was complicating, but we were able to pick up some nice sized speckled trout, white trout and sheepshead. The fish were caught using live shrimp Carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes. The wind picked up to the point that it was overpowering the tide and we lost the right boat position so we headed back inside to check on spot “A”. It was again occupied by another boat and would not allow us a chance at it so we ventured further in and worked a point in large interior lake. We slammed the redfish, must have caught 30, but not one was over 14″. Good fun, but the fish box was getting lonely. We hit another spot on an adjacent large lake and hit speckled trout gold. The trout were smashing both live and artificial baits as quick as we could get them into the water. In scanning the skies, there was a significant storm closing in on us and the trout must have sensed the change in barometric pressure and turned on. We stayed as long as we could and took a slight beating getting across the lake. We made it most of the ride home in the dry, but it rained for the last few miles of the run. My guests put on rain jackets and I hid behind the center console and we took it like men. Proud of them! Good day again in spite of challenging conditions. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 7/22/2017

The weather was threatening this AM as we headed out into Breton Sound. It looked like we had a window to get around the storms toward the East, but we could not out run them and had to stop behind an island and ride it out. It did not last long and looked worse than it really was. After the delay, we continued on to spot “A”. Well unfortunately, the spot I have been working was already occupied and it was off to plan “B”. We hit another spot on the edge of Breton Sound with a small ditch flowing from a pond into a long shoreline. We worked the mouth of the ditch piking up a few reds. The action was too slow so we headed out in search of another spot and I noted that spot “A” was now available and we set up to work the point. The tide was rising and flowing across the point and dropping off into a deep channel. Speckled trout were in the deep crushing bait fish and shrimp. We offered up live shrimp Carolina rigged and were rewarded with a pile of specks in the 14-18″ class. The fish were also actively hitting artificial cocahoes on 3/8 ounce jigheads. Good eaters and a lot of fun to catch. The action slowed as the tide slowed and we headed back toward the inside to find the tide again. We hit few spots with limited success as the tide was waning. We decided to call it early and head back to the dock. It was a good day even though we had some challenges to deal with. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 7-13-2017

Perfect weather for a fish fry this AM. Cloudy, light winds and a reasonable tidal; range. We hit the same area where I have been catching speckled tout. The fish are still there and it was slow at first, but got much quicker once the spot set up. My guests were good fishermen and started to fill the box with specks. We were throwing live shrimp Carolina rigged on the bottom. We ran out of live shrimp and kept catching on artificial cocahoes on jigheads. The tide quit moving as the winds picked up from the West and the bite quit. We tried several other spots to find no water movement and no fish activity. We decided to head in early as the black storm clouds started to build up and we could hear the rumbling of the thunderbusters. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix fishing report – 3/31/2017

Been a while since I have fished for speckled trout and redfish. My guests hit the Delacroix marsh just before daylight to find a gentle falling tide and a slight breeze. It was actually a little cool as we were scooting down the Bayou! We decided to try a small inside lake and work the mouth of a small bayou that was emptying into the lake. Good choice as shrimp were jumping out of the water and getting crushed by fish. We worked live shrimp Carolina rigged, 2 feet under corks and tight lined plastics. All worked and speckled trout in the 12-15″ class were hitting the ice box. The action slowed as the falling tide quit. We decided to venture further out to find the incoming tide and set up where a bayou was draining into a larger lake. The action was fast and furious on everything we threw out and the crew quickly switched over to plastics to put a hurting on trout. These fish were in the 14-18″ class. We got close to full limits, but our fast action could not be hidden from the other boats driving by and eventually they were swarming around us with their trolling motors engaged and shut the bite down. We hit one more spot to finish the limit and worked a deep canal with an adjacent shallow oyster lined flat. Nice trout up to 2 pounds were hitting plastics in the deep water and crushing live shrimp 2 feet under corks up on the flat. It was great to be fishing again after a long hunting season! By the results of this trip, it should be a banner year for fishing in the Delacroix marsh! Good luck out there.

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 12/22/2016

Strange tide today in the Delacroix Marsh. We hit the water after daylight to find a slight falling tide. We motored to where a small bayou drains into a small flat. There is a deep oyster lined hole adjacent to the bayou. We staged up current of the hole and started fishing. My guests were throwing live shrimp Carolina rigged. We started catching quickly, but had to wade through some small speckled trout to get some into the ice chest. The wind started to pick up out of the Southeast and the action slowed. We headed to another similar spot and got on them again. We again had to wade through small trout, but kept putting fish in the box too. The tide quit and the action slowed. We stayed in the same spot waiting for the tide to start rising, but it never did. Not quite sure why, but we fished slack water for a while. We started to pick up sheeepshead after sheepshead and decided to keep them. Sheepshead are tough to clean, but excellent table fare. We stayed until we ran out of live shrimp and took it back to the boat slip. Good day of fishing! Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 12/11/2016

It was cold this morning on the boat ride out into the Delacroix marsh. Brisk winds out of the SE and water temperatures in the upper 40’s made the fishing tough early. The temperature started to warm up mid morning and the fish started to feed. We found a spot where the rising tide was moving around a point and falling off the shelf into deep water. We set up with the wind to our backs and worked the deep hole with live shrimp Carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes. The trout were feeding, but the bite was extremely light and tough to feel. Once we figured out the pattern, we started to fill the ice chest with specks in the 12-15″ class. Not huge, but really good eaters! We also picked up a handful of sheepshead, redfish and black drum in the hole. Finished the day with a box full of fish. The weather is supposed to warm this week and the fishing should be solid. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 11/21/2016

Cool weather this morning for the boat ride to the fishing grounds. We hit the water early and worked the inside waters for speckled trout. We stopped at a small lake with a deep bayou entering into the lake. The falling tide had the water set up perfectly and we worked over the trout with live shrimp carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes. The wind picked up and swung the boat around and we lost the bite. We hit several other spots with minimal success. We moved back to the initial area and found another honey hole. These fish wanted artificial lures slow rolled near the bottom. We finished up soon after with quality trout in the 13-18″ class. The winter pattern is quickly approaching. It should be a good run. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report 11/1/2016

It has been a while since last post, the fishing has been poor at best and I have been rescheduling most trips to get into the better fishing times. Today’s trip was rescheduled twice to get to this point and I’m glad we finally made it out. My guests were treated to light winds out of the East and much better water conditions. We hit a spot where a deep bayou drains into a small lake with a moderate falling tide. As soon as we glided around the last curve in the bayou, shrimp were jumping out of the water everywhere in the lake. Hungry trout were smashing them and we quickly got set up to get into the action. My guests were throwing live shrimp Carolina rigged and under a cork. Both performed well and we worked on the trout for the next couple of hours. Unfortunately over half of the trout were too small and had to be returned to the water to grow up. The wind picked up and we got blown off the bite. We hit a couple of other spots with limited success. We made a move to a larger lake and set up along a current line well off of the bank. The bite was slow at first, but as soon as we figured out what the trout wanted, we started boxing 2-3 lb. trout. These fish were very large for this time of the year and a welcome change from having to measure every fish. These fish wanted live shrimp Carolina rigged and artificial cocahoes on 3/8 ounce jig heads. We worked on the big fish for a couple of hours until the tide started to slow. We decided to call it a day and took it back to the boat slip with a box full of beautiful speckled trout. It looks like the fishing is back and we are looking forward to a great winter season. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff

Delacroix Report – 8/6/2016

The small trout are everywhere! My guest got out early with me after some speckled trout and redfish. We hit a point on the edge of Breton Sound that has been good over the last few weeks. We started putting trout into the box pretty quickly working live shrimp Carolina rigged. We had to wade through many fish that were just under the minimum size limit. Good action. We kept picking away at the trout until a big humpback redfish crashed the party. This fish was only 25 inches long , but weighed 15 lbs. Apparently, the fish must have sustained a back injury early in life and made a recovery despite the odd appearance. The red was released due to pity and lives to fight another day! We stayed on the fish and picked through small fish to reach my guests quota and we headed in early to catch the Delacroix Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet. A good time was had by all! Good luck out there this week!

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