Lafitte: 1 Trout Short of a 100 Trout Limit!
Frank Davis / Fishing Expert

If things stay as hot in Lafitte this Saturday and Sunday as they were on Thursday, just about every fisherman who puts a boat in the water this weekend is practically guaranteed to go home with a limit, or near limit, of really pretty speckled trout.

“The Rigolettes, Harvey's Cut, and Turtle Bay are our undisputed hotspots right now in Lower Barataria,” Capt. Mike Kennear divulged. “And furthermore, fish appear to have absolutely no aversion right now to striking plastics only, rigged on a quarter-ounce lead head jig, underneath a short, 2-inch chugging cork, suspended above a 22-inch monofilament leader. I promised myself I’d keep this a secret, but the black beetle with the chartreuse split tail is the bait of preference.”

My fishing team and I met with Kennear and his co-captain, Beau Weber, just before sunup Thursday morning at C-Way Marina and wasted absolutely no time plowing down the Rigolettes in search of the trout schools that all this week provided every angler on the water with, at least, near-limits. With slick water practically all the way to the fishing grounds, it took little time to find diving gulls and the trout that clustered under them.

“What we’ve been doing all this week and last,” Capt. Weber explained, “is concentrating on the current lines. The moving water obviously attracts trout to it because it serves as a natural conveyor belt to move baitfish and white shrimp along (actually into the gaping mouths of some rather hungry specks). The most difficult aspect of this technique is drifting along adjacent to the current line so that you stay right on the edge of the feeding fish and not spook them in the interim.”

Weber uses a technique that few other Barataria fishermen do—it’s called “variable skipping”, where instead of popping the cork just once, it’s popped once, then maybe three times, then once again, then possibly four times, and so forth and so on, The cycle continues like this continuously as the fishing progresses.

“It’s all based on precisely how shrimp react when they’re being chased by feeding trout,” Capt. Weber revealed. “Watch the water. Watch how shrimp react to a strike by a trout. They don’t pop just once, no! They jump maybe three times, then twice, then maybe five times. So if all you do is pop the cork once, the fish knows that’s not natural. And you’ll miss out on a lot of bites.”

Now if you have no precise plans for this weekend, and you want to do a little fishing, but you aren’t able to get out there on your own, you can call either Mike Kennear or Beau Weber at Captain Phil’s Charter Service. Their numbers are 504-689-2006 or 504-881-3758.

Till next Thursday, I wish you good times and tight lines!

Frank Davis