Summertime at Port Sulphur it's not!
But you would never know that by the way the redfish have been biting there
(which is what my fishing team and I set out to confirm this morning as we shot
Thursday's edition of "The Fishin' Game Report").
From Halfway Bayou along the Freeport Sulphur Canal all the way to the open
water of Lake Washington, the action is serious enough to attact serious
wintertime fishermen to Plaquemines Parish. Nice reds, 4 to 8 pound average, and
decent speckled trout upwards of 3 pounds can be part of the daily limit with
just a little bit of luck, a modicum of skill, and a whole lot of patience.
"For several weeks now, the fish have eagerly accepted both plastic
lures and live Cocahoes, fished both under a chugging cork as well as on a
quarter ounce jighead flat on the bottom," Capt Eric Muhoberac explained
shortly after sunup on the marsh. "Generally, the trout and reds (and an
occasional flounder) have been holding in the shallow-water ponds from the
shoreline grasses outward to about 20 yards. Twitching and jerking doesn't
provoke nearly as many strikes as does "straight retrieves." But
remember that because the action is taking place inside a very shallow pond, the
fish in residence will be wary of their surroundings and consequently will spook
rapidly at the slightest noise. So. . .you want to be extra quiet!"
The weather forecast for the weekend appears to be rather iffy at this
writing, but based on years of experience I suggest that any angler planning a
fishing trip this weekend--especially a trip to Port Sulphur--stick with the
plans until you arrive at High Ridge Marina. "All day today, the bites
started and stopped, started and stopped," Muhoberac admitted, "everytime
the sun came in or out, whenever a new cloud formation built up, and everytime
the wind quit and the ripples on the water surface died down. And that's
probably what will be the circumstances this Saturday and Sunday because of the
predicted weather fluctuations.
"But that don't mean you gotta stay home! You fish when you can--under
cloudy skies or in bright sunlight, in breezy conditions or on slick seas, with
the tide rip-roaring or with the tide slack. Had we decided to fish today based
on the weather forecast, we would have missed a beautiful, cool, sunshiny day.
And we caught fish to boot! This is how your fishing trips should be patterned
all winter long."
Aside from trout and reds, it is also highly possible to catch a mess of both
black drum and sheepshead at Port Sulphur right now. Using market shrimp on
either a modified Carolina rig or on a quarter-ounce jighead flat on the bottom,
place your casts right down the centerline channels (the deepest spots on the
marsh) or deepwater intersections where two bayous criss-cross. Then keep a
tight line and wait for the telltale "bump." Most of these fish are
brute size--drums upwards of 50 pounds, and sheepshead common in the 6, 7, and 8
pound range. We got most of our fish today, including a 42-plus-pound drum, in
Halfway Bayou, about 50 yards from where it intersects with the Freeport Sulphur
Canal.
"If you don't have a place of your own in mind for this weekend, you
might want to start off there first!" Muhoberac added.
Next week, we do a little pre-Christmas scouting at Shell Beach with the
Campo Gang. I'll let you know what the story is the minute we get back to the
dock. In the meantime, be careful and courteous out there. . .
Frank Davis
P.S. If you don't have your own rig and you would like to learn to fish the
Port Sulphur waterways, you can contact Capt. Eric Muhoberac for guide service
or charter arrangements by calling 985-564-3474.
