count on that to
continue and likely
improve the rest of
the month.
Strategy
Forecast
The green water is already in Venice, flounder
and speckled trout can't be far behind. Sweet
water in Pointe a la Hache and Delacroix should
salty up a bit more and that will call in a stampede of speckled trout. Saltier waters of Hopedale and Shell Beach have continued to produce
nice fish.
The northern end of the Biloxi Marsh had a
phenomenal summer with plenty of specks in
the open waters, we will likely see them make a
strong move into the marshes.
Lake Pontchartrain had a slow summer, very
likely due to the fact that our February opening
of the Bonnet Carre spillway prevented a strong
recruitment of brown shrimp into the Lake. However, brown and white shrimp are having a great
year, and salinity levels continue to rise. Count
on Lake Ponchartrain kicking into action this
month, especially around the L&N train bridge
in the Rigolets and later at the trestles, Twin
Span, and Highway 11.
The Great Wall of the MRGO has already started
producing nice speckled trout, and you can
Fish the tide, more
than the sun.
The sunrise and
sunset bite is always important,
just not as critical
this time of year as
it is during the hot
summer months.
Moving water becomes your number one
consideration. The
downside of that is
predicting and
planning on that
moving water can
be tricky. Of
course, we have
tide forecasts, written charts, online
tables, and even phone apps. However, if you
fish enough, you know these are, for the most
part, guidelines in most areas. Winds, Gulf currents, changing river levels, and other influences
often expedite, delay, and sometimes even cancel our tides.
There are
gauges scattered throughout our marshes
that can be
hugely helpful in
monitoring the
activity. Some of
these gauges
offer tide movement, water
level, salinity,
temperature and
other information. Check out
Areas to Consider
Shell Beach / Hopedale
This is usually the first area to see fall fishing
trends. The edges of Lake Borgne and the Biloxi
Marsh, as well as Lake Robin, Coquille, and Two
Trees all get active this month.
Lake Pontchartrain
The Wall is already producing fish and should
continue through the winter. The “back door”
(the second opening of the Wall on Bayou Bienvenue), the outside corner of the Wall on the St.
Bernard side of MRGO, and the channel on either side of the main flood gate should all hold
great fishing.
Delacroix
You can plan on the outer lakes and bays seeing
fish first. Lake Campo, Pintail Flat, and Four
Horse Lake would be good starting points this
month
Farther South
The Mardi Gras Cut gave coastal fishing on the
east side of the River hell this summer, keeping
most of the water in that area too fresh for good
speckled trout catches. With the River down,
we’ll hopefully see Pointe a la Hache to Empire
waters come alive. Keep an eye out from Buras
to Venice; as the River’s flow slows, levels drop,
and salinity increases, that area can’t help but
see some great fishing action close to home.
October 2016 www.marshandbayou.com
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