I was intrigued by the idea of the baitfish-indistress sounds they have . I knew this trip was going to be interesting , and as always , fun . We had a lodge booked on Lake St . Catherine , just a couple of miles from Rigolets Marina . An added benefit of this lodge was that it had a 300-foot pier out into the lake , with night fishing lights on the end . I got down early and unloaded and was soon joined by Wild Bill , Steve Groth of Papa ’ s Pilar Rum , Florida Sport Fishing editor Steve Dougherty , and Livingston Lures ’ owners Erick Arnoldson and Livingston founder and inventor , Robert Castaneda . We grilled up steaks and deer sausage , ate , and headed down to see what was under the lights at the end of the pier .
There were a ton of trout under the lights , just small ones in the 8-10 inch range . We caught fish under the new Livingston Lures EBS Grand Slam Popping Cork , both with live shrimp and jigs . I also used the Walking Boss II topwater , and drew a lot of hits ; but as I said , the fish were dinks . The real test started in the AM out in the Biloxi Marsh with Captain Brooks Levy and
OfFISHial Charters ; I was eager to get
Capt . Brooks Levy out there .
With little sleep , we headed to the marina to meet Capt . Brooks and get the adventure started .
As we left the marina and headed to Biloxi Marsh , the sun was just peaking over the horizon when we nosed into a section of marsh where Capt . Brooks had been catching redfish . We split up everyone with the Livingston Lures EBS Grand Slam Popping Cork with live shrimp , the PoBoy 90 slow-sinking shrimp , and the Walking Boss II topwater , while three others rigged up with a regular popping cork and spoons .
The action did not take long , with Wild Bill catching a nice slot red on the EBS Grand Slam cork right off the bat , then I got an explosive hook up on a big redfish with the Walking Boss II top water . The red hit when the lure was just sitting still ; the sound of baitfish-in-distress was just too much for the big pond pumpkin to resist . We also had two hook ups on spoons . The reds were being finicky due to a slack tide , but we were getting fish to bite . Then Wild Bill got another , bigger redfish . Then Steve , then Robert and Erick , then Wild Bill again . The EBS Grand Slam corks with live shrimp were the hot ticket .
As we were fishing , I asked Capt . Brooks what he looks for when choosing his fall fishing spots ; he said , “ I always look for bait ; the trout are coming in from spawning , and looking to fatten up for winter . They will come in all around here in Biloxi Marsh , and will move on into the Rigolets , the lower Pearl , and the CSX bridge . They ’ ll be following the shrimp , and in some spots like the CSX , shad as well . I also like to have good clean water and current . The fall fishing is so awesome here ; if you find the clean water , current , and bait all in one spot , you ’ re going to catch fish . We would be fishing for trout in the lower Pearl now if not for all of the muddy fresh water coming out . It ’ s totally turned off the trout bite for the next few days . As for the redfish , they just turn on big time here in fall ; you see , even on a day like today , we ’ re getting fish to bite even though the tide isn ’ t cooperating . The redfish are going to be around bait and in good clean water ; it ’ s a little dirty in here , but not bad . It ’ s the slack current that ’ s hurting us .
We ’ re catching reds , and seeing even more . They just get finicky in a current like this . And we may find some trout back here , too . We also get our big flounder run in the fall , usually in October ; you can really get on the flounder then .” We finished the day with a few more reds , and a few trout , too . The reds came on live shrimp under the EBS Grand Slam cork , on a PoBoy 90 shrimp that slowly sinks then suspends , and on spoons ; the trout were all on the EBS Grand Slam cork with live shrimp .
Just before 3PM , storms pushed us back in , and we headed back to the lodge . We were fishing out of Delacroix with Capt . Casey Brunning and Hurricane Bay Charters the next morning , then back with Capt . Brooks the day after .
So after we all got settled in at the lodge , we headed to meet our Marsh and Bayou family at Southside Café in Slidell for dinner .
Continued
September 2016 www . marshandbayou . com
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