BigFish Continued
there is a “summer is
over, back to business”
attitude in September.
On top of it all, September is something of
a transition month for
many fish. So, for many
anglers, the hot spots
of the summer begin
to cool off; and, for
some, that can be discouraging.
State of the Bait
In general, September is a great bait month. This is the peak of white
shrimp season. Look for shrimp boats to give you a good idea of where
the higher concentrations of shrimp are, and you’ll likely find a higher
concentration of feeding fish. Mullet and pogies are still around in big
schools. You want the ones near structure. Rigs, islands, shorelines,
etc... are the best conditions for fishing in, around, and under these
schooling fish. If the pogies are in the one to three-inch size range, a
cast net and a live well will serve you well. Like croakers in the spring,
pogies in the fall are a hard-to-resist bait for fish looking to fatten up for
winter.
Bonus Condition
Tripletail in Lake Borgne and surrounding areas usually show up in July,
but may actually peak this month. Increased salinity and white shrimp
on the move bring more of the mysterious fish into the area. While crab
trap floats in the Lake are the most widely patrolled objects for the
tasty, hard-fighting fish, anything that appears above and below the surface is fair game for this largely misunderstood fish. Oyster poles, survey markers, navigational aids, pilings, hyacinths, and debris all have an
equal chance of holding blackfish or tripletail.