After a tuff October, a decent November and a warm December, January and cold temps are anxious to great us every morning we walk out the door. Look for low water for next several weeks so make sure to use extra caution while launching your boat because it is a lot easier to fall off the ramps in the winter time.
So far this winter we have been utilizing the abandoned piers near the hospital wall for trout and running into the interior marshes of the ICW to find the reds. Typical catches of late have been 15 trout and a limit of reds. Our captains wanting to chase trout exclusively have still been running to the Chalmette area on the southern part of the ICW.
As far as the fishing goes for January we really like to target redfish this time of year. This is the easiest time to catch boat loads of reds once you find them. The reds around the Lake Pontchatrain marshes act similar to white perch in the winter as they tend to bunch up in dead end canals or canals with deep holes or structures such as sunken trees or structures. Days of 30-50 redfish is common this time of year and that is a blast if you can find the mother loads. One good thing we have been seeing for the future is rat reds by the zillions. Most days we have caught our limit of reds so far this winter we have had to catch 20 plus throw back reds in order to weed through them to get our limit. It has been 3-1 throwback to keeper ratio and that is a great sign for the future. Here is a list of bayous and canals to check out in the winter for reds, LakeShore, Gohegans, 4x bayou, 7 lagoons, Bob’s Bayou, Bayou Platte, The By-Pass, and Textron Canal off Irish Bayou. The river is a great place to find these winter reds but due to abundance of rain fall in the Jackson area and locally it has caused the river to have a little flooding and is dirty for right now. If your a speckled trout fanatic the “Great Wall” and Chalmette area still is and will continue to be your go to place until the bridges catch back fire in March. Make sure to get out there as the action has been great. For videos to see on these areas check out DockSide TV and DockSide Live at www.DockSideLA.com
Until Next Time
Good Fishing