Wow!!! What an amazing event we just witnessed on the Gulf Coast. Some areas on the Gulf Coast had over twelve inches of snow. While everyone seemed to enjoy it especially kids but now there are some concerns on fish kills across the Gulf Coast. I personally have not seen a kill at all here along the Pontchartrain Basin. Many reports of fish kills have been recorded in the southern parishes. While this is unfortunate only time will tell how much it will affect our fishery.
When it comes to targeting fish after a snow storm like we just had focusing on the deepest man made and dead end style canals is the place to look. I typically troll at a nice slow pace of 1.5 mph with Matrix Shads on a 1/2 oz jig head and pull them in 20-25 foot of water. Use your depth finder to mark the fish as that’s essential. The fish will really congregate in these deep canals like Lakeshore Estates, Gohegans and Eden Isles. When I find a good bite I love bringing my kids as it’s a fun way to get them hooked on fishing. All you have to do is let them hold the pole as the boat simply drags the lure behind the boat and hold on. When that pole bends they get the fight of a life time as they crank that fish end from a far distance behind the boat.
There are several different types of species that take over these man made canals. One of the best for kids is the White Trout. When these things get ganged up it’s chaos. You can literally catch a hundred of them. I typically will find them by trolling and if my trolling rods double up you can then spot lock the boat and cast and retrieve and catch these guys till your tired of looking at them. The white trout we find in the deep canals are typically quite large and put up a great fight for a kid. They don’t come up with a thrashing head shake like a trout but they dig way harder with a much stronger fight and greater battle back than a speck will give you. The specks and white trout certainly can live together and when they do in the winter I find the specks are typically more suspended in that 20-25’ of water where the white trout stick to the bottom so jigging them can be more effective. In super cold days like we had after the blizzard the reds typically go bananas and that’s the fish to target. Out of all the main man made canals on the North Shore Gohegans is by far the best for stacked up winter reds. On the south end I like the Textron canal and also the by pass canal off the chef.
Now as temps are starting to rise look for the bridges to catch fire again as soon as water temps hit 60 degrees.
