Newbie looking for help
 

Headed to big lake in the morning. I've been in the area for a few months and have been fishing black lake but haven't had much luck. I'm headed down the ship channel to south of the lake around weirs. Any advice? I've never crossed the lake and just got a newer boat (19' tracker targa deep V) and I'm itching to try it out in the lake. Open to any advice, suggestions, and/or warnings.


I was directed to this site from Louisiana sportsman and I've been very impressed with the forum and the discussions and I'm looking forward to the comments

Man I haven't been in so long I don't really feel qualified to answer but since your leaving in the morning and no one else has replied here goes:

The tide looks slack tomorrow until about 3pm so its gonna be rough, the wind is light so that's good if you want to get out in the lake. I'd definitely swallow your pride and get a quart of live shrimp and fish it Carolina rigged along the drop offs in the ship channel. With all the fresh water coming down the specks might be holding deeper. You could also put the trolling motor down and beat the banks for reds and flounder. The flounder normally come in from the gulf around this time of the year and you can catch them on chartreuse gulp swimming mullets or white grubs bounced slow on the bottom. As far as warnings I'd watch out for the old jetties in Big Lake they don't stick out of the water much on a high tide and if you go to the wiers line up to the boat bay and gun it, don't try to idle thru. Hopefully some of the more hardcore big lake guys will chime in with some better advice before you leave in the morning. Good Luck

I was in your shoes 5 years ago. Here's my advice, not sure if its what you want to hear but I won't charge you for it. Hire a guide or find someone who has great experience in the area for your first few trips. Big lake and its surrounding areas can be tough to learn and be successful on due to its vastness and appearance of open water. I fished saltwater my whole life and had good success with it, and was expecting the same when trying out the area. Got to big lake and basically burned a ton of miles and got a lot of sunburns trying to figure the place out. I've had decent success when I put in the effort, but I probably worked way harder than smarter in the process. If you want to enjoy your new boat, the ride, and the good weather than have at it! If you want to catch fish, learn the area, and find the triggers for success quickly then hire a guide a couple times.

This is a great point ,especially if it's an
area you plan on fishing regularly.
Find a guide who is willing to take the time to teach you the whens and whys . Not one that wants to go limit out and be back at the dock by 9 am.
No guide is going to give you a list of spots, but a good guide will take the time to tell you what areas to fish at what time of year and under what conditions.

Get a top spot map and mark the old jetties on your gps.

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Get a Hook 'n Line Map and buy some live shrimp. Never feel bad about using live bait. If that's the best way to catch them at the time, do it.

Went out this morning and ended up with 1 red fish. Does anyone know a guide that will go in my boat with me? I used a local guide a few weeks ago and ended up with 11 fish but did get some tips on black lake but still not producing fish.

I'll give you a valuable tip. Be careful in black lake. Lost a prop and prop shaft last year and I've fished that lake for over 30 years. Aside from that, pick an area and fish it, learn it. Each trip, fish that area and hit a new spot along the way. Do that each trip and before you know it you will know when and how to catch.

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Man I lucked out my first trip. Pulled over to Hackberry and went to Spicers. Asked the kid working which direction to head. He said he had no clue, maybe ask the guy gassing his boat up. I did and it worked out great. It was Capt Norman Rester with A speck charters. He said he was taking a friend that day and I could follow him down river to the reefs around the old steam engine, just don't get to close to him. Once down there, he was a few hundred yards south of the steam engine. I was about 40 yards from the steam engine. My first cast I bird nested, after messing with the knot a minute I grabbed my other pole. Cast right up next to the steam engine and after about 2 cranks on the reel, BOOM, it ended up being a huge trout. He noticed me net it in the boat and was hooping and hollering. Ended up fishing that area and a little south of there and got 22 trout my first trip. Made it back to Spicers and Capt Rester was cleaning fish. He asked what that first trout weighed and I told him I didn't have a scale. So we hauled it up there on his scale and about 7-8 hours after I caught it, it weighed in at 6.75 lbs. Not bad for my first fish in my new boat and first fish in Big Lake (it was late June). I've never caught anything close to that size again of course, and had some good days and bad days out there. I love the south end and West Cove. I echo what everyone is saying about a good guide, and recommend Capt Rester myself.

Bummer, was hoping you lucked up and found some.

Headed out there tomorrow morning. Hope we get on some slimies

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I am thinking of heading out this afternoon around 4. Hopefully I can get into something. Will probably end up in Black Lake since I know a little about it. I will keep you guys posted.


Thanks for all of the advice, you all have been great.