The attached map shows what I regard as the most promising locations for redfish at the Calcasieu Jetties, especially on falling tides. First the theory:
1. Theory of fishing with children: they want action, but do not bring a lot of skill or quiet or patience to the party. They are much better at letting a line to the bottom than casting into a school at the top or casting a popping cork close to structure without getting constantly tangled. Bottom fishing at the jetties is much more resistant to their bumping and bonking and much less dependent on casting skills. The captain must learn to put the boat in a good position and hold it there.
2. Theory of redfish on a falling tide: the fish are ambushing bait and you need to find a spot where the current is bringing bait. Any bottom structure that is different from the surrounding area can be good. A fishfinder can be very valuable, but you can also do a lot just by letting lines to the bottom at various spots and learning where the changes are.
Location descriptions:
1. A family favorite inside the channel. There is a shelf about 100 yards north of the green channel marker. Some guys wade fish for specks in the shallower water. We like the spot about 20-25 ft deep where the channel transitions to the shelf. When there is a very brisk current in the channel, the flow on the shelf is much slower so it is an easy spot for redfish to hang out and ambush stuff.
2. Just inside the cut, either a bit north or a bit south on the west side. There is a bit of bottom variation here and just enough of the current flows out of the cut to create a couple of holes and eddys where the bait stalls.
3. Just outside the cut, either a bit north or a bit south, but out of the fastest current flow to where you can imagine bait being swept along by the current suddenly finding more still water and sinking to the waiting redfish on the bottom. Sonar can help find the sweet spots from the bottom contours, but a sharp eye on the current can find them also.
4. Any spot along the far outside edge of the rocks can be pretty good. This is the best spot if you have to pick a spot without any definite bottom features. Either the east side or the west side can be pretty good.
5. This is our all time favorite spot when conditions allow. There is a hole about 20 ft deep a bit west of half way between the end of the rocks and the green channel marker. Sit tight on top of the hole or wherever you need to be so the current carries your bait into the hole. There are a lot of rocks down there, so keep the bait 1-2 ft off the bottom to reduce snags. It is madness how many fish you can catch in this spot.
6. Same as 4, other side. Pick the downwind side.
Bait: cracked crab outfishes everything else. Crab claws or whole smaller crabs work also, especially if the hardheads are devouring the cracked crab. We've fished a lot of cut mullet also, but mullet catches mostly gafftops. We've caught at least 20 redfish on crab for every one caught on mullet.
Tackle: stout pole with 30-50 lb power pro. Leave the Zebcos at home.
Other amusements: Some days it may be all black drum and gafftops, but these will provide children with lots of fun and break the boredom while waiting for the redfish to show up.
Popping cork: I go back and forth regarding whether to put the boat close enough to the jetties to cast a popping cork alongside the rocks. The risk here is that there are still a lot of rocks on the bottom if you're this close and the folks bottom fishing are going to have a lot of snags. With children, I lean toward being just out of casting distance to the jetties, which almost always helps the children turn the fish before it reaches the rocks.
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