Inshore Possibiliies Mid to Late December

[MathGeek]

What are the prospects in Calcasieu/Fourchon/Grand Isle in mid to late December? My daughter remembers loading up on Drum in late December a couple years ago at the Calcasieu Jetties, and all the kids want to get back down to Louisiana and chase fish. Obviously, we're not fish snobs, any combination of gafftops, flounder, redfish, drum, sheepshead, etc.will do as long as we stand a decent chance of putting fish in the box.

My kids in particlular love to catch the bigger drum and redfish. Can one even get crab to use for bait? Or do the preferred baits shift to mullet and shrimp?


All advice is appreciated, but we can't make it down until Christmas break. I know we might miss a few days fishing for the occasional winter storm, but if conditions allow putting the boat in the water, are there workable strategies that time of year?

[Bluechip]

That's one of my favorite times to fish...but I only target reds and specs on artificial. And I normally hang around the Turners Bay area.(Big Lake)

Can't help you on any advice for bull reds and drum.

[swamp snorkler]

You can get crab pretty much year round.

[jchief]

Big red and drum usually stay around the jetties year round and bull reds can be caught on the beach that time of year.

[fishfighter]

could have hooked you up sunday mathgeek if you would have been in the v.b. area, we caught two big nasties that were around the 40lb mark, and quite a few 5-6lb gaftops

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by fishfighter

could have hooked you up sunday mathgeek if you would have been in the v.b. area, we caught two big nasties that were around the 40lb mark, and quite a few 5-6lb gaftops

I wish I'd been there. We've had to cut back on our LA fish on the menu to once every two weeks.

[fishfighter]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

I wish I'd been there. We've had to cut back on our LA fish on the menu to once every two weeks.

is that cause of the "dispersents" or cause you running low?

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by fishfighter

is that cause of the "dispersents" or cause you running low?

We're running low. We've been cruising on one meal of LA fish every week since we stocked up in Dec 2010, but now we're running low. I have no reason to doubt that LA fish are safe within the published guidelines. I am not worried about the dispersants at all and we've put a lot of fish in the freezer from GI/Fourchon since the oil spill. Other than a funny twitch and several personality disorders, we've seen no negative effects.:gr inpimp::shak ing:

[Bluechip]

Lol....

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by Bluechip

Lol....

So what do y'all recommend, Calcasieu, GI, or Fourchon. In a sense, I like the looks (depth, tidal flow) of Belle Pass better that time of year, but there are fewer places to hide in certain wind conditions compared with GI (Caminada Pass). I'm also interested in targeting drum in the deeper pass on the east side of GI. If you could pick any spot for a 2 week hiatus in late December, which would you pick? I lean toward GI and trailering to Fourchon if conditions favor it.

By comparison, the tidal flows at Calcasieu give a much smaller window where the inside of the jetties is fishable each day, and the water is simply more muddy more of the time. It has also seemed like the drum have been harder and harder to come by since 2011 and skinnier when we do catch them due to the oyster situation.

[fishfighter]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

We're running low. We've been cruising on one meal of LA fish every week since we stocked up in Dec 2010, but now we're running low. I have no reason to doubt that LA fish are safe within the published guidelines. I am not worried about the dispersants at all and we've put a lot of fish in the freezer from GI/Fourchon since the oil spill. Other than a funny twitch and several personality disorders, we've seen no negative effects.:gr inpimp::shak ing:

hahahaha i hear you,

yeah them big nasties are fun to catch, i still can't believe you eat them

[eman]

I will be fishing around G.I. during the winter for trout and redfish. . All bank fishing though.

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by eman

I will be fishing around G.I. during the winter for trout and redfish. . All bank fishing though.

If we make it down there, we should touch base. My children usually like to sit out fishing more than I do, and I'd love to have someone aboard who can show me a few new tricks and techniques and places to fish, if you can stand fishing from a 16' aluminum hull. I like chasing trout and redfish a lot more than my children do.