Loaded up the kids and gear in the rain in NOLA and headed down to the old stomping grounds in Bayou Dularge. After a little boat drama, we made it to the camp on Mud Lake in time to set up and do a little bull fishing. The current was pouring out of the lake at Grand Pass and our crabs found no takers.
Got a good early start Sunday and found zero boats at Pelican Pass and numerous schools of small trout under the birds. But no real fish on reef so we moved on after boxing a few 12-13s. Just a small chop on the water as we made our way out to the Picketts reef, which only had four boats on it. Kinda slow at first and a tough wind vs current stand off on getting set up, but we started picking away at them. Specks mixed in size and some white trout.
We'd gotten a report that the fish had been really turning on from 8-10 am. Almost on cue, we spotted birds working some bait on the westernmost buoy and found the fish. Slicks started popping up everywhere and a clear(er) water line quickly made its way west. Wind and current made staying on the fish a challenge, but we managed ok. I don't like drastic changes in conditions, so I fretted a bit about the pretty water getting there, but it didn't affect the bite much and actually the tide switched and pushed it back. We moved just a 1/4 mile east on some birds and found an absolutely stupid frenzy as 20 count shrimp skipped across the dirty green water and our jigs - mainly chartreuse and pink Lil Johns - got nailed within six seconds of entering the water. Even a few topwater fish and several big sail cats.
I knew we were close to being done, but nobody wanted to count and we were getting low on ice. Ended back at the dock with 67 specks and 8 whites. I cleaned the whites immediately and put the filets in a ice bath for an hour and then bronzed them for lunch. Outstanding tasty flesh and just a little soft.
06-20-2016, 06:37 AM
Dularge 6/19
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