vb help

[revspiggles]

Hey guys
so i got a montauk 17 and have been fishing the bay for about 6 months. I know the major points but would love some advice of how to fish this water as I not catching as I know i can. Any advice would be great. I got a map of points off louisiana sportsman and will begin to start hunting that. msg me if you dont want to post here. thanks

[wishin i was fishin]

hey rev, got any pointers yet? the bay is a tricky place.

[Montauk17]

To be honest you are on the tail end of the bite.....vbay is for the most part a fall fishery. Sept-early Dec are the best times to fish. If the river stays low all winter there should be a spring bite. Not to say you can't catch other times of the year if the water is salty and clear. Just like anywhere else you gotta put the time in on the water to figure an area out. Buy you a map of vbay from hooknline it shows most of the reefs in the area.

[jdunbar]

When you can get there, the reefs at SW pass. If it was calm enough to get there, I have never gone and not caught. Anywere else is hit or miss. Problem with the bay is its so BIG!

[RickLafayette]

The main problem with Vermilion Bay is that Marsh Island, the largest coastal island on the US gulf coast, prevents all the fresh water from washing out to sea and allowing the salt water to come in. That's why the bay's salinity level is always so low compared to the rest of LA's gulf coast.

[Montauk17]

Originally Posted by RickLafayette

The main problem with Vermilion Bay is that Marsh Island, the largest coastal island on the US gulf coast, prevents all the fresh water from washing out to sea and allowing the salt water to come in. That's why the bay's salinity level is always so low compared to the rest of LA's gulf coast.

Marsh island is not the issue....most areas along the coast have one or two freshwater outlets mixing into salt. V bay has the vermillion river,boston canal,delcambre canal,commercial canal,ivanhoe canal,jaws canal,wax lake outlet,and the atchafalaya dumping fresh water into it.

[RickLafayette]

Originally Posted by Montauk17

Marsh island is not the issue....most areas along the coast have one or two freshwater outlets mixing into salt. V bay has the vermillion river,boston canal,delcambre canal,commercial canal,ivanhoe canal,jaws canal,wax lake outlet,and the atchafalaya dumping fresh water into it.

Monty, That's exactly my point. Marsh Island holds all that fresh water in the bay. Too much fresh water feeding into the bay and the only way out to the Gulf is on either side of Marsh island which extends from one side of the bay to the other.

[jpeff31787]

no matter why its fresh... right now is going to be tough in the bay especially since the river is coming up.. If you want to catch some reds/bass go explore sharks bayou. Just find the cuts that have 6+ feet of water and troll down them working the banks. Do not just go in with the big motor as some of the cuts are extremely shallow and believe it or not they are FULL of HUGE stumps and lay downs. Rattle traps have been putting a bunch of fish in the boats lately

[wishin i was fishin]

hey guys, it is the current and freshwater diversions that keep the water so fresh.

Rev, this is a collection of websites i use from reading posts here. lucky you, you are getting them all in one shot!

start here, if the atchafalaya is over 9ft the salinity will drop.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/la/nwis/uv...20,63160,00060

the salinity needs to be around 7 for the saltwater species to come into the bay. the atchafalaya will usually dictate salinity. Redfish are always the exception though.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?07387040

Once the salinity is high enough you will need to find clean water, specs are sight feeders. You can see where the clean water is without burning a tank running around.
http://ge.ssec.wisc.edu/modis-today/index.php

then, there is the tide to consider. as long as the tide is moving, you are good, but remember the fish will set up differently in an area depending upon the tide incoming or outgoing. this is a good website.
http://www.ezfshn.com/tides/usa/louisiana

Now that we are finished with all that, you will need a spot to fish, if you like community holes look for the boats. if you are like most of us you prefer to stay away from the crowds. shark Bayou tributaries as jpeff mentioned are a good place to start. there is the Hammock, port cannal, delcambre canal, countless places in Marsh island, or the reefs out of the pass. best bet is to get on google earth and spend some time looking around. also try this site. http://www.flashearth.com/ the photos were taken at a very low tide and you can see which canals are safe, and which canals are shallow.

lures, redfish magic spinnerbaits are good to throw to search for fish. sparkle beetles under a cork tipped with shrimp are good at the pass. Keep in mind, i usually fish for a hit, then zero in on them from there.

from there read the posts on the lures used.

this is fishin after all, you can go to an area one day and hammer them, same conditions the next day and catch none. We are on the tail end of this winters bite so don't expect much posting until it warms up again. Keep at it and you will start to find your groove.


Good luck buddy! let me know if you have any questions.

[YellowMouth7]

Thx for all the info

[Reefman]

All that info that Wishin i was fishin is worth a pot of gold to fish VB. You have a great wealth of information to give you a big advantage over other fishermen who do not use all those on-line resources. I never fish out the Point without using most of what he posted. Modis would be my 1st choice to find where the better water is on the bay or reefs. Salinity does matter but not nearly as much as clean water. Tide movement of course is needed. Good luck out there!

[rustyb]

Originally Posted by wishin i was fishin

hey guys, it is the current and freshwater diversions that keep the water so fresh.

Rev, this is a collection of websites i use from reading posts here. lucky you, you are getting them all in one shot!

start here, if the atchafalaya is over 9ft the salinity will drop.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/la/nwis/uv...20,63160,00060

the salinity needs to be around 7 for the saltwater species to come into the bay. the atchafalaya will usually dictate salinity. Redfish are always the exception though.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?07387040

Once the salinity is high enough you will need to find clean water, specs are sight feeders. You can see where the clean water is without burning a tank running around.
http://ge.ssec.wisc.edu/modis-today/index.php

then, there is the tide to consider. as long as the tide is moving, you are good, but remember the fish will set up differently in an area depending upon the tide incoming or outgoing. this is a good website.
http://www.ezfshn.com/tides/usa/louisiana

Now that we are finished with all that, you will need a spot to fish, if you like community holes look for the boats. if you are like most of us you prefer to stay away from the crowds. shark Bayou tributaries as jpeff mentioned are a good place to start. there is the Hammock, port cannal, delcambre canal, countless places in Marsh island, or the reefs out of the pass. best bet is to get on google earth and spend some time looking around. also try this site. http://www.flashearth.com/ the photos were taken at a very low tide and you can see which canals are safe, and which canals are shallow.

lures, redfish magic spinnerbaits are good to throw to search for fish. sparkle beetles under a cork tipped with shrimp are good at the pass. Keep in mind, i usually fish for a hit, then zero in on them from there.

from there read the posts on the lures used.

this is fishin after all, you can go to an area one day and hammer them, same conditions the next day and catch none. We are on the tail end of this winters bite so don't expect much posting until it warms up again. Keep at it and you will start to find your groove.


Good luck buddy! let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks good info.

[haoward]

Thanks for the info!

[saltysully]

Very good info.. Thanks for all the help. I'll check it out

[Montauk17]

Bay gunna be shot after all the rain today

[revspiggles]

thanks guys

[Goooh]

Wow. I been trying to figure the bay out for 2 years on my own. This thread just blew my mind... Never seen anything close to this on the "other" sites.

What a classy group of folks.

[Montauk17]

The bay used to stay salty almost year round.....before my grandpaw passed away he told me they would catch tarpon inside the bay. Man is the one that did most of the damage. Way back in the day marsh island connected to point chevreuil with a series of shell and oyster islands blocking most of the river water. That all changed when they went to town on shell dredging and dug the wax lake outlet.

[wishin i was fishin]

You are welcome for the info guys.

Yeah you are correct Montauk, i have heard stories from the older guys. They said the bay was just as good as Dularge and Big Lake back then. These diversions are the only thing building up our coast. So muddy and fresh the bay will stay.

This year should be pretty good though, the Mississippi is forecasted to remain low.

[Montauk17]

Originally Posted by wishin i was fishin

You are welcome for the info guys.

Yeah you are correct Montauk, i have heard stories from the older guys. They said the bay was just as good as Dularge and Big Lake back then. These diversions are the only thing building up our coast. So muddy and fresh the bay will stay.

This year should be pretty good though, the Mississippi is forecasted to remain low.

Hope so....depends on how much snow meltdown. Usually by late may or june you will get a idea where the river stage will go.