Trophy speckled trout and giant schools of redfish come to mind in April. Reports of trout being caught usually begin in late March and get better as spring prepares to bloom. If Mother Nature is on time, schools of mullet will thicken up and the brown shrimp can’t be far behind.
By the time Q1 of the year ends, fishermen can be easily identified. In April, our walk is slouched on cool, overcast days and brisk on warmer, clear days. We often appear a bit anxious, making passes around any boat on a trailer, just to peek inside and see how it is set up. If you can’t find us, look in the sporting goods stores. Like generals planning a war, we walk the aisles studying the shelves, and plan our attack for the time when the speckled trout decide to invade. Our conversations are focused on water temperatures, locations of clear water, and the date of April’s first full moon. If the boat is in the backyard, increased piddling activity can be observed as we fix what we left broken at the end of last season and add the latest in new fishing gadgets. As a charter fishing guide, I see larger crowds at my seminars and get an increase of E-mails asking if the fish have started biting. All of those things are taking place this year, right on cue. But, so far the fish are a little late, coming to the dance.
The “Meat” fish, redfish, drum and sheepshead are on schedule. Easy limits can be found in Bayou Bienvenue, Lake Borgne, the Biloxi Marsh, and along the shorelines and outer islands of Black Bay. The rigs in Breton Sound are active as well. There is little doubt Lake Pontchartrain trout will show up at the trestles soon. The guys who pound the bridges on a regular basis are catching fish when the lake isn’t rough or dirty.
A great approach to fishing this month is to start “meat” fishing and once you have enough in the box to feed the family, start looking for spots where the trout might be moving. Start this month fishing any rock piles and jetties you can find. These are prime redfish, drum, and sheepshead spots. Look for rocks near deep water, those will be more productive, more often, than shallow water piles. The bridge pilings will be productive when the water conditions are good.
Understand, brown shrimp move from inside waters out, mullet seem to move from outside waters in, along with pogie. When those three baits come together, speckled trout gorge to fatten up for a long spawning season. This is when we see the biggest fish and the most activity. Right now, water temperatures are warm enough to get the fish started, as the movement of bait (mullet, pogie, shrimp) increases, so will the feeding activity for speckled trout. Redfish, drum and sheepshead are larger fish burning more calories, they have to scour those rocks looking for crabs, fish, and anything else hiding in there. The trout usually take a little longer to come out of their winter “funk”. But when they do, it is in an explosive way.
That event is just around the corner and it is now time to make plans, especially if you want to charter a boat. Weekends with stronger tides are better than weekends with slack tides. Plan a trip around the best conditions to increase your productivity and call early if you want to go with a guide. If you are looking for the best dates to fish, E-mail me CT3@thebigfish.net and request our BIGFISH newsletter. I have listed the dates as well as other news and information.
Get your gear in order, and spend some time grinding out a few “meat” fish, the specks are coming and this year looks to be a great one. By the next Northshore Conifer issue, we’ll be talking spots and baits and great boxes of fish.
Get out and Get on ’em - Team BIGFISH Capt. CT Williams, III