John Flores: When fish are biting, he doesn't mind a crowd
When the word gets out that fish are biting in a particular location, it’s not long before the place is inundated with anglers.
I’m one of those guys who likes to see people catch fish. What’s more, I’m an open book when it comes to hot spots where I’ve personally been catching or heard about someone catching.
I’m not sure entirely why I like to see people catch fish or don’t mind crowds. Maybe it was growing up fishing steelhead and salmon in Michigan’s northern lower peninsula where, literally, anglers would be shoulder to shoulder along the Au Sable River.
Whenever a guy would get a fish on, those around him, out of etiquette, would quickly reel in their lines allowing him to fight and land the fish. It was great to watch someone in the fight of their life. In that moment the fisherman didn’t have a care in the world.
Since late summer there’s been a strong red fish bite in East Cote Blanche Bay, where both bank fishermen and boat anglers have equally had success fishing at or out of Burns Point Boat Launch and RV Park.
There are a couple of dynamics that have come together this year creating the fishy-conditions. First, the natural flow of the Atchafalaya River runs westerly when it reaches the Gulf. In the spring, fresh water influences the salinity across a few bays west of the river, where the better saltwater action often doesn’t occur until late summer and early fall in this region.
Much of the summer the Atchafalaya River has been in the 2-foot range, meaning there has been very little freshwater influence this year.
The second thing that has impacted these western bays in St. Mary Parish this year is drought. East Cote Blanche, West Cote Blanche, and Vermillion Bays typically see lots of rainfall throughout the summer, which impacts the salinity in these regions.
These two factors, along with some beautiful weather conditions, have caused the stars to line up, where St. Mary Parish anglers have landed some pretty special bull reds this fall – including yours truly.
I don’t attribute the redfish I caught to any special skill or bait. There’s nothing really cunning to tossing a dead shrimp on the bottom and waiting for a fish to bite it. Seriously, it’s been that easy.
On my most recent trip to Burns Point, the fishing peer had attracted a nice crowd of anglers all seemingly having a good time. Two anglers were fishing off the rock embankment that protects the park from erosion and one of them had a big red fish on that he was fighting.
I watched the tussle for several minutes. Trey Northern, the angler with the fish on, and his friend, Glen Daniels, had already landed one big bull red. This was their second hooked fish of the morning.
Northern repeatedly pumped his rod and reel, not giving the big red a chance to get away. Standing close by, his buddy Glen attentively watched for the fish to surface. When the fish did surface, it came up close to the rocks. Daniels grabbed the fish with a long gaff pole and looked like someone who’d done this a time or two before. And, what a fish it turned out to be.
Other bank fishermen at Burns Point have been catching a few flounder and occasionally speckled trout and white trout.
This week’s weather conditions with colder temperatures and a blowing northwest wind will stir up the bays around Burns Point. In a few days, once the front passes, warmer weather is forecast where the conditions will once again return to normal, and anglers can pick up where they left off.
Fall is a great time of year to fish and there’s been a pretty good bite going on down La. 317 lately. You might just want to check it out
John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththeflo@cox.net.