Shore Thing Fishing Report, 10/2/2024

October 2, 2024

A bounty of bait in the bays should produce great catches, and cooler weather should mean a much more enjoyable time doing it.

​- by Sonny Schindler, Shore Thing Fishing Charters

Sonny Schindler and his boat, the Miss Margot.

We sincerely hope that everyone affected by Hurricane Helene gets back to normal as soon as possible.
 
The handful of days we were able to get out this past week were very good. The bait has been stacked up just about everywhere we fish. We are still seeing large rafts of rain minnows, mullet, pogies, and plenty of shrimp. In addition to that smorgasbord of fish-attracting sea life, we are also seeing a good many crabs on the shorelines. This probably explains why we are catching so many (rats and slot sized) redfish east, west, north and south.
 

This Fishing Report 
​is supported by

Karen and Bo Bahnsen with a nice tripletail caught near Bayou Caddy.

 
The big tides also let us get into pockets and shorelines that are unreachable most days. We are still fishing the Boat Monkey corks against the grass in broken marsh areas that have shells against the banks. Live or dead shrimp are currently the weapon of choice. Moving water and bait are also key factors in locating the redfish.
 

Les Lewis with a nice slot red he caught near Lake Borgne.

 
Our boats that went after speckled trout in the Louisiana marsh did well most days, sticking to the game plan of drifting oyster reefs in 3 to 5 feet of water. Again, I think the big tide swings helped push bait over these reefs and stack the speckled and white trout over them.
 
For the time being, the big critters are still around. With this much bait throughout the Mississippi Sound, the bull reds, Jacks, and sharks are going to feed heavily.
 

Li'l John and Big John Dane having fun with the redfish and speckled trout on Li'l John’s first fishing trip!

 
Most of the year I did not have much to report on tripletail here on the western side of the state. I’m happy to report I saw three in one day coming home from the Louisiana marsh last week. The two smaller ones we let swim, but the larger, obviously legal-sized fish we brought home for dinner. We are getting into cooler weather, when those wonderful tripletail leave our area. Hopefully, we get one good push of fish over here to the west before that window closes.

A very nice speckled trout caught south of Bay St Louis with Capt. Bryan Raymond.

---

Enjoy this feature?