Shore Thing Fishing Report, 8/2/2023

August 2, 2023

The sweltering heat of the last few weeks affects fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts more than most. Sonny offers common-sense ways to stay safe in the heat without giving up your catch.

​- by Sonny Schindler, Shore Thing Fishing Charters

Massive Jack Crevalle for this Lucky gentleman, fishing near Pass Christian.

The temperatures have been crazy lately. This heat has been absolutely no joke. We are having to plan everything around the high temperatures. Early morning departures are everything right now. The first 2-3 hours of daylight are typically the most important and productive – make ‘em count. You have to get your bait, fuel, ice, tackle, and equipment ready before that sun comes up. Preparing the evening before is a good bet to get most of your to-do list knocked out.
 

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Deacon Guice with a gigantic black drum he caught and released near the Louisiana Marsh.

 
The speckled trout bite has been good, but it seems it’s over once the heat and sweating start. Deep structures in 8-12 feet of water have been the ticket for early-morning trout bites. The shrimp are still pushing through, so when you see the diving birds in the shallower water, that is where you want to be. We typically drift on the outskirts of it and cast our baits into the diving birds and jumping shrimp. Sometimes you can fish them for an hour or more, and sometimes it’s five or 10 minutes, then the school scatters. You definitely need to make every cast count. I always tell folks that if a bird dives into the water, that should be where your cast should land, wherever that last bird hit the water.
 

Big speckled trout for this lucky gentleman fishing south of Bay St. Louis.

 
Mid-morning, we have been looking for big bull reds, jacks, and sharks or cruising around looking for tripletails, either fishing schools of ladyfish or pogies for the BIG FISH or dropping baits down in deeper channels.
 
Finding tripletails, which is actually a great play for the heat, means just cruising around, looking under any buoy, pole, pipe, or debris we see. The breeze of running around certainly helps combat the heat.
 

A perfect eating sized red fish for this young lady, caught near Lake Borgne.

 
Honestly, though, if you haven’t gotten what you needed by midday, unless you have air conditioning, it’s probably a smart play to find some shade or just head in. My few experiences with heat-related illness convinced me it’s nothing to play with. Just set the alarm early, get out there, get it done, and get on in.
 

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