Can’t-miss spots needed Saturday

Violent weather from the latest cold front brings strong north winds and heavy seas to south Louisiana. All that puts this weekend’s action in jeopardy in what have been hit-and-miss trips for the past week.

Rises in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers add more question marks, and recent rains coming before north winds add even more uncertainty for the weekend.

There are some can’t-miss spots in freshwater and saltwater, but even these areas likely will not be as productive as they have been in recent weeks.

Weather

Expect winds to shift from the south to northwest and increase to 15-25 knots from the north by Friday morning with a prediction of “rough” conditions on big, inland lakes and 5-7 foot offshore seas. The cold front will bring morning temperatures to around 40 degrees with afternoon highs in the low 60s through Sunday.

The coast

On strong north winds, the most common places to find fish are drains and run-outs from ponds into canals, around points where water from a bayou or canal is being pushed into a larger canal or bayou.

With water temperatures remaining relatively high for this time of year, the rising barometric pressure and slack tides will be the driving forces slowing the bite.

One “can’t-miss” spot throughout January have been the MRGO rocks from Shell Beach south t the Hopedale area. Some bait houses continue to have live shrimp. Otherwise, folks are using a variety of soft plastics on light 1⁄16-ounce and 1⁄8-ounce jigheads. The light jigs help keep baits from hanging up among the rocks and also slow the fall of baits to give anglers a chance to catch suspended speckled trout, redfish and black drum. Use fresh shrimp for sheepshead.

The dam south of Breton Sound Marina at Hopedale is holding fish. North winds push water from this area. If you plan to venture off the MRGO into the lagoons and ponds, take note that tides will not be strong enough to push water back into shallow-water locations.

Another mostly “hit” spots are Sulfur Mine Lake and Old Bayou Blue. Deep, moving water is the trigger here and there’s plenty to find with H&H Cocahoe Minnows (limetreuse and electric chicken colors) on jigheads finding fish in clear and off-color waters.

Freshwater

The most consistent bass catch is the result of last year’s opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway: Limits of small, fat bass are scattered in canals on Lake Pontchartrain’s north shore. Along the south shore, look in the Bayou Sauvage area. The Matrix Shad on a spinner or swimming with a jighead works on bigger fish stacked around drains and narrow cuts between ponds, anywhere where there is moving water.

North winds moving water will help the action in the Pearl and Tchefuncte rivers, and the hottest spot in the Atchafalaya has been the Bateman Island area and nearby canals.