Macaluso: Front leaves only small window
Another cold front is on the way, and that will leave only Friday-Saturday window to get into open water to go after speckled trout, get to the Pontchartrain bridges for the first days of the usual fall run on flounder and the solid tuna bite behind the offshore trawling boats.
Recent fronts haven’t dampened the freshwater bite, but it has meant dealing with lots of muddy water.
Weather
Expect 5-10 knot east winds Friday through late Saturday before a shift to 10-20 knot north winds Sunday morning, and a jump from a light chop in Pontchartrain and 1-2 footers in Lake Borgne and along the Central Coast to 2-3 footers in nearshore areas and 3-4 footers offshore.
Look for morning lows in the 60s through Saturday, then the 50s by Sunday morning with highs in the upper 80s through Saturday before dropping into the 70s Sunday through the middle of next week.
While the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers are on the low side, look for a slight rise in the Mississippi through next week while Atchafalaya Spillway levels will remain steady in the 2.4-2.6 foot range on the Morgan City gauge.
Freshwater
Spinnerbaits (gold round blades, white/chartreuse skirt)continue to produce a lot of small bass in the Atchafalaya. Larger bass are taking frogs. Patience is the key here. Bass are missing frogs on the first strike, but varying a retrieve on subsequent casts usually produces the fish. “Punching” grass with soft plastics is a productive tactic, too.
Spillway sac-a-lait are taking blue/white (muddy water) and black/chartreuse (clear water).
Isaac’s fish kill continues to plague the Verret Basin.
Canals and bayous in the Amelia-Bayou Black area are holding bass. Take along small crankbaits, buzzbaits, small spinnerbaits and redshad worms.
Old River’s sac-a-lait action is hit and miss in the last week. The best action is early, then late along the piers on shiners and blue/clear sparkle tubes.
The coast
The first sign of the flounder run has come along the Pontchartrain bridges. Gulp! Shrimp and Jerkshad are working on jigs (weight varies according to tidal strength) on the bottom. Other soft-plastic minnow imitations working, too.
Live shrimp continues to be the ticket in Lake Borgne and out into Breton Sound.
The first reports of speckled trout came from waters west of Venice in the last week. Purple/white, purple/chartreuse and chartreuse plastics worked on a jighead. Some trout were taking red/white, clear and mullet-colored topwaters.
While there continues to be some trout action near Four Bayous Pass and along the beaches west through The Fourchon and the Timbaliers, trout have moved into the bays and have been taken over shell beds, reefs, rock piles and platforms on live shrimp and a variety of soft plastics.