The Best Fishing in America Now

Fishing has been with me all of my life and I have spent many days doing it. I have also traveled and fished and seen places that used to be good but still have the hype of past days. The only place I have been in those travels that lives up to the hype is southeast Louisiana. In fact it is better than the stories.

Back in the 90's and into the millennium I was a charter captain in Galveston, Texas running bay and offshore fishing trips. I had what I thought to be really good fishing trips but could tell that the offshore fishery was in decline. The bay fishing would have good and bad years, but the growing population of Houston was straining the fishery. The smaller oyster reefs I had frequented to avoid the crowds quickly became the same parking lot of boats as the larger ones.

I had begun to believe that the days of tons of fish were to be journal ed in my childhood memories and old legends and stories. Even the spots in Matador, Corpus Christi and South Padre Island were showing a decline with the constant pressure of the growing population. There were other guides who were starting to make trips to Louisiana and had impressive stories and pictures. With fishing I generally remained skeptical until seeing for my own eyes since stories usually had some extra embellishments.

During my guiding career my only trips into Cajun country were in the Sabine Bank area for offshore trips. After Hurricane Katrina I found myself in Plaque mines Parish which is the Mississippi River Delta. I saw numerous red fish, catfish and speckled trout in the areas on and right off the river. One of my crews even kept a guy on duty catching specks and reds at all times and loaded the back of a truck every day before going home.

Later when my job was done I stayed an extra day and fished in the river near Bras, Louisiana. We went up and down the river in a boat catching at least a hundred redfish along with numerous speckled trout, largemouth bass and flounder. After my one day vacation I was off to Terrebonne Parish for another project and was up and down the bayous. In Terrebonne I found the same thing I had seen in Plaquimines, people catching lots of fish all the time.

That first year after Katrina and Rita I just attributed it to the Hurricanes as fishing can be really good after them. But as I have stayed and lived in Louisiana I made friends and saw and heard what was happening and found out it wasn't just a fluke. Guys in Texas were having trouble making a five trout limit while the Cajuns were having trouble not going over the 25 trout limit. What really struck me was that Texas fishing had employed complicated plans and strategies to be successful. The Louisiana guys don't even have to try.

From New Iberia to Biloxi the fishing is better than anywhere else I have been, offshore or bay. Cocodrie, Dularge, Point Aux Chenes, Chavin and Dulac in Terrebonne Parish provide excellent bay action. In Plaquemines Parish bay hotspots are Buras, Empire and the crown jewel Venice. New Iberia has Cypremort Point and Jefferson Parish has Grand Isle. What is left of the Chandeleur Islands chain from Biloxi to Venice is a prime experience.

As far as offshore fishing Venice has deepwater off the end of the Delta and the Midnight Lump which is a tuna hotspot in winter. The Lump can also be reached from Grand Isle or Port Fourchon. Cocodrie also has great offshore fishing which is pretty much the case for the whole coast. There are so many oil platforms off the coast that complicated techniques used in the Carolinas, Florida or Texas are not required. Rig hopping is easy and the short runs make it easy even if one has not been to the area.

The bay trips are a little tougher if you go out of sight of the dock as the four hurricanes in recent years are washing the coast away. Maps and charts are not as good as they are in other states and the GPS map is probably not good anymore. The best bet is to find a bayou boy to show you around the first few times. If you ever wondered about the fishing Grandpa talked about, quit wondering and go to Louisiana.