Cocodrie, Louisiana
Species: Redfish
July 2020
I was getting sick of being cooped up at home thanks to COVID, so I decided to drive 5 hours to the Cocodrie Louisiana area to do some fishing. I used Ellender Charters, a father son guide service. I fished first with Josh the son. He has a really nice and spacious boat that was a pleasure to fish on.
Day 1
We hit up the marshes due to the windy weather. I was casting a gold Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon pretty much exclusively. The wind made it very tough to spot fish, but through blind casting I was able to land 7 nice slot sized Redfish up to around 29". The bigger ones put up a really nice fight on bass tackle. The fish in the marsh also have really vibrant colors. We ended having to head in around noon due to storms coming up.
Species: Redfish
July 2020
I was getting sick of being cooped up at home thanks to COVID, so I decided to drive 5 hours to the Cocodrie Louisiana area to do some fishing. I used Ellender Charters, a father son guide service. I fished first with Josh the son. He has a really nice and spacious boat that was a pleasure to fish on.
Day 1
We hit up the marshes due to the windy weather. I was casting a gold Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon pretty much exclusively. The wind made it very tough to spot fish, but through blind casting I was able to land 7 nice slot sized Redfish up to around 29". The bigger ones put up a really nice fight on bass tackle. The fish in the marsh also have really vibrant colors. We ended having to head in around noon due to storms coming up.
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Day 2
The morning started out pretty stormy and we waited it out at the dock. I was a little worried we wouldn't get much fishing time, but Josh trailered the boat and launched from a different spot and we set up for Bull Redfish. We used crabs for bait and they were really on. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the first bite, and after that it was only about 5 minutes between bites. I managed to land all but one of the 14 fish, and they were all quite large. The first one measured out at 42", tying my personal best. The rest weren't far behind; I think the smallest one of the morning was still around 20lbs. They were a blast on my Daiwa Pluton 200 setup. Josh was skeptical of it, but that reel is a tank.
There was another boat fishing near us, but they weren't having any luck. After the 13th fish landed, I decided to give up the spot to them and head back to the marsh to see if I could fill out a limit (you can only keep 1 Bull per person per day). Sadly, I did not manage to catch another fish the rest of the day. We did see a very large alligator in the marsh. Unlike most gators, it did not sink out when it saw us, and kept swimming lazily along until we almost got close enough to touch it with a rod. Then it finally disappeared. I really like fishing in that marsh environment.
The morning started out pretty stormy and we waited it out at the dock. I was a little worried we wouldn't get much fishing time, but Josh trailered the boat and launched from a different spot and we set up for Bull Redfish. We used crabs for bait and they were really on. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the first bite, and after that it was only about 5 minutes between bites. I managed to land all but one of the 14 fish, and they were all quite large. The first one measured out at 42", tying my personal best. The rest weren't far behind; I think the smallest one of the morning was still around 20lbs. They were a blast on my Daiwa Pluton 200 setup. Josh was skeptical of it, but that reel is a tank.
There was another boat fishing near us, but they weren't having any luck. After the 13th fish landed, I decided to give up the spot to them and head back to the marsh to see if I could fill out a limit (you can only keep 1 Bull per person per day). Sadly, I did not manage to catch another fish the rest of the day. We did see a very large alligator in the marsh. Unlike most gators, it did not sink out when it saw us, and kept swimming lazily along until we almost got close enough to touch it with a rod. Then it finally disappeared. I really like fishing in that marsh environment.
Day 3
Day 3 looked to have the best weather for the week, so I decided to venture out a bit and try for Speckled Trout. I went with Josh's dad Gerald this time. We thought we were only going to have a short window of weather, so we headed out first thing. The first couple spots didn't yield any bites and the water looked very muddy. Luckily, we were able to find a spot with slightly nicer water where the trout were active. They were small, ranging from about 10"-15", with many measuring at just a hair below the 12" minimum size. However, they were hungry and we picked away at them for a couple hours until we had 37 keepers. We tried some other spots but only managed one more keeper. At one point something much larger grabbed my plastic lure and started really zipping off drag. It ran towards the boat, but before we got a look at it, it got grabbed by a dolphin which took off with it and spooled the light reel in no time flat. I tried to grab the spool to break it off, but I didn't get a hold of it in time. I really would have liked to have gotten a look at that fish, but oh well. Sadly the weather didn't let us fish like we had planned the next couple of days so I just came home early. I highly recommend either of the Ellenders; they are great local fishermen who really know the area. |
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