Fishing Forecast

Jeff Bordelorn

The July heat is on, so pack plenty of water and get an early start, you’ll not only beat the heat, but you’ll also beat the increasing number of recreational paddlers exploring the waterways.
Start of fresh, using live worms or crickets with a small weighted cork along the banks and under the overhanging trees. The key is to look for the clear sandy banks under the tree cover. Cast as close to the bank as possible, if you don’t like your cast, reel it back in and cast again. this method will produce lots of nice goggle eye and bream.
Working your way about mid-way down, find the cuts entering the bayou and on a falling tide throw on a top water to target the bass. Small Chug Bugs, Booyah Frogs, and Whopper Ploppers should produce good catches this time of year. A purple worm of some sort, Zoom Tequila Sunrise, is a must have for every angler to include in his tackle box for this area.
The bend near the Osprey nest on the right is probably the deepest spot of the bayou, right at the cut, look for the fish in the current lines when the water is moving, the big ones patrol the deeper water of the bends.
When you get to the mouth, the saltwater bite begins!
In the evening, the redfish tend to school up and feed on the bait fish flowing out of the bayou into the lake, watch for the diving birds and jumping mullet. Frozen bait shrimp, Matrix Pink Champagne, and sidewinder spoons have all worked well.
If all else fails, throw live shrimp.
CANE BAYOU LOVES LIVE SHIMP! You can stop in at Bayou Adventure for your live shrimp and tackle on your way to the launch. They also have complimentary maps of the bayou if you’re interested.

Probably the least fished waterway on the Norhthsore, Bayou Castine offers excellent escape from the crowds. It's July and the frog bite is second to none on the bayou. Focus on lily pads and small tranasses exiting the swamp. Green Spro-frogs are your best bet but you should also be able to pick up a few bass on flies if you're good with a flyrod. Castine offers great habitat for bluegill as well. Surface flies or crickets under a cork will suffice. Also a new addition to the whole Lake Pontchartrain basin has been freshwater catfish. Fish in the deeper areas of the bayou on the bottom for catfish and you may be surprised at the results!

FINALLY! Some action on the bridge. While it may not be speckled trout that Causeway anglers are catching, it's a very good sight to see that there is life at the 24-mile reef. It seems the good ole
dependable redfish have move into the neighborhood along with a few sheepshead. Live bait works best on the bottom Carolina rigged but fisherman are having better luck covering a lot of water. For this you'll need to jig the bottom with artificial on a 3/8 oz. jig head.

Daniel Sissac Roger Sissac

July is here, and it’s hot! Two weeks into summer, and the temps are reaching the mid 90s already. It’s not hot only above the water; the fish are feeling it too. The bass spawn is done, so the fish will look for cooler water. Depth usually means cooler water, but a grass line is also a welcomed respite. The grass does a couple things. It can be used as cover to ambush passing prey. It oxygenates the water, thus making it feel cooler. Another thing about a grass line, of which I don’t think most people are aware, is there is usually a ledge or drop-off near it, just past the grass’s outer edge. The ledge gives access to deeper water while providing another ambush point. Other than grass lines, seek shady areas, such as boat houses or the umbrage near the shoreline. Bass will be most active in the cooler parts of the day, so an early morn or late afternoon trip will probably be the most productive. Soft plastics are very effective, as well as slow-rolling a spinnerbait. Color choice should be based on the clarity (or lack thereof) of the water. Bream are biting well and are more tolerant of the heat. Shady spots are a good place to look, but a spot with structure that is in full sun should not be overlooked. Sexee Shad, worms, and crickets are always the top producers. Catfish are quite fond of these things too, so make sure your drag is set.

Ronald Pierre

July on the Tangi is considered Frog month. Frogging season is here and they are out in full force along the banks. This makes for easy nutritious meals for hungry bass. Hollow bodied frogs match the hatch perfectly and are the ticket to catching big bass this month on the river. Concentrate your efforts early and late in the day to beat the heat. Not only are these times cooler for fishing but bass tend to be more active and feeding during these times. Skip the frogs back under overhangs, run outs or any isolated cover that sits near deeper water. Bass use these types of cover as ambush points to feed and will not hesitate to inhale a frog when it is presented in front of them. Another key to frog fishing is having a soft plastic stick bait at the ready for when a bass short strikes your lure. A lot of times a bass will hit and miss a hollow bodied frog and won’t give it another look the second time around. This is when a senko comes in handy. As soon as the bass misses the lure quickly reel in the frog and pitch the senko to the same area then dead stick the lure. Most of the time the bass will see the soft plastic lure falling and will think it’s the wounded prey it was just after and they will come back to eat it.

The Reef out of Madisonville should produce redfish this month but it's feast or famine! Live bait on the bottom will be your best bet but have patience out there. You'll be rewarded IF the redfish move in. They have been known to move into the reef in massive schools allowing anglers to limit out quickly.

The fishing on Pontchaloula Creek has been good this month due to the lack of rainfall we've seen. Focus on overhangs and deep holes where the water is cooler. Daytime heating can really shut things down in a hurry. Chug-bugs on the surface work well during the morning hours. After the sun heats up things during the day switch over to weedless jigs.

Lawerence Lemoine

The heat is on and Bedico Creek may offer you a great escape from the heat along with providing a good bass bite even during the daytime. First off, early mornings and late evening are the best time to fish this area. The water temperatures are cooler and the fish are way more active. Target structure along the banks early and mid-day key in on deeper drop-offs. Black and blue Yum Dinger 4-5" worms Texas rigged work really well. Also target wind blown banks. the wind often blows debris to these banks which the bass, in turn, seek out as cover. The top-water bite has been known to last during the daytime hours on overcast days so cloudy days will pay of in July!

Ronald Pierre

July on the Amite River can be a great time for bass fishing. Anglers have to think outside of the box in order to put good fish in the boat. A lot of anglers like to pound the banks on the Amite River, and the shallow technique can put fish in the boat early in the morning but that bite can be inconsistent when the summer heat turns up. You will need a secondary pattern in order to keep a consistent bite throughout the day. After the shallow bite slows the deep bite is the key to unlocking great bass fishing on the river. Bass will bunch up on the deep drop offs along rip rap banks on the river, they will school on isolated structure on long points of any intersection or cut that empties into the main river channel, and they will stage in deeper ditches on any creek or wash out along the main river. Lures to use early in these areas are deep running crankbaits, like the Strike King 3xd’s and 5 xd’s, Rapala DT 10’s work well also. Use these lures early to fire up the school and to cover water until you find a concentration of fish in a certain area. After the bass get conditioned to the crankbaits use a swivel head jig or a ribbon tail worm as clean up baits. Work these lures slowly in the same general area where you connected with fish on the crankbait. These are go-to lures that will pick up any stragglers or new fish that pushed back up on the structure once the bite slows. Deep areas that have fish will usually hold fish throughout a period of a few weeks and will reload daily with fresh fish after fishing pressure has eased or if fishing conditions change. Look to these areas several times during the day, they can reload if you caught fish from there previously or it can be a timing deal where fish will get active at a certain time of the day when conditions are right.

Seems to be a good start to the summer fishing in the Biloxi/ Louisiana Marsh. This time of year, for me, the trout have pretty much abandoned the interior marsh for the bays, sounds and Lake Borgne. Try the rigs in Lake Borgne all the way from the mouth of Byu Biloxi around to Bayou St. Milo, marsh off of St Milo, and Magnolia Lagoons (many fish caught drifting that long lagoon), look for tide lines. Lake Borgne shorelines and all the drains into Lake Borgne are good for reds and specks.
Try the LA Marsh area from 9 mile east, all the open bays where water is coming out of bayous and passes will be holding fish. Never pass the chance to fish the diving birds if you spot them, just be ready to deal with the gaff tops that no doubt will start getting active. GPS MAPS should make it easy to explore this area of open bays and hundred of islands with tides moving around the ends. Most of the area has 4-8 foot depths that are not a problem for larger fishing boats (See the Miester) and bay boats to navigate with out worrying about running aground,!!! BUT !!!!, use common sense, don’t go barreling between two Islands less than 50 feet apart, lots of islands were ,not to long ago, long stretches of land.

Water temp in the upper 80s already, Shrimp are on the move so the fish that eat them should be waiting. Time to try the Train Bridge at Lake Borgne, if you can pick a nice time with light wind and light falling tide, hang under the first span on the north end. Fish the bottom with Carolina rig or drop shot(lots of snags so the drop shot may work better), using live bait or unweighted plastic. The flat outside the bridge on the north shore is productive on a falling tide, look for the tide lines and fish live bait or plastics under a popping cork in 3-5 ft of water, drop shot or Carolina rig in the deeper water along the tide lines. The northern shorelines and drains between 4X byu and west pearl are usually good for some reds and flounder, shrimp under a popping cork or your favorite plastic and spoon will work. Look for birds or just fish the tide lines ,shorelines and deep passes in and out of Lake Catherine. Tide lines and drop-offs in the Rigolets from Sawmill pass all the way to the train bridge are a good try also. 50-100 feet east of the Hwy 90 car bridge is the debris field from the old hwy 90 bridge. Anchor up and fish the bottom, live bait is a definite advantage. (many snags) The point at treasure island has a nice drop off at the Rigolets and lake P, another promising location to try. Oh yeah, give the Hospital wall a go, tie off to either piling and cast toward the twin span, let the tide move the bait along the bottom. Also try between the Hospital wall and the shoreline, top or bottom.

Patrick Engerran

River's up and rivers down. The Pearl complex is one of the most confusing systems I've ever fished. South of 90 it can be so low you see bank 2 ft in front of reeds. Go north and the water is high and in the woods. Insert shaking my head here. I do it a lot fishing the Pearl. The thing I love about it tho is you can always find fish. Maybe not big ones or big enough to win money on but you can catch plenty. Drains, laydowns, grass or trees. There is plenty of all this and if you run them you will find fish. Maybe a couple off each or maybe load up off of one type. Wind or the tide will generally have water moving, you may just have to run north or south to find it. Key this time of year is to find it. Don't sit in one spot if your not catching. Change it up. Spinnerbaits and cranks in drains and maybe some of my favorite Bogue Chitto Custom Rods buzzbaits over grass or in some pads. If I'm flipping or punching, which I do most the time, it's Toups's Tackle Mighty Mudbug. Local companies that make lures that catch fish as good as the major brands so try them out.
Remember if not catching change it up and move. North or south or east to west or grass to trees but the fish will be biting.

Todd Oalman

The excellent bass bite will continue throughout the summer months. Limits should be the norm, with days of 30 plus bass a realistic expectation. Look for moving water and bait. Ideally, you want to find a drain in the marsh that has pogies, shrimp, or minnows coming out. The bass will stack up and ambush the easy pickings. Early mornings, late evenings, and overcast days are the best times to fish soft plastics on the shore/weedline. When the shoreline bite slows, try casting pogie colored crankbaits around the mouths of the trenaisses. The fish will hang out along the shoreline and then transition to deeper water as the day heats up. Redfish will be in the marsh and the lake shore.

George Seibert

Fishing in Lake Borne should be at its peak before the heat of August. Salinity levels are getting better. Best bet is to head across to Malheureux Point and fish the shore line early in the morning towards the Creole Gap. That area headed east will have a better salinity. Use top water lures like mirrodine or you favorite about 20 yards from the shore. When the morning heats up change to popping corks. The rigs in mid Lake Borgne should also be holding some trout and especially sheepshead. Fish the rigs with a drop shot or sliding cork. And always remember it only takes a couple of live shrimp to get the fish started. Don't forget the sun screen and bring plenty of water. Good Luck!

Cast your line in the water and you may get lucky and catch a fish. That’s about how it has been going
here. Lake Pontchartrain is in great shape and that affects the Eden Isles and Oak Harbor canals. This summer we've been seeing an increase in white trout and croaker being caught in the canals. This is like the good ole days where the salinity was high. In addition to salwwater fish we are catching big cats and a lot of perch. Small jigs under a sliding cork set to about 4ft. One of my fishing companions has been pulling in hand sized perch. Water temps are up. Top water lures like a She Dog should get you plenty action early in the morning and That last hour before sunset. As the day warms up go for Matrix Shad. Cast it out and let it settle. Twitch it and start reeling in .After a few cranks of the reel, let it settle again. Keep repeating this process until you limit out.
I hope everyone has a safe and joyful Independence Day celebratio

The speckled trout bite at the Trestles will be slowly declining this month due to the July heat. However there are some redfish being caught at the bridge and also sheepshead around the pylons. Live shrimp works best on the bottom Carolina rigged but fisherman are having better luck covering a lot of water to locate fish. For this you'll need to jig the bottom with artificial on a 3/8 oz. jig head.

Mike O'Brien

Coming into July the weather is really heating up and the fish can feel it also. Most of the quality fish have moved to the main bayou and out of the subdivision canals to get near the deeper water.

Bass will be up on the banks and along the grass lines early and late. Toss frogs, Chug Bugs, and floating plastics over and around the grass and pads while the sun is low. As the sun gets higher the bass will move deeper off the breaks and to the outside of the grass lines. Try flukes and swim baits lightly weighted in darker colors as you go deeper. A little chartreuse never hurts either.
Panfish have provided steady action on small poppers, worms, and crickets closer to the shoreline. Start around 2’ under a cork and work your way out and down. Berkley Pinched Crawlers are a good option also. They are close to the real thing and easier to work with. Google Eye should be close to the banks in the shade and under the root balls near the shore.
I Haven’t received any reports from the mouth but typically this time of year the reds and croakers can be caught on live or fresh shrimp working the cuts and points when the water is moving. Move out a little and deeper during the slack tide. Follow the schools of baitfish when you find them.

Chris Basey

Summer is in full swing. The heat has been in affect in full swing. One thing that has been looking up is the shad hve been showing back up. Last year there wasn't much bait fish to be found. Now with lots of schools of shad the old summer time patterns will be working. Find any water movement. If there is no tide then find the wind. Stay on or very close to the main channels. Focus on any place where two channels meet making underwater points. When these points have grass on them they will work even better. Throw swimbaits, spinnerbaits, top waters, rattle traps, or shallow crankbaits. If the fish are not feeding try to stir them up with rattle trap by ticking it across the top of the grass. Also look for wind blown pockets, or banks. Hope this helps everyone. Good luck out there!

Ray Miller

July has some of the best fishing on the Tchefuncte River and it's usually in the early morning or late in the afternoon. Target shallow areas around cypress trees in the shade for good bass action with top water baits, spinner baits, or floating worms . If you like bream you should be able to catch good numbers and good size fish with either crickets or worms 3 ft under a cork with a small cricket hook. Target edges of lilly pads and areas with trees in lots of shade. Good numbers of sacalait can be caught if you target laydown trees you can see or submerged ones in deeper water. Black and chartreuse tube jigs with 1/16th head works quite well. Other colors that you want to try are monkey milk, bluegrass, blue ice, and my favorite, electric chicken or tight lining shiners 9 or 10 ft over deep brush. And of course catfishing bottom with worms, shrimp, or crawfish can catch good numbers and good size fish. Be safe and catch plenty fish !