Fishing Cornucopia at Port Fourchon

With the rising sun turning the dark sky orange, we left behind Port Fourchon, one of the busiest ports in Louisiana and the entire Gulf of Mexico, and ventured westward into Terrebonne Bay, a massive, watery expanse that includes numerous bayous, lakes, swamps and marshes tallying some 730,000 acres. It’s an incredibly fertile estuary teeming with shrimp, crabs and other forage that feed multiple gamefish species thriving in its waters.

On this September morning, we soon spotted a mass of roiling water moving across the surface caused by a school of tightly-packed mullet under attack by redfish. Some of the baitfish leaped from the water in futile attempts to escape their spot-tailed pursuers. My companion and I tossed our largest topwaters in front of the churning cauldron, and both were promptly blasted by big, hungry reds.

STRATEGIC LOCATION

Port Fourchon sits where Bayou Lafourche flows into the Gulf, about 60 miles south of New Orleans and west of the Mississippi River Delta. Aside from redfish, Terrebonne Bay is home to a wide range of sought-after inshore species, including speckled trout, black drum, flounder, sheepshead, pompano and many others. On our half-day trip, we brought 13 different species to the boat.

“We catch a lot of different fish,” says Tommy Pellegrin with Custom Charters, who grew up fishing these waters and is based in Cocodrie on the west side of Terrebonne Bay. “In the past few years, we’ve even been catching a lot of pompano.”

Dotted by islands, oyster reefs and petroleum facilities, Terrebonne Bay connects to lakes Barre, Felicity, Pelto and Raccourci, Timbalier Bay and other small waterbodies that all run together. In the marshes, numerous bayous and canals form a primordial labyrinth. Several barrier islands separate the bays from the Gulf.

“We’ve lost numerous islands over the years from erosion,” says Kip Plaisance who guides with his son Max (fishtidewater.com) and regularly runs out of Fourchon. “I remember years ago, when the lakes and bays were somewhat separated. Now, Lake Pelto, Lake Barre, Lake Raccourci and Terrebonne Bay just run together between Fourchon and Cocodrie.”

REDFISH RULE

Ambush predators, redfish cruise the weedy shorelines looking for crabs, small fish, shrimp and other morsels to devour. Tossing popping-cork rigs sweetened with live or fresh shrimp, minnows or pieces of fish or crab near the shorelines is a popular method. You simply jerk the rod occasionally to make the cork pop the water to simulate fish striking prey. Anglers can also use other natural and artificial temptations. Soft-plastic enticements that resemble shrimp or minnows work very well, too.

Anything that might fool a largemouth bass will interest redfish. The spot-tailed marsh marauders pulverize topwater lures. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits and spoons make excellent search baits. The old standby, a jig head tipped with a soft-plastic trailer and dragged along the bottom or fished just over it, also works.

When redfish reach about 5 or 6 years of age, most leave the marshes to head offshore. From mid-August to October, and peaking in September, giant bull reds come close to the coast to spawn. That’s when massive schools terrorize anything they encounter.

“When those big schools of bulls come in, we call that the Red Sea,” Pellegrin says. “It’s quite a remarkable sight. We might see more than a thousand in one school blowing up on the surface. At that time, they’ll hit anything that touches the water. We throw surface lures at them, like the Berkley J-Walker. Just toss it in front of the schools and start walking it. The big bulls will annihilate it. Sometimes they’ll explode on a bait right next to the boat.”

Natural baits like shrimp and whole menhaden (also called pogies) tempt redfish, but reds have a particular fondness for succulent mullet, either live, whole or chunked. And the bulls can’t resist a crab. For big reds and black drum, use a whole blue crab, cracking the top shell so it oozes juices. For smaller reds and drum, break crabs in half to make two baits and fish them on 7/0 circle hooks.

“When reds are not schooled up, we often fish a cracked crab or cut mullet in the passes. Pogies are also good baits,” Pellegrin says. “September is still hot in South Louisiana, so we fish the deeper bayous and little ditches draining the marshes. When water temperatures turn hot, redfish leave the shallow marsh ponds to cool off in deeper water. We look for the deepest holes at the mouths of big bayous flowing into the bays.”

SPECKS ALSO ABOUND

Better known for producing large numbers than big fish, the area holds abundant speckled trout in the 1- to 3-pound range. People occasionally catch some 4- to 7-pound specks and a few bigger ones. During the summer, the largest trout typically stay near the islands and oyster reefs in the lower bays. In September, watch for diving birds that could indicate trout attacking shrimp.

“Timbalier Bay is a good summertime haunt for speckled trout,” Plaisance says. “In the summer, the bigger fish exit the shallow marshes and head to the deeper bays and islands. They gather along the barrier island beaches and pass through the bays to get there. In late August and September, trout begin moving back into the inland bays and marshes. At that time, we fish the islands and wellheads toward Lake Barre."

Many anglers fish for trout the same way they do for redfish, with corks and live shrimp. Trout also eat minnows and pogies. Artificial bait aficionados should throw soft plastics on 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jig heads. Anything that resembles a shrimp or minnow could be effective. Just work the baits slightly faster and higher in the water column for trout than you would for reds.

“Plastics frequently get more trout bites than live bait, but live bait gets them going faster,” Plaisance says. “Once we get the fish feeding, we switch to plastics to get a better grade of trout. But with live bait, we’ll catch other fish besides trout and redfish, like drum, sheepshead, croakers and more.”

OTHER LIKELY CATCHES

Numerous petroleum wellheads punctuate the bays, and these structures attract speckled trout, redfish, sheepshead, black drum and other species. For bigger trout and reds around wellheads, Plaisance likes to free-line live Gulf killifish, aka cocahoe minnows, a native baitfish. He sometimes attaches a small split-shot to the line to get the minnow a little deeper.

Just off the barrier-island beaches, cobia come closer to shore in late August and September, sometimes cruising the lower bays. Usually, you only need to pitch jigs or live pogies to them to hook up. Cobia and tripletail also often appear around the smaller satellite wellheads associated with larger platforms. Both species like to hover under any floating object.

“We catch cobia on 2-ounce jig heads with 8-inch curly-tail trailers that mimic eels,” Pellegrin says. “Berkley Gulp! has a curled-tail bait that’s awesome with some good colors. My favorite colors for cobia are pink, chartreuse and glow. Gulp! baits have some scent for added enticement. When we pass anything floating in the water about a half-mile off the beaches, we always look for tripletail. If we find some offshore grass patches, we’ll usually find a bunch around them.”

DEEPER-WATER FUN

Out of Cocodrie, Fourchon and Grand Isle just east of Fourchon, anglers fishing nearshore waters might hook mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and other game. Farther out, people catch red snapper, king mackerel, amberjack, triggerfish, spadefish, grouper and various pelagic species. On one offshore trip, we caught 17 species in four hours.

“Offshore fishing out of Grand Isle is great,” says Matt Fuertes with Louisiana Inshore Fishing Charters, (lainshorefishingcharters.com). “The water here gets deep fast. On a calm day, anyone can go out in a bay boat and catch red snapper. People also catch mangrove snapper, cobia and many other species within 30 to 40 miles of the beach. You can also reach the Mississippi Canyon fairly quickly and catch blackfin or yellowfin tuna. At times, people even catch blue marlin. You can catch deep fish like grouper and tilefish, as well. In the winter, the wahoo and yellowfin bite heats up. All year long, there’s something to catch for everyone.”

In the fertile waters of the Gulf of Mexico and its inshore systems, there’s no telling what might pull on a line at any given time. If the preferred species doesn’t cooperate, something else probably will.

If it’s red snapper you crave, keep in mind that Louisiana increased the daily limit from two to four fish per person in 2023. The minimum length limit of 16 inches remains in effect. State and federal seasons, limits and regulations vary by species, so always check before keeping anything. For Louisiana fishing regulations, see wlf.louisiana.gov.

BAYOU ATTRACTIONS

• It’s mostly quiet at the end of the road, but there’s still plenty to do when you’re not on the water.

Surrounded by marshes and bays, Port Fourchon sits at the end of Highway 1, which runs down the east side of Terrebonne Bay. On the west side, Highway 56 ends at Cocodrie. Don’t expect much nightlife where the highways end, though you can drive to Houma in about an hour or go another hour to New Orleans.

To learn more about Cajun culture, visit the Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux. Tour the Laurel Valley Village to see an historic sugar plantation. In Golden Meadow, learn how Cajuns make fishing nets at Chine’s Cajun Net Shop.

Just north of Cocodrie, Coco Marina offers various accommodations with a restaurant, as well as live entertainment at times. You can also stay at the Sandpiper Inn in Chauvin. Next to Coco Marina, visit the wetlands museum in the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium building.

Grand Isle, the only inhabited barrier island in Louisiana, offers a number of amenities, including lodging, restaurants and entertainment. Many people stay at Grand Isle State Park.

“The Hurricane Hole Marina and Resort is the one-stop shop for resort life in Grand Isle,” says Rehgann Gafford, the marina manager.

For more information, visit lacajunbayou.com and explorehouma.com.

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• This article was featured in the September 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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