Cocodrie Trout & Lafitte Redfish Heating Up for Fall
Welcome to this week’s Louisiana Delta Fishing Report, covering New Orleans, Venice, Hopedale/Delacroix, Grand Isle, Houma, and everywhere in between. Host Andre’ Savoie talks with Capt. Aaron Benfield of AB Charters about the late-summer transition around Cocodrie, where speckled trout are beginning to move toward their fall locations, white trout are providing steady action, and bull redfish are already producing some outstanding trips. Andre’ also talks with Capt. Ryan Vincent of Reel Cajun Fishing about extremely shallow redfish around Lafitte, improving fall patterns, returning flounder, and what anglers can expect as cooler weather moves into the Barataria Basin.
Capt. Aaron explains that Cocodrie is in the middle of the transition from summer to fall, leaving speckled trout scattered from areas near the interior lakes all the way to wellheads in roughly 30 feet of water off the coast. While anglers may have to work harder to put together a full box of keeper trout, Aaron says there are fish in almost every direction, along with plenty of 11- to 14-inch white trout that can save the day when conditions are tough. The bull redfish bite has also been excellent, with one recent trip producing around 20 fish in an hour. When the bulls are visible and schooling, anglers can cast directly to them, while cracked crab fished on the bottom around deeper holes and points provides a reliable option when the fish are harder to locate. As fall progresses, Aaron expects trout and slot redfish to push farther inside, especially after the first significant cold front. His fall trout fishing is almost entirely artificial, including plastics under corks and double-rigged plastics, and he says October through December can be one of the best stretches of the year for anglers looking for a mixed box of trout and redfish.
Capt. Ryan breaks down a Lafitte redfish bite being driven by unusually low water and persistent north winds. The fish are beginning to school, but many are holding in extremely shallow marsh ponds and flats where getting within casting distance can be the biggest challenge. Ryan has been easing into six-inch-deep water and casting toward fish that are pushing, tailing, and busting along the surface. Market shrimp remains his dependable bait option, while anglers are also catching reds on black-and-chartreuse Cocahoe-style minnows, gold spoons, and shrimp under popping corks. Trout fishing has remained inconsistent around Lafitte, but Ryan is beginning to see smaller fish moving closer to inside waters and expects the bite to improve as temperatures fall. He has also seen an encouraging number of juvenile redfish throughout the marsh, abundant shrimp providing plenty of forage, and some impressive flounder showing up as bycatch, including a recent fish around 24 inches. Sheepshead are beginning to appear as well, and Ryan expects schools to move onto rock walls, cement structure, and other hard cover once the first October cold fronts arrive.
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