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VENICE LOUISIANA FISHING TIPS
#1
The weather has certainly not been any help down in Venice!!! Not only are we dealing with a high and rising river, but the winds and fog have been tough on us as well. The river is pretty high and muddy right now, and the horrendous winds we have had in last week really have clean water at a premium.

We have caught fish however. I have been able to locate some isolated pockets of CLEANER water in the coves and off the points in some fo the bays. The key is to look for break lines in the water. It may not be much of a break, but to the fish it is. I'm fishing in water right now that is not CLEAN by any means, but it is slightly CLEANER than the surounding water. This is something you have to train yourslef to do in Venice. Fish in water that you wouldnt even cosider in other areas.

With the divergeance of fresh and saltwater, you have layers. Saltwater has a higher density coefficient than fresh water. This somewhat prevents the two types of water from mixing. What this creates is an ugly brown river water top, but a greener saltwater bottom. Keep a look out at your prop wash and also your trolling motor wash to pin point these areas. I find that the same areas consistently hold these pockets. So when you find one remember it!
How do you find one of these areas? I like to look in the bigger outer bays first. These include, Customhouse, Blind, Redfish, and Garder Island Bays. You'll want to find a pocket where the wind is coming off the bank(lee) and there are no tributaries of the river coming into the bay. The wind tends to blow that top river water layer out and away from the shore and then the tide can push some clean saltwater in. Dont just fish the shoreline in this situation. The fish will scatter throughout the entire "pool" created by this effect. The best tides are the end of the fall and the beginning of the rise.

You can also look for this same effect to take place off of the points. However I find that the smaller points back in the coves are more productive than the large main bay points. Again, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO FISH THE OPEN WATER! Most of the trout will come from 20 to 50+ yards off the shore. Of course the majority of the redfish will be working the cane edges.

Even though the water temps are a little cooler right now, the fish are showing some signs of a spring like bite. WE have had several fish come up and SMASH OUR CORKS! I will be taking some topwater samples this week! Water temperature is something that most people over look. They choose to put much more time into things like bait selection or finding a secret spot. This time of year water temperature is EVERYTHING. I would rather fish a not so good looking spot with a 58 degree surface temp, than a great looking spot with a 49 degree water temp. If you can combine a great spot with the right water temps, you'll be on the fish!

This time of year I like to fish plastics under a cork. I usually dont like corks, but it is a necessity most days right now. Most of the areas we are fishing are covered in cane stubble. Throwing a jig will result in multiple snags. Also, the fish are still a little lethargic, suspending that bait in their face entices them to eat an easy meal. Another advantage of the cork is to "call" the fish in. IN these dirty water conditions, the noisy rattling corks help the fish locate there prey.
As for plastics I like to rig an opening night SWA on a quater ounce head with an 18-24 inch leader tied to a cajun thunder cork. I usually use a 30lb MONO leader as the water is generally not clear enough for this to spoke the fish. Other colors I like are Chartruese(with or without the fire tail), black and chartruese, Purple and white.

I also use DOA shrimp allot, perhaps the most. The baits are KILLER! The slow fall of the these baits drive the fish INSANE. I see allot of people threading them onto jig heads, DONT! You kill the action. Its not the bait that catches the fish, its the action. I like to pull the standard hooks out and replace them with a barbed owner needle point and GLUE it in place. This will last pretty much all day. Of course SPECULIZERS work and are very easy to just tie on. This is what I've used the last few days.
I hope this information helps some of you out. I'm amazed at how the parking lot thins out at VENICE MARINA when the river starts rising! People are terrified of the mighty muddy! Last year I caught 2 trout pushing 9 pounds while the river was at flood stage in New Orleans! Thats not counting the 6-7 pound trout we also caught. One word of caution however, BE CAREFUL IN THE RIVER THIS TIME OF YEAR!!! Logs, pillings, bridges, ANYTHING could be floating or worst yet, submerged in your path! FOG is also a constant concern. I cancelled my trip yesterday and sent 8 guys home and another Captain, because the fog rsik was too great! To paraphrase Brandon Ballay, "NO FISH EVER MADE ME THAT MAD TO HAVE TO GO OUT IN THIS!"

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