Rods & Reels:
For inshore/coastal saltwater fishing in the Louisiana Marshes, I prefer to use casting reels mated to either 6’6″ or 7′ casting rods.
I prefer Shimano reels for their smooth casting, durability and customer service. I started with a Calcutta 250 five years ago, and have been very satisfied. But the Calcuttas were very heavy. Mr. 10% has introduced us to the advantages of Shimano Curado reels and we bought 20+ CU-200, CU-100, and the new CU-200BSF “Curado Green” reels. The old green Curado’s were great and we had many rebuilt by the folks at Professional Sporting Goods on Julia Street in New Orleans. We find the newer Shimano Baitcast reels to be expensive. So we have switched to Lews Baitcasting reels, which I find work just as well. Although designed for bass fishing, these ergonomic reels work great on specks and redfish.
We like Castaway and Falcon casting rods with natural cork handles. Castaway has gone out of business and I have replaced some of these with G.Loomis 7 foot rods. Personally I like a light action for working jigs for trout, but I prefer a medium action on a shorter rod for the topwater lures. I find that the extra spring in the light action, multiplied over a long day on the water, makes working topwaters tiring. You will get about 5 extra yards of distance on the 7 foot rod.
For popping corks and for our guests, we have a large selection of 2500 class Diawa and Shimano spinning reels mated to 7 foot medium action spinning rods. For catching bull reds and drum in the passes we have some Shimano Baitrunner 6500 spinning reels which are probably overkill but we don’t lose many fish either.
Although I know it will cause a backlash from Mr. 10%, let me say that I still use a Zebco 888 mated to a stout 7 foot Ugly Stik rod by Shakespeare. I use this rig for casting a weighted popping cork, especially on windy days. I have yet to find any other rig that can cast a cork into the wind with distance and without backlashing. So when the tackle snobs are picking out birdsnests, just step up and wing that cork into the wind with your old Zeb.
Lures and Terminal Tackle
My favorite lure is the topwater plug, and my favorite topwater is the “She-Dog” by Mirrolure. It took me a long time to gain confidence in this lure, but once you have mastered the simple action of “walking the dog” you will begin to witness violent surface strikes from lurking speckled trout and redfish. The Top Dog, Jr. is just as effective and may be a bit better for windy days. Mr. 10% sometimes favors a Zara Spook or a Spittin Image in Pogie colors. Rig these on a 6 foot flouro leader.
Cast the lure as far from the boat as you can and reel it in steadily as you twitch the end of your rod at the same time. The lure will dart from side to side, and make a “click-clack” rhythmically as it does so. When you see the fish strike your bait, do not try to set the hook. Often a speck will strike the plug to stun it. If you rear back, you will pull the lure out of the fish’s visual range. Just let the lure sit still for a 3 count, and then gently twitch it to simulate a stunned baitfish. More often than not the speck will come back to finish the job, and get the business end of the treble hooks in the process.
For trout just below the surface, we also like to use slow-sinking or diving twitchbaits like the Catch 2000 and Mirrodine, by Mirrolure and the Jointed Thunderstick by Mann’s Bait Co. I have not really given these baits a fair run against the Top Dog, but I have picked up a few fish on them when the trout are just slapping the topwaters without committing. These baits are not really as much fun as a topwater because the angler doesn’t get to view the trout smashing the lure. However, there is no debate about them working when the conditions are right.
To fish below the surface or on the bottom, we universally agree that the Bayou Chub minnow by Reaction Lures is the best soft plastic baitfish locally available. However these have become hard to find and we have switched to Matrix Shad, although we can’t find a LSU color match in the Matrix. We also carry a large selection of Tsunami Swim Baits in Bunker or Blue Bunker color scheme. These work great in the winter.
We rig our plastics on either regular unpainted jigheads, or on improved “Assassin” style jigheads, which have a stronger “wide gap” hook and reflective eyes. I also recommend the Death Grip Jigheads. Because the improved jigheads are “hi dollar,” I will typically only use them where I am comfortable that oyster reefs will not play a major role in the fishing. It is terrible to lose 5 bucks worth of jigheads in 5 minutes. For popping corks we just use the cheapest jigheads available.
No tackle discussion would be complete without mentioning the venerable “sparkle beetle” under a popping cork. I wager that this rig has caught more speckled trout than any other artificial lure known to man. String a chartreuse beetle about 18 inches under a popping cork – cast out and pop vigorously every 15 seconds. Deadly on schoolie speckled trout. Another variation of this rig substitutes a realistic shrimp for the beetle, (DOA, Voodoo, etc) but I have not noticed any difference in results.
Sometimes redfish cannot resist the temptation of a 3/8 ounce weedless gold spoon crawled out of the marsh grass near the bank. Some say that this lure imitates a crab. I don’t know what it does but the redfish love it! Cast out and retreive slow and steady – set the hook hard!
We have been using power-pro for the past 20 years now and have very few rods rigged with monofilament now. We buy the 20 or 30lb power pro by the bulk spools. I use a 6 foot Yozuri Red flourocarbon leader on all of my rods. Coogan doesnt use any. He seems to do just fine.
A good trolling motor is a must. My Pathfinder is rigged with a 24V Terrova by Minn Kota. Having Spot lock is pretty much a must for summertime rig fishing off the coast at Dularge. It also really helps staying on top of trout schools under the birds. We have power poles and they are very handy, when they work, which is about a 50/50 sometimes. Bring a strap to tie it up when the hydraulics inevitably quit on you.
A very useful and expensive gadget is the Bogagrip. This item is used to grasp a fish by the lip so that it can be weighed and released unharmed. The scale is very accurate – so much so that you can have it certified for IGFA records if necessary. Pricey and hard to find, it makes a great gift.
Coog has a 24 Bay Champ by Champion, and that thing is a beast. We have tried to sink it on numerous occasions with construction supplies, concrete, lumber, generators, and St. Augustine sod. It will carry a huge amount of weight and it always wants to go 30mph. We have 2200 Pathfinder and a Mitzi 15 flats boat made by Mitzi Skiffs of Jacksonville, FL. All three of these boats are excellent for the inshore fishing we do in Dularge, and I am very excited about poling the Mitzi 15 around in the ponds after tailing redfish. If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive flats boat, I suggest you check this hull out. It is very well-built and great for up to 3 anglers. Once you spend an afternoon poling and sightfishing for redfish, you will never look at redfishing the same way again.