Using birds to find bass
 Keith Lusher Jr
It’s common knowledge that speckled trout fisherman use
birds to point them in the right direction when searching for feeding
trout. Birds not only have a great view
of the fishery from up above, they also have superior eyesight that helps them
spot the baitfish wounded by actively feeding trout. When you see birds
circling and diving in an area, you can be sure trout are there! The sight of
flocking seagulls plunging into the water is enough to turn even the most
reserved angler into and kid pointing and scrambling to the front of the boat
to be the first to cast into the area. Point
blank, finding diving birds means finding feeding trout. But don’t think that
bass fisherman don’t use these birds the same way. Birds can be also be used when locating bass
too! How many times have you seen birds searching for food along the shoreline?
My guess is almost every trip. If you are ignoring these birds you are missing
out a huge indicator. I recently did
some bass fishing with Ronald Pierre of Denham Springs. Ronald is an avid bass
angler here on the Northshore and he says shoreline birds are always affecting
his decision on whether or not to try certain spots. “Bass will work together
in school to pin baitfish and shrimp against the surface for feeding. Birds are
a dead giveaway for locating bass in the area and can work just as well as
having top of the line electronics during the right situation.” Ronald went on to tell me how he uses Poul’
deau to locate underwater grass, “Poul' deau will let me know where there is
healthy grass in a certain area. They flock to some of the greener parts of a
bayou or river in search of better food habitat,” Ronald said.
 Bitterns will often signal bait in the area
Some other birds to be on the look- out for are bitterns, rails, and cranes. These birds are prevalent along the rivers and bayous here on the Northshore and will often signal what choke points to fish. They often sit still and wait on grassy points. On a good tide the water moves around these points and with it comes baitfish that have been wounded by a school of feeding bass. Finding these birds can single-handedly make the difference in you putting fish in the boat or striking out.
Early Fall?
August is arguably
one of the worst months for anglers here on the Northshore. Temperatures in the
90’s, water temperatures in the upper 80’s, and dead calm winds are all factors
that often force anglers to throw in the towel. For those of you looking for some relief I may
have some good news for you. Local Meteorologist Bob Breck thinks we may be in
store for an early fall in Southeast Louisiana. “Everything I’ve heard from the
forecasters that work for the commodities and utility companies is that this
will be an early Fall over the eastern 2/3 of the United States. These are forecasters who compare patterns
from the past to help predict the future.
They study the cycles of ocean currents that are the real driver of
climate change. Look for our first real
cool front around September 1st.”
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Flounder
October is usually a prime month for catching flounder along
the shoreline and bridges on the Northshore but anglers have been seeing more
and more flounder mixed in with their boxes lately. Slidell angler Vito Neal
fishes Lake Borgne and is starting to put more flounder in the boat. He says
there definitely some holes out there where fishermen can put together a good
box of flounder and things are only going to improve. “The Flounder start
showing up around this time of the year. The bigger doormat ones will start
being caught next month. I’ve been
catching a few flounder mixed in with my trout so I know they are in my normal
holes where I can go and catch dozens of them. My advice for someone to target flounder would
be to find points, shells, drop offs, and the bridges. Use green plastics like
Matrix Shad Green Hornets on a jig head and bounce them slow on the bottom like
a bass worm, “Neal says.
Michael Valliant of Mandeville shows off his flounder he caught in the ICW Marsh
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Lake Pontchartrain speckled trout may be in survival mode.
Speckled trout season off to slow start on Northshore
Beat the crowds, find less stressed waters!
Got your backup plan?
Finally some stability on the Northshore!
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