74 Louisiana Sportsman^ | April 2015
The Battle of MIDWAYcontinues on page 78 >
We were the only boat out there
on this nice, sunny day, and I remarked how unusual that is at
such a well-known hotspot.
“Not many make the long run out here in April unless they’ve
heard the trout are biting,” the captain said. “Otherwise, they
fish more inside.
“But when you get a good day like this, you have to make the run.”
We were both casting soft plastics about 2 ½ feet under corks,
and I got the first bite on a small, chartreuse beetle. After reel-
ing in a very respectable trout, I quickly caught another one
just like it, and then a couple more after that.
“Give me one of those sparkle beetles,” Herk said. “These fish
are ignoring my bait but they’re eating up your beetle.”
He switched baits and immediately caught a nice trout.
We were slowly trolling along the pilings, casting up alongside
them and popping our corks. At a few spots, we caught a half-
dozen or so fish before the action stopped and we resumed trolling.
It’s a tactic that works well anywhere when fishing for specks.
After a while Capt. Dee Price pulled up nearby with a group
of customers, and they started casting near the pilings under a
cork as we were.
Herk noticed they fished without success while we continued
to catch fish after fish.
“What are you using for bait?” Price shouted toward us.
“Small, chartreuse H&H sparkle beetles,” Herk shouted back. “If
you need some I think I have a pack I can dig out and give you.”
Price trolled up near enough for Herk to toss him a bag of the
beetles. They trolled back to the pilings and also started catch-
ing trout.
“I can’t believe how much difference these baits are making
today," I said. “Usually if they hit one bait they’ll hit another.
But today these fish want a small, chartreuse bait, and that’s all
they’ll hit.”TOP: Capt. Dee Price and his customers found success once
they switched to small, chartreuse H&H sparkle beetles.
ABOVE: Many people consider these hotspots between
Grand Isle and Lafitte as summer destinations and are
unaware that great trout action starts this month.