[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s hot, hot, hot in July. Looking back at our logs, though, July was the best month of fishing and weather we had last year. The Louisiana marsh is off the charts with big speckled trout and astonishing numbers of school trout. Focus on oyster bottoms on the east side of the marsh from Isle Au Pitre to Comfort Island for the best results. Look for diving gulls and terns to show where the schools of bait and shrimp are. Best times to be fishing would have to be the first two and last two hours of daylight. Tandem rigs or popping cork rigs will get the numbers. For bigger fish, use Carolina rig big live shrimp or croakers over reefs and oil rigs.
A good spinning set up will help on those windy days. We use Okuma V’s, Helios and RTX’s for extra long casts into or with the wind. Spool with 20-lb. braid for best the results. On those calm sweltering midday outings, looking for triple tail is a must. Look underneath anything floating for those hard-fighting, tasty critters. Just pitch a live shrimp near them and hang on. So far this year, record numbers of boaters have been out in the marsh. Please be courteous and respectful to other boaters. Bring plenty of water to stay hydrated, have fun and be safe.