Strugling in DU

Looking for a little direction not gps locations but general areas. Went out Saturday left with the guide boats in dark. Headed north Mechant caught few under size trout. Moved to drift a few reafs nothing. Tried a few to a few to a few areas where the water seamed to be comming out the marsh nothing. Headed south along north Sister Lake nothing. Used High life blue, coco gleaux, and cajun pepper under cork and on bottom. Gess this is called putting your time in as a beginner.

I've been fishing there for three or four years now and still feel like you do. I pretty much understand the summer time pattern, but the late winter and spring, I have yet to figure out.

You just have to put your time in, keep a good log and stay with it. Learn something new every time you go. I've decided that I'm going to hire a guide two or three times next year to learn some new areas.

ETA: Don't let the reports from all the guides get you down. They are out there almost everyday and have a significant advantage to us 'weekend warriors'.

And wouldn't be nice if these guides would routinely share some helpful current info on what patterns are working, like general location (deep in the marsh, large bays or offshore) and maybe depth of water. And methods like slow or fast retrieve or tight line or popping cork.

I am not looking for their 'honey holes' just info that true sportsman would share to save a little time for those who can't get out everyday.

These free 'reports' they post basically just promote their service and lure manufacturer.

If you fish the right location with the right technique all of the plasics will work!

But that's just my opinon based on 40 years of fishing. Good Luck and go often !!!!!

I am going to my camp in Dulac mid week. It looks like the weather will be ok by Friday and Saturday. I am scouting for reds and specks and will be glad to share what I find !!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope we do get a little help with this questions, i was in Dularge all day Friday, a buddy and myself came out with 18 nice 1 1/2# to 2# trout, 1 drum and a couple flounder but it was tough fishing. I was able to pull a fisherman off a sand bar, with the hope that if i'm ever in that position someone will stop and help me out. They had a article in the sportsman this month where Bill Lake was showing some hot spots in sister lake but we were not able to make it that far before the winds picked up. I tried deep in the marsh a couple weeks ago and had no luck so decided to try Lake Mechant where at least we came home with a few fish and made the 2 hour drive with our whiles but it sure would be nice to be able to go out and fill the ice chest up when wanting to. Pass the info on if you get it and i will do the same.

There are certain guides that i don't even bother reading any of their reports anymore as they only post names and pics, Then there are some that add what lure.
No guide that i know is going to give you much if any info on locaton in and open post. If the guide says he caught a 4 person limit in X lake ,there will be a hundred boats full of fishermen that have no clue running all over X lake the following weekend.
I have seen it happen in both salt and fresh water.
I can't blame the guides at all for not wanting to give up their spots.
But they could be a lot more generous w/ Lures ,techniques , depths and colors.
I don't mind telling someone that the fish are over the oyster reefs ,biting on opening night SA under a cork around 24' deep fished w/ a fast pop. What will that hurt??
i won't give false info either. That just proves your a hole! If i aint catchin i'll tell you i aint catchin. I won't show pics from a previous trip and blow smoke up your back side.
I don't fish Du so i can't help ya there.

I'm not sure how often you get to the 'DU' but Fri. was a fantastic day for a lot of boats. A lot of boats caught plenty of trout in Lake Mechant and Sister Lake. The north bank of mechant all along it had fish and birds up until around 930 then it slowed drastically for us. I heard but did not fish myself that the east bank gave up plenty trout also. I saw all kinds of different baits tightlined and under corks. Personally we fish 90% of the time with LSU chubs. Sat. was a completely different day as the wind picked up alot and muddied up many places that were great on Fri. I'll gladly point you in the right direction next time your out there. give me a call. Capt. Ricky Brondum/ 985-537-5022

i was late getting in Mechant, i tried a few other spots early that morning and ran across another boater that was on a sand flat so i stopped and helped, we fished the east side and thats where i had luck with the specs. The wind definately picked up by the time we left there to try the west and north west bank so we went back across to catch a few bass. I did see a few boats over by goose bay area but the waves and wind were making it tough. Thanks for the information, good luck fishing.

I'm from Lafayette it was a very quiet ride home saturday lol boys didn't have much to say. But I have to say it really was great to be out on the water. Thanks agian for all the comments.

I always enjoy reading post and comments like these because I get to see multiple viewpoints. There is a lot of truth to many of the comments. Here is my point of view. We have a lot of true sportsmen in Dularge but we also have just as many inconsiderate individuals. Being a guide it is difficult because you want to help people out but as soon as one inconsiderate boat runs through your fish you start to think is it worth it. I know some people criticize guides for posting on this site because they view that it is just advertising. I've only been guiding for a year but before I became a guide I really enjoyed posts by the guides because I enjoyed seeing fish and going to my happy place while I was miserable sitting at my desk at work. LOL I agree with Eman's comments. Find guides that give you the information you are looking for and skip the ones that don't. I also don't appreciate guides that blow smoke to the readers about how great they are but tend not to post reports when they struggle. I don't care how good you are there are going to be days in which you struggle. I have been very fortunate that on those difficult days my clients understand how fishing works. I think it is also an ego thing especially if their competition catches and they struggle. The guide business is very cut throat in terms of competition and when I post I have to be careful of what I say or what my pictures show because we have a guide that likes to tell his friends and all the people that ask him where to go, he often tells them where myself and the guides I work with are fishing. How do I know this, those that fish with me know I'm an outgoing guy and I like to talk with boats that are nearby especially in the winter where we are fishing in tight quarters. I have had a number of people brag to me that a captain told them to go to this spot because that's where the fish are. The funny thing is that guide never shows up to that spot and I or my captain friends have been fishing that spot for a number of days without seeing him. People think he's great guy because he shares this information but it creates boat traffic and often ruins the bite because they don't know how to fish the spot and run all over the fish. I'm not surprised because this is that cut throat part of the business. He looks like he is helping everyone which probably increases his business, plus it makes his competition often have to work harder to limit out. Seems to be the wrong way of doing business though. Frustrating, but like I said it is a very competetive job. It's so cut throat that when I wave or say hello as I'm passing I rarely ever get a response from this guide. His customers always wave but competition seems to be the enemy. One thing I can say about the guides in Dularge is that the majority catch fish and like one comment said that we have a network so if you're a weekend warrior don't feel bad if you struggle the one day you get to go a month. We put our time on the water, we have log books that we have kept for years, and we have people either on the water communicating or we have found the fish by scouting. Just try to remember that it is fishing and even though you may not be catching the amount of fish you would like it's about the overall experience while fishing. Live is short so live it to the fullest!!!

Couldnt have said that any better bro!!!

Great Comment Capt Travis. After 20 years of guiding and lots of posts on this and other sites I have learned that if you tell exact places they get over run with everyone trying. That is a good and bad thing. It is good because I think everyone should have the best opportunity to catch fish and bad because the more boats moving around a spot the slower the bite becomes. So there in lies the dilemma that all the guides have when posting, How much information to give. The way guides stay on fish is just like Travis said, we have a net work of people that fish almost every day so we can keep up with the fish movements. If you don't have that information at your hands then call a guide ( I will help anytime)that you know will help or do a little home work on Google earth. Learn where the fish are during a certain time of year, lets talk winter to spring right now. Winter trout like deep holes and bayous with deep curves in it way in the marsh so that is where you fish during the winter. Now as spring comes these fish move out and start chasing shrimp and small fish just out of the deep areas. As it warms more the trout move more into the open areas where the shrimp are concentrated more. This is the easy time, just look for the birds. The birds will usually show where the trout are but these will be smaller fish. The larger fish will concentrate on the shell reefs so learn where these are. Its easy, just look for the oyster markers from the oyster fishermen, white PVC poles. The last 2 days we caught fish over oyster reefs protected from the wind tight lining double rigs, in 4 to 8 feet of water. Now you have progressed well into spring and its spawning time so that is when you start getting on the beach and all is good because beach trout are the easiest to catch. this was a very very short way of trying to help but if you want more call me or e-mail and I will help just as I always have. Just remember its double rig time.

Capt. Tommy, Capt. Travis, One More Cast, all great comments! One thing I might add is this: if you think you can't afford to hire a guide 1 time, think again. The money you save on fuel alone by running around blind every weekend will make up for it plus the knowledge you will gain while on board. I know my customers are educated on every trip as I explain the fishing patterns of my area and the techniques we use at different times of the year. Not to mention if we are having a bad day and we have to run around fishing different spots.

Don’t believe everything you see posted by the guides who post here just because they have pictures of a ice chest full of fish.

I can vouch for the A team capt Marty, Travis, Chris, rob, and elton they post what the catch weither its good or bad. I also know if ur new to the area but don't wanna hire a guide they will be helpful as where to go.

I am new to the saltwater fishing scene (been a freshwater guy my whole life) and have been trying to learn the DU and how to catch trout and reds. I hired one of the local guides a couple of times to get me started and he was extremely helpful and was willing to share anything with me and still does. I also met a couple of his fishing buddy guide friends aka A Team and they are also more than willing to share information with me. I realize that to a certain extent posting successful trips helps these guides out with their businesses and to that I say good for them. They don't have to post anything or share any information but they do and the information that they do post is very helpful to me and I for one am very thankful for the information that they all provide. Those guys share the baits and techniques that are catching fish and I don't blame them for not getting into the details for where they are fishing. Thanks for the information that you guys share and keep the posts coming as I look forward to reading them and seeing the pics.

Capt Travis, Tommy, and others -- well stated! It isn't reasonable to expect a guide (or anyone else) details on specific spots but fishing education is always appreciated. We do appreciate what you do for us.

OK, here is the report I promised. After 2 days of rain we were finally able to go out Thursday PM and Friday later morning. Found beautiful water in lower Grand Caillou, light winds and somewhat high water with a little falling tide. Caught reds near the grass in shallow water and trout in and around drains and points near deep water. All tight lining plastic cocahoes. I don't think the color or brand mattered but we used anything with chart tail with good action.

Released several 10 lb reds and kept 8 to clean. Kept 34 trout including several over 2 lbs. The cool water has all the fish fighting like crazy.

With the prediction of light winds for the next few days and the tide movement predicted this coming week could be off the charts!

In my opinion lower Dulac is under fished as we only saw a couple of other boats. So my honey hole covers about 25 square miles of water in and around Grand Caillou!!! Hope to see you on the water just be courteous

I personally love the guide reports. I generally read as much as I can before I plan a trip, and not just guide post, all post in that area. I look the posts over and put together a plan. One post may talk about tides and time and another about water clarity and temp. I would never expect free advice but have gotten it many times. I have seen many guide boats on the water and take note of the area. I can always return and study the area later. I will never stop while they are fishing. I consider being able to return later evasive enough and a tad bit Chicken