Somewhere between equinox and solstice the tides begin to change offshore. The Atchafalaya River’s affluent no longer spoils the Gulf of Mexico, painting it tan beyond the horizon. And the freshwater that once advanced against the saltwater is now in retreat, as the spring high water mark falls below flood stage.
Across Acadiana there is but one passion that causes the saltwater angler to yearn for offshore at this time of year – spotted sea trout – known simply as specks.
Like swabbies, these fishermen have enlisted for life in their pursuit of trout, where each summer a Cajun armada will head to the Gulf.
One of those trout swabbies is Danny Womack from Lafayette. Womack, a 72-year old semi-retired electrical supply salesman and professional outdoor photographer, sails the “GoM” in his 25-foot Sea Hunt bay boat as often as he gets a chance.
Leaving Burns Point Landing, where the brackish water was murky and the color of cocoa, influenced by the Atchafalaya River’s outflow, the two of us headed south into the offshore Eugene Island drilling blocks, named for the submerged mountain ridge.
Crossing several chocolate rip tides, we continued our journey for nearly 35 minutes. Suddenly, foamy saltwater could be seen in the wake behind our vessel as we left the brackish waters closer to shore. The coastline was no longer visible, and the water’s color became emerald green. South we continued – further – still further – until, in the curvature of the Gulf’s horizon, a structure appeared. We were almost there.
Resembling the images of what one might see in a city’s skyline, the structures took on the sounds of the machine-world in the epic motion picture movie “The Matrix.” It occurred to me that, perhaps, these machines, like those in the movie, were indeed our lifeblood. The very fact that the bay boat we were in needed what was sucked from below the depths became ironic.
Need? Yes, we needed this platform. We needed the platform for our very lives back on the bank, and we needed it for the bounty of speckled trout we were about to take home from its depths. And unlike the marshes and forests created by God, these machines were created by man and not made to reproduce after their own kind. But, individually they are each an ecosystem – a habitat.
Twenty-five feet below rests a shell bed foundation to support the platform. With piping below the surface caked with barnacles, baitfish inhabit the structure only to fall down the food chain becoming prey, to be swallowed by the very trout we were after.
There are no names for the offshore rigs out of sight of the central Louisiana coastline; simply letters and numbers that trout anglers and crew-boat captains refer to such as 28, 32, 51, 62, 63, 65, 74, 89 and 95. All are or were at one time locations, where fishermen have cashed in, when the conditions were right. It’s important to note some platforms have been abandoned and removed over the years, but there are still plenty.
Tied off to a satellite well’s boat bumper, Womack, whose demeanor on trout excursions reminds you of that one kid on a youth baseball team whose parents gave him too much sugar, tossed his line into the water.
Not waiting for me to rig up, Womack said, “Just get it in the Gulf somewhere behind the boat. And, you better hurry. These trout turn off as quick as they turn on.”
Trout swabbies know one of the keys to catching a limit is to work them into a feeding frenzy.
“There is a real need to keep baits in the water,” Womack explained. “Typically, if you have two, three or four people, you have a better chance of getting them started. The more fish you have on, the better it gets.”
It’s also important to remember that the limit is 25 per person. Though it may seem like a high number to achieve, offshore speck anglers know in the fast and furious action of the frenzy, numbers add up fast. Particularly with lines fixed with double hook arrangements similar to what Womack uses, where nearly every cast two fish are flopping on the deck.
The strength of the current that flows through the rigs will impact how deep your bait will go down to where the fish are beneath the platform.
In describing his setup and how it works Womack said, “To compensate for the current, I use a double hook arrangement with a half-ounce jig head on the bottom and a quarter-ounce jig on top. And, I’ll use two chartreuse colored 4-inch H&H Cacohoe plastic minnows. If you’re anchored out away from the rig, casting behind the boat and the current is too strong going away from you, it raises your bait up, which is the reason you don’t find them sometimes. You typically want it to go to the bottom to start. If they are schooling down there, they’ll hit it when it’s going down. So, let it go down and work it back to you.”
Other suggested plastics for enticing specks to bite are Deadly Dudleys and Stanley Wedge Tail saltwater baits. Nearly every bait and tackle shop from one end of coastal Louisiana to the other will carry these brands and sizes; what’s more, in enough colors to make a rainbow envious.
Speck anglers who chase spotted sea trout in the Eugene Island blocks know the further west from the river’s influence you are, the better the chances are of finding clear salty water; a major key to ensuring a successful trip. Logical starting points are blocks 51 and 52, depending on seasonal high water conditions.
Marty Scelfo, owner of Scelfo’s Sporting & Marine in Franklin said, “Eugene Island is sometimes influenced by high water from the Atchafalaya River. When you’ve got a good crawfish season, you get a weak saltwater season because of the freshwater. You still got fish out there; you just have to go further out to get them. It’s a delicate balance because you also need some freshwater in the marshes to produce the shrimp trout feed on.”
According to Scelfo, there is a natural westerly progression when fishing the rigs as anglers move deeper into the summer months. Moreover, weather variables play a huge role, particularly hurricanes.
“High water is a seasonal thing, and you never know if you’re going to have a good shrimp season or a good crawfish season,”
Scelfo said. “The fish migrate from east to west, and it always starts back of Cocodrie near Houma and runs towards Freshwater Bayou, west of Marsh Island. You’ll catch them well into September and sometimes October, depending on how many early cold fronts come through.”
Trout caught offshore beneath and around the Eugene Island rigs are typically larger than those caught closer to shore. There are exceptions in all cases, with reports of big fish caught in Lake Pontchartrain (New Orleans), Grand Isle and Big Lake (Lake Charles). But, pound for pound, an ice chest full of Eugene Island specks on the average will look much better with numerous 2, 3, and 4-pounders, plus the occasional 5 tipping the scale.
Womack and I were fortunate enough to locate a large school of trout at the first platform we came to, catching our limits in short order. However, our good fortune is not always the case. Anglers may have to bounce from platform to platform, where they’ll pickup a few fish with each stop.
Pulling up anchor and moving two or three times is not the preferred strategy for closing the lid down on a limit of specks. Like cities on a road map, Eugene Island platforms can be several miles apart, which means doing some additional traveling after you’ve already run 30 miles offshore to get to there.
Trout swabbies know, more often than not, with a little determination and perseverance, their efforts will pay off. On one other trip Womack and I made, it took checking out a couple rigs before we finally hit the mother load.
The uniqueness of Eugene Island is what exists below the surface, as there are reefs located throughout the region. The reefs are charted, and many speckled trout anglers GPS their locations and fish them. However, it’s the rigs that get most of the attention.
Womack, Scelfo and the rest of the Cajun armada from Acadiana, who head south to Eugene Island and other oil field blocks each year, will attest to the success of rig fishing – which is one of the reasons why they’ve enlisted for life…
