Grand Isle 7/16-7/19
 

I'm headed to Grand Isle this week with my buddy and staying at sand dollar. Last year we went we were stuck surf fishing. this year I'm taking my dad's 20ft xpress. I got good maps and gps's and no the area a little, but I only get to fish it once a year. I got many colors and will buy bait if need be. A little general advice would be appreciated guys, or anything I need to know about. Colors? Areas? Patterns? Depth? Thanks guys.

If you get good clean water on the beach it is hard to beat. The rocks by the state park which is near sand dollar would be good if the water is right. Four bayous was off for us the two days we were there this week but it is always a good area to check. You probably know this but generally speaking down there the birds have little fish or catfish under them. Occasionally that is not the case but usually you can avoid bird fishing.

Regarding the beach I like the east side towards Fouch but that is a long run from where you are.

I'm not into running and gunning for specks and reds, but you'll probably see us sitting in the pass in the afternoons running with da bulls. I've got two boys in a Alumacraft V16 with dual Nissan outboards and gaudy aluminum rod holders. Wave if you see us. We'll go out and fish the beach from the boat if conditions are favorable.

If you want some tips for catching bulls in the pass, I'll be happy to provide them. You can also PM me if you want to meet up, and I'll show you the best spots we know for bulls.

fixed it for ya;)
The rocks on the east side of the island hold fish pretty good too. its the time of year where live bait will probably catch better than plastic. carolina rig it on reefs and the edge of drop offs if the beach isnt good

if you want to try plastic, glow, purp/chart, clear w/red flake are all good depeding on water color

I'll be on the look out for a twin outboard aluminum rig. Did'nt plan on anchoring up for reds but I might be down to try something. Which passes do you like to anchor in and do you use live or cut bait.?

Spent all day on Elmer's and grand isle by the water tower. Caught one keeper Speck. The went to bridge side and bought Vudu shrimp and caught three other keepers and a bunch of throw backs. A guy on the beach, by the water tower had Vudu and was catching a bunch of throw backs. Said he and his family caught a 100 specks Thursday by the water tower.

We've been over this before. Obviously, he didn't pay attention then. ;) :rolleyes:

If you are gonna buy a shrimp bait, do yourself a favor and get the tkos. clear/red flake is my personal favorite over there

Thanks for the tip, but where is the water tower? Were you surf fishing?

We usually do well in Caminada or Belle Pass. There are more options in Caminada pass for a variety of wind and tidal conditions and more room to find a spot if there are a lot of boats. There is a hole at the end of Belle Pass (NW corner between rocks and the bouy) that is dynamite on a falling tide, and the inside can be very good on a rising tide, but the rising tides this week are too early for my liking and the outside gets really iffy with S winds and winds with Southerly components.

There is no better bait for bull redfish than a freshly caught croaker or sand trout 8-13" long and hooked up while still alive. The croaker you can buy at Bridgeside would probably work well if you could keep the catfish off of them long enough for a bull redfish to find them. But cracked crab is our money maker in the redfish world. Search up all the details on a recent thread discussing cracked crab. Cut mullet are a distant third place. Too many catfish, too few redfish. We almost always bring fresh or frozen mullet (fresh is better) and fish it cut into chunks, but we've never caught many redfish on mullet. You can sometimes get into the gafftops pretty thick on cut mullet if that is a happy thing in your world.

If you have the skill with a cast net, then live mullet are a good bait. Last week, we managed a 8" hardhead catfish on a 11" long live mullet. The mullet was hooked in the back with a J hook with a treble stinger through the lips. The hardhead must have tried to swallow the mullet head first because it was hooked on the stinger treble hook. My son could not believe he caught a fish smaller than the one he was using for bait! We've caught redfish on live pinfish too if you can catch some.

Cracked crab really is our "go to" bait because it is always available and it almost always works.

Yes I was surfing fishing. The water tower is near the center of the island east of the grocery store. There are a couple of public access spot to get to the beach there, and when wading to the rocks stay in the center and you can almost wade all the way to the rocks.