Rolling swells passed gently under the hull as Capt. Brandon Ballay ran his boat past the mouth of South Pass, one of the larger outlets that funnel water from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. A third-generation guide, Ballay knows the waters of the Delta like the back of his hand. We started the day fishing near the mouth of Southeast Pass and caught a few nice redfish, but as the tide changed he ran to a miles-long sandbar just west of South Pass, explaining that bigger reds should be hunting there. Here the swells became breakers before crashing on the bar and mayhem erupted as schools of baitfish trapped in the whitewater were harassed by bull reds. This was going to be epic fishing, which is not unusual for the Delta.
My favorite fishing partner, Ginger Tatem, was with me on her first fishing trip to what I consider to be one of the best angling destinations anywhere on earth. She made a long cast to the whitewater with a half-ounce paddle tail jig and it was gobbled up by a ragin’ Cajun redfish that did its best to strip all the line off her spinning reel on the first run. I made a cast and hooked up immediately. The fish were brutes, 30 to 40 pounds, and as bright as new pennies in the afternoon sun. The action was constant for the next couple of hours, leaving us with big smiles and weary arms.
The Red Menace
If you’ve never caught a bull redfish on light tackle you haven’t lived. These gorgeous gamefish are found along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Florida and throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. Their coloration is a startling, deep copper over a snow-white belly and their calling card is the large spot (or spots) near the tailfin. Biologists surmise the spots are meant to confuse predators that attack by keying on a prey species’ eye. A fish has a greater chance of avoiding capture when its pursuer grabs for its tail. Reds can grow to well over 40 pounds, with the bigger fish spending more time in open water, feeding on the Gulf’s prolific schools of menhaden (known locally as pogy).
Smaller members of the redfish clan are more often found feeding on the shrimp, crabs and baitfish that live in tidal marshes. Because the Delta has thousands of square miles of that type of habitat, it’s home to amazing fishing and bountiful birdlife. It’s one of the few places in the United States where you can see pink spoonbills, flamingos and white pelicans, in abundance.
Redfish are a light-tackle angler’s dream fish. They aggressively hit artificial lures in surprisingly shallow water and fight with the power of a pit bull, which taxes tackle and angler alike. At various times of the year, you can sight cast to tailing redfish in water only a foot or two deep, which adds to the excitement. But spring is when the schools of bulls that winter offshore push their way back along the outer shores of the Delta, trailing the pogy schools headed in the same direction.
No Gondolas Here
The town of Venice, Louisiana, is situated near the end of State Route 23, about a 90-minute drive from New Orleans. It’s a small place that consists of a few stores, modest restaurants, equipment yards and docks for the hundreds of workboats that support the briar patch of production platforms out in the Gulf.
The town is also home to Venice Sportsman’s Marina. It’s owned by Bill and Mike Butler, brothers who grew up on an island on the Delta. (As kids, they had to use a boat to get to the mainland to catch the bus to school each day.) The marina is nestled in a protected harbor adjacent to Tiger Pass and it’s a short run from the main channel of the Mississippi. Thus, it offers easy access to endless miles of incredible fishing in the marshlands and Gulf. It’s also a self-contained sportsman’s hideaway that caters to serious fishermen. The facility offers slips, launch ramps, fuel, convenience store, tackle and bait shop, a restaurant that’s open from early morning until late in the evening, condos, houseboats and cabins for rent. The staff will even clean, vacuum-pack and ship your catch. In addition, the marina is home to one of the largest charter fleets found on the Gulf, with dozens of backwater guides and offshore charter boats for hire.
If you have a trailerable boat, you can get it to the marina on a network of well-maintained highways from almost anywhere in the southern United States. Some years ago, I made the trip by boat from Tampa, Florida, aboard a twin-outboard-powered 30-footer and it was a great cruising experience. We left Tampa Bay in the late morning and ran north up the west side of the Florida coastline to Port St. Joe in the Panhandle. We stayed in a transient slip overnight, then left at sunrise the next day on a direct course to Main Pass. There, we were greeted by Bill and Mike at the marina in mid-afternoon. Along the way we caught mahi on a weed patch and made ceviche for lunch. We saw sea turtles and a blue marlin sunning on the glass-calm blue water. The next five days of fishing out of Venice Marina were a combination of catching redfish inshore and tuna around the production platforms. We even deep-dropped for grouper, which was prepared to perfection for dinner one night.
If you’re chasing redfish, bay boats and small to midsize center consoles are needed to fish the shallow inside waters, but in the spring bigger boats can get in on the action because much of it takes place in the open Gulf waters surrounding the Delta. This is run-and-gun fishing. If you find the bait (cruising pogy schools) you’ve most likely found reds following along. But you can also find smaller concentrations of redfish around structure when pogy schools aren’t visible. When hunting for bait schools keep a lookout for working birds and surface slicks. Large schools of menhaden can be found well away from the Delta marshes or working along the outside edges of the shallow areas and around sandbars, jetties and other structure as they migrate from offshore. I’ve caught big reds in spots where one of the many smaller passes and canals branch off from the main river, and even around the mouth of the Empire Canal on the main river channel.
Some of the most consistently productive areas are found near the mouths of Southwest and South Pass. Both have extensive jetty systems and bars that provide structure—bait schools are frequently corralled there by marauding reds. The redfish are frequently joined by large seatrout, blacktip and spinner sharks. When the dinner bell rings the water can turn white with fins slashing, baitfish being pushed to the surface and spinner sharks jumping completely out of the water. It’s a spectacular show. Other locations that offer consistent fishing include Batiste Collette Bayou, Deepwater Point, Breton Island and California Point, but the list goes on. Many of the charter guys can help point you in the right direction if you’re fishing your own boat, or you might want to charter a guide to show you around and teach you the ropes.
Necessary Gear
If you’re fishing your own boat, carry a full compliment of safety gear and alternate means of communication because cell service is sketchy and VHF transmissions can be limited in distance. Make sure your plotter has updated charts because you will be fishing many areas where 10 feet of water is considered deep and there are hundreds of square miles of water that you don’t want to traverse because it’s just too shallow. Even if you’re running a well-equipped bay boat that can get into the skinny, there are dead ends, obstructions and mudflats around many corners.
Tackle for this fishing is pretty basic. A 7-foot 6-inch light- to medium-action spinning or plugging rod with a reel that has a smooth drag and holds at least 300 yards of line will get the job done. They cast the light jigs and popping corks further and the limber action tires the big fish while acting as a safety against line breakage. Braid or monofilament line in 12- or 20-pound test is sufficient. Lure selection is also pretty basic; try ½- to ¾-ounce jig heads dressed with soft plastic fish-shaped bodies. You can use the same jigs with a popping cork rig, which consists of a brightly colored foam cork with a concave face that slides up and down on a short length of stiff wire with metal or plastic beads and a short leader to the jig. Popping the cork with jerks of the rod tip creates a splash and the beads make a clacking sound that attract reds. If you’re a fly fisherman there is no better time of the year to break out the long rod. An 8-weight is appropriate with a 12-pound tippet. Your fly selection should consist of Clouser Minnows and Lefty’s Deceivers in a variety of colors, and Borski’s Chernobyl Shrimp in brown or white, all tied on 1/0 hooks.
When researching your trip, a great place to start is on the website of Venice Marina. It offers links to the guides and charter captains who work out of the facility. I guarantee that once you fish the Delta and experience all it has to offer, you will want to return again and again.
This article was originally published in the April 2023 issue.
