BIG LAKE "Yes, the fish are still biting" says lake area fishing pro, David Rabalais. He and a camera crew had plenty of action last week to get footage for his local fishing show. The main pattern was to fish very slowly with slow-falling suspending baits such as Catch 2000 and Corkies and Gulp! Jerk Shad fished weightless. Berkley 100% fluorocarbon, reports Rabalais, is working well on suspending baits for trout.
Due to fluorocarbon's transparency, it is possible to use heavier line in 17-20 pound test and omit the leader. It sinks, is highly resistant to abrasion and is very sensitive to light strikes from big winter trout. Rabalais said he is fishing shallow flats with hard bottom and sometimes no deeper than 2 feet often seeing the bottom. There are a lot of anglers wade-fishing currently with multiple visitors from Texas who really enjoy wading and fishing for big trout on Lake Calcasieu. It is a great time to catch a trophy trout.
Seriously consider getting a photo of that big trout and release her back to spawn and fight another day. There are plenty of small trout and reds to fillet. The I-210 area continues to hold fish with the presence of plenty of baitfish (shad). The trout are very healthy and remain on a winter pattern moving up on the ledges of the ship channel and near-by flats during warm-ups and then back on the edge of the channel when a cold front hits.
Surface water temperature at mid-week in Big Lake was 58-59 degrees. The redfish are stacked at The Weirs and can be caught almost any time but is best on outgoing tides or anytime the water is moving.
