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John N. Felsher's Offshore Fishing Adventures
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Offshore anglers flip for hot action
under Gulf of Mexico oil platforms
under Gulf of Mexico oil platforms
Chris Pardue shows off a
mangrove snapper he
caught on a 6-inch
Calcutta Flash Foil Swim
Shad flipped near an
offshore rig on light tackle
and 12-pound test line.
He caught the snapper
while fishing under an oil
platform about 40 miles
south of Cocodrie, La., on a
trip with Capt. Eric
Pellegrin of Custom
Charters.
mangrove snapper he
caught on a 6-inch
Calcutta Flash Foil Swim
Shad flipped near an
offshore rig on light tackle
and 12-pound test line.
He caught the snapper
while fishing under an oil
platform about 40 miles
south of Cocodrie, La., on a
trip with Capt. Eric
Pellegrin of Custom
Charters.
Keeping the motor idling against the current, the captain nosed the
boat toward the oilfield platform almost within sight of the Mississippi River
delta.
“Put the bait right against the structure,” advised Capt. Brandon
Ballay. “The tide is running. Drop the bait right in the current hitting the
platform leg and let it sink a few feet. Keep the bait as close to the steel as
possible.”
Ballay of Sportsman’s Outfitters Unlimited of Venice, La., tossed a few
pieces of baitfish into the water. As the grayish pieces slowly disappeared
into the aquamarine water, larger coppery shapes materialized. Free food
floating past their noses put fish hiding among the tangled mass of steel
into a frenzy. Frequently, that competition provokes mangroves to feed
more aggressively as they dart out from cover to snatch a morsel.
“Chumming brings mangroves out from under the platform and makes
them feed,” Ballay said. “We don’t want to feed them, just get them
interested enough to stay around. The mangroves come out of the
structure to attack the bait. With a good school of mangroves chummed
up, it gets exciting.”
Sometimes, other species also rise to the chum line. Larger predators,
such as king mackerel, cobia and sharks, arrive to feed upon the fish in the
chum line. Anglers flipping the barnacle-encrusted legs of oilfield platforms
just a few miles off the Louisiana coast may also catch black drum,
speckled trout, redfish, croakers, pompano, triggerfish, tripletail, spadefish,
Spanish mackerel, plus several members of the snapper family. Anglers
might even catch dolphin or blackfin tuna. For pure sport, anglers can test
their equipment against such tackle-busters as jack crevalle, tarpon,
bluefish, bonitos, barracudas, blue runners (hardtail jacks), rainbow
runners and several other species.
For flipping rigs, though, mangroves, also known as gray snappers,
provide the most action and some of the most delicious fillets. Mangroves,
Lutjanus griseus, look grayish green with a reddish tinge that can range
from copper to brick red. Anal fins on mangroves snappers look rounded
with seven to eight soft rays. Among the smallest and most delicious of all
snappers, mangroves commonly range from 1 to 6 pounds, but sometimes
exceed 10 pounds. The world record weighed more than 17 pounds.
Extremely abundant around most rigs off the Louisiana coast,
especially between the West Delta of the Mississippi River and Eugene
Island near Atchafalaya Bay, mangrove snappers frequently enter
shallower water than other snapper species. They often enter water less
than 20 feet deep, sometimes less than 10 feet deep.
They love hard or rocky structure, sometimes lurking near jetties at the
mouth of rivers or ship channels. Sometimes, they enter inshore waters of
ship channels to feed near rocky riprap lining shorelines. In Florida and the
tropics, they enter shallow flats and feed under docks or among entangling
mangrove roots.
Using heavy offshore rods almost like cane poles, we flipped our baits
against the steel legs. Using fluorocarbon leaders attached to 50-pound
braided line, we completely buried our of 2/0 to 7/0 circle hooks into the
menhaden, known locally as pogies, a common baitfish in the Gulf of
Mexico. If bait doesn’t look natural, mangroves won’t hit it.
“Mangroves won’t bite if the terminal tackle is too large,” said Capt.
Tommy Pellegrin of Custom Charters in Cocodrie, La. “Fluorocarbon
leader is almost a must. I highly recommend leaders in the 20- to 40-pound
test range with a 2/0 hook. If fish bite 40-pound test leaders, don’t change.
If fish are eating chum, but not hitting the baits, go to a lighter leader.
Downsize until they start biting.”
Free-lining our baits, we drifted them naturally in the tide without
weights. As they slowly sank, fish gobbled them. Often, we could pick the
fish we wanted to catch by dropping a succulent pogie close to it. Although
we fished in 40 feet of water, mangroves typically stay near the surface.
Our baits seldom sank more than a few feet before something slashed out
from behind cover to devour it.
“We catch them all the way out to 300 feet of water, but they stay in the
upper water column,” said Capt. Scott Avanzino of Paradise Outfitters of
Venice. “Water depth isn’t as important as water clarity and current. Dirty
water or fast currents make it difficult, but as long as we can see the fish in
the chum and they are willing to move out away from the rig legs, we’ll catch
them.”
The biggest mangroves often congregate in the thickest intertwining
structure under offshore platforms. Concealed in nearly inaccessible
cover, they wait to ambush their favorite foods. Mangroves eat a variety of
baitfish including croakers, finger mullets, pogies, sardines and other
morsels. Although they mostly eat fish, they won’t hesitate to gobble a
squid, shrimp, crab or another succulent tidbit. Notorious bait stealers,
mangroves can quickly slurp morsels from hooks with ease.
Since they can so deftly remove bait, many anglers consider
mangroves among the most cunning fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Although
they won’t hit anything that doesn’t look natural, they sometimes hit
artificials. They might hit a variety of plastic-tipped jigheads, flies, spoons,
topwaters and even an occasional crankbait that closely resemble fish,
crabs or shrimp. Sometimes, a piece of shrimp or chunk of fish for scent
and flavor on a lure entices them to bite.
Once, just for fun, I tossed a 6-inch Calcutta Flash Foil Swim Shad on a
light bass rig spooled with 12-pound test monofilament while fishing with
Capt. Eric Pellegrin of Custom Charters off Cocodrie, La. A soft plastic
body encasing an internal weight, a Swim Shad swimbait closely resembles
a baitfish. I pitched the lure toward the steel platform legs and let it fall
about 20 feet deep before something nearly yanked the rod from my
hands. After a spirited battle and plenty of drag action, I landed a 10-
pound mangrove snapper, the biggest of the day.
For booking trips with Avanzino, call (985) 845-8006 or see paradise-
outfitters.com. For booking trips with Ballay, call (504) 433-2954 or (985)
637-8901. On line, see Veniceoutdoors.com. For booking trips with
Pellegrin call (985) 851-3304 or see customchartersllc.com. For Venice
Marina, call (985) 534-9357 or see Venicemarina.com. For Cypress Cove,
call (985) 534-9289.
boat toward the oilfield platform almost within sight of the Mississippi River
delta.
“Put the bait right against the structure,” advised Capt. Brandon
Ballay. “The tide is running. Drop the bait right in the current hitting the
platform leg and let it sink a few feet. Keep the bait as close to the steel as
possible.”
Ballay of Sportsman’s Outfitters Unlimited of Venice, La., tossed a few
pieces of baitfish into the water. As the grayish pieces slowly disappeared
into the aquamarine water, larger coppery shapes materialized. Free food
floating past their noses put fish hiding among the tangled mass of steel
into a frenzy. Frequently, that competition provokes mangroves to feed
more aggressively as they dart out from cover to snatch a morsel.
“Chumming brings mangroves out from under the platform and makes
them feed,” Ballay said. “We don’t want to feed them, just get them
interested enough to stay around. The mangroves come out of the
structure to attack the bait. With a good school of mangroves chummed
up, it gets exciting.”
Sometimes, other species also rise to the chum line. Larger predators,
such as king mackerel, cobia and sharks, arrive to feed upon the fish in the
chum line. Anglers flipping the barnacle-encrusted legs of oilfield platforms
just a few miles off the Louisiana coast may also catch black drum,
speckled trout, redfish, croakers, pompano, triggerfish, tripletail, spadefish,
Spanish mackerel, plus several members of the snapper family. Anglers
might even catch dolphin or blackfin tuna. For pure sport, anglers can test
their equipment against such tackle-busters as jack crevalle, tarpon,
bluefish, bonitos, barracudas, blue runners (hardtail jacks), rainbow
runners and several other species.
For flipping rigs, though, mangroves, also known as gray snappers,
provide the most action and some of the most delicious fillets. Mangroves,
Lutjanus griseus, look grayish green with a reddish tinge that can range
from copper to brick red. Anal fins on mangroves snappers look rounded
with seven to eight soft rays. Among the smallest and most delicious of all
snappers, mangroves commonly range from 1 to 6 pounds, but sometimes
exceed 10 pounds. The world record weighed more than 17 pounds.
Extremely abundant around most rigs off the Louisiana coast,
especially between the West Delta of the Mississippi River and Eugene
Island near Atchafalaya Bay, mangrove snappers frequently enter
shallower water than other snapper species. They often enter water less
than 20 feet deep, sometimes less than 10 feet deep.
They love hard or rocky structure, sometimes lurking near jetties at the
mouth of rivers or ship channels. Sometimes, they enter inshore waters of
ship channels to feed near rocky riprap lining shorelines. In Florida and the
tropics, they enter shallow flats and feed under docks or among entangling
mangrove roots.
Using heavy offshore rods almost like cane poles, we flipped our baits
against the steel legs. Using fluorocarbon leaders attached to 50-pound
braided line, we completely buried our of 2/0 to 7/0 circle hooks into the
menhaden, known locally as pogies, a common baitfish in the Gulf of
Mexico. If bait doesn’t look natural, mangroves won’t hit it.
“Mangroves won’t bite if the terminal tackle is too large,” said Capt.
Tommy Pellegrin of Custom Charters in Cocodrie, La. “Fluorocarbon
leader is almost a must. I highly recommend leaders in the 20- to 40-pound
test range with a 2/0 hook. If fish bite 40-pound test leaders, don’t change.
If fish are eating chum, but not hitting the baits, go to a lighter leader.
Downsize until they start biting.”
Free-lining our baits, we drifted them naturally in the tide without
weights. As they slowly sank, fish gobbled them. Often, we could pick the
fish we wanted to catch by dropping a succulent pogie close to it. Although
we fished in 40 feet of water, mangroves typically stay near the surface.
Our baits seldom sank more than a few feet before something slashed out
from behind cover to devour it.
“We catch them all the way out to 300 feet of water, but they stay in the
upper water column,” said Capt. Scott Avanzino of Paradise Outfitters of
Venice. “Water depth isn’t as important as water clarity and current. Dirty
water or fast currents make it difficult, but as long as we can see the fish in
the chum and they are willing to move out away from the rig legs, we’ll catch
them.”
The biggest mangroves often congregate in the thickest intertwining
structure under offshore platforms. Concealed in nearly inaccessible
cover, they wait to ambush their favorite foods. Mangroves eat a variety of
baitfish including croakers, finger mullets, pogies, sardines and other
morsels. Although they mostly eat fish, they won’t hesitate to gobble a
squid, shrimp, crab or another succulent tidbit. Notorious bait stealers,
mangroves can quickly slurp morsels from hooks with ease.
Since they can so deftly remove bait, many anglers consider
mangroves among the most cunning fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Although
they won’t hit anything that doesn’t look natural, they sometimes hit
artificials. They might hit a variety of plastic-tipped jigheads, flies, spoons,
topwaters and even an occasional crankbait that closely resemble fish,
crabs or shrimp. Sometimes, a piece of shrimp or chunk of fish for scent
and flavor on a lure entices them to bite.
Once, just for fun, I tossed a 6-inch Calcutta Flash Foil Swim Shad on a
light bass rig spooled with 12-pound test monofilament while fishing with
Capt. Eric Pellegrin of Custom Charters off Cocodrie, La. A soft plastic
body encasing an internal weight, a Swim Shad swimbait closely resembles
a baitfish. I pitched the lure toward the steel platform legs and let it fall
about 20 feet deep before something nearly yanked the rod from my
hands. After a spirited battle and plenty of drag action, I landed a 10-
pound mangrove snapper, the biggest of the day.
For booking trips with Avanzino, call (985) 845-8006 or see paradise-
outfitters.com. For booking trips with Ballay, call (504) 433-2954 or (985)
637-8901. On line, see Veniceoutdoors.com. For booking trips with
Pellegrin call (985) 851-3304 or see customchartersllc.com. For Venice
Marina, call (985) 534-9357 or see Venicemarina.com. For Cypress Cove,
call (985) 534-9289.