Four of us made a trip to False Mouth Bayou during the beginning of October. We were only able to get away for one night, so we were moving quickly to get off of the dock and out to the marsh to fish the afternoon rising tide. After picking up live shrimp at Roscoe’s, we pulled out of the slip, picked up the two skiffs in tow, and were underway on the 25 mile run to the marsh.
Getting There
This was the first time we had towed multiple boats with Encore. The weather was pretty good for the tow across Mississippi Sound, with a 2’ following sea. The skiffs were towed side by side, which meant that our speed was limited to 8-9kts, as opposed to our normal 17kts. In the future I may try towing them one behind the other to allow for a faster cruise.
During the last few trips fishing Biloxi Marsh, we would anchor in either Mosquito or Ninemile Bayous. Neither of those were great anchorages, so we decided to try a new spot. The mouth of False Mouth Bayou is on the east side of Lake Borgne. From there, the bayou runs eastward into the Biloxi Marsh.
The entrance to the bayou is fairly deep. We never saw less than four feet on the sounder. About a mile in from the lake, the bayou makes a 90 degree turn to the north for about 300 yards before turning back to the east. At the northern most end of that 300 yard stretch, the bayou deepens to 25’, which was where we dropped the hook.
Fishing – Rising Tide
After getting the anchor set, we had a quick lunch and then loaded up both boats with gear, tackle, and live shrimp. The tide was forecasted to be rising all afternoon. My plan was to fish some of the larger bays and ponds the main bayous coming off of Lake Borgne feed into. The first spot I fished was Magill Lagoon, right where Bayou Magill dumps into it.
Bayou Magill
I picked up a nice red on the first cast, but did not get another bite after that. I then made a short move, fishing a few other areas around Bayou Magill. Nothing was happening and the area did not look promising. The water was moving, but very slowly, and I did not see any bait jumping. I then decided to make a longer run over to the Lakes of Bayou Marron.
Lakes of Bayou Marron
The Lakes of Bayou Marron area has been very productive for my Dad and I in the past. It is probably his favorite area to fish in Biloxi Marsh. This day however was not one of those productive days. I bounced around the lakes for most of the afternoon, only catching three trout along with several undersized throwbacks.
Late in the afternoon, I decided to make one last stop. It was within sight of Encore, and where the incoming tide was flowing nicely into a large pond. My fishing partner and I picked up keeper trout on our first casts. We fished for another 30 minutes as the Sun was setting, catching 10 keeper trout with several undersized throwbacks mixed in. Luckily, that last spot salvaged our afternoon. In total, we ended the day with one redfish and 15 trout.
Fishing – Falling Tide
The second day of fishing was the opposite of the first day in almost every way. The tide was falling and the fish were very cooperative. My first stop was at one of the small bayous that drains into the Lakes of Bayou Marron.
I hooked up on my first cast with a nice trout on a live shrimp under a Bomber popping cork. My fishing partner was throwing a gold spoon in search of redfish. He quickly switched to the same setup I was using after I had put three trout in the boat within the first 10 minutes of fishing.
With the fish biting so well, I decided to try a DOA shrimp rigged the same distance under the popping cork. It proved to be just as effective. We continued to catch trout consistently for the next hour, but keepers to throwbacks were about 1:1. With rain in the forecast for later that morning, and 25 trout in the ice chest, we decided to make a short run in search of redfish.
The bayous that drain into Bayou Marron have been great redfish spots in the past for my Dad and I. Our first stop produced a redfish on the first cast. Due to me forgetting the landing net on Encore, that fish was lost attempting to flip him over the rail. We made a few more casts, but did not get any other bites. The rain was almost over us at that time, so we decided to make the quick run back to Encore.
Once back, we got both boats set up to tow, pulled the anchor, and were then on our way back to Pass Christian Harbor. The rain stopped and the sun came out just as we cleared the marsh making for an excellent cruise back to the dock.
Best of luck!