Another MRGO trip mixed in with Lake B journey

Stanley Fink
Mar 1
8 min read

TEAM JO-JO:

Back-to-Back Adventures on the Water

Some trips are about strategy, planning, and execution—Thursday was one of those days. But then there are trips where you just let go and enjoy the ride—Friday was shaping up to be exactly that.

Thursday’s Mission: Just Me & Big Bubba

The plan was simple—go where the fish were biting and put Silverwonders in the boat. With my bad back acting up, I wasn’t sure if I should push it but knowing Big Rudy & Big Ron limited out Tuesday and Wednesday along MRGO, the temptation was too strong.

Me checked my "Who’s Owed a Trip" list—

Big Don (me Sr. first mate) – No can go.
Big Charlie – No can go.
Big Bubba (Nephewofthepack) – Bingo! My first mate secured.

The day did not disappoint—calm water, cool breeze, and hungry fish willing to cooperate. It was one of those trips where everything just felt right. Me and Big Bubba worked on the water, played the tide, and made memories along the way.

Friday’s Crew: A Full Boat of Nephews & No Responsibilities

While Thursday was a great trip, Friday was the one me was looking forward to the most. This time, the crew was bigger—Big Peanut, Big Bubba, and Big Mike (all nephewsofthepack from brother #4 out of 6 boys). We would be riding in style aboard Big Bubba’s 24’ Skitter Bay Boat, paired with a 225 Yamaha pushing machine. A boat built to cover miles of water and chase fish down wherever they may be hiding.

But the best part? Me was just along for the ride.

No stress about finding the fish.
No pressure to "make it happen."
No worries about boat operation or rigging gear.

For once, me was just a mate. Just fishing, relaxing, and soaking it all in. No GPS checking, no second-guessing tide movements—just a day of pure fishing fun.

The Beauty of Just Enjoying the Moment

Trips like these remind me why me love fishing in the first place. Sometimes it’s about the catch, sometimes it’s about the camaraderie, but always—it’s about being out on the water. Whether you’re the captain calling the shots or just a deckhand along for the adventure, every trip adds a new chapter to the story.

And this one? One for the books.

SIGNS:

· Thursday trip set the stage for a good night sleep, which made it easy to get up for our Friday morning trip.

· Up at 4:45 AM for our 6:15 AM meet up at Eddie Pinto launch on Paris Road.

· All me had was (3) rods & reels, tackle bag, and dry bag, me was traveling light

· It felt strange no towing Bay Flat Jr to go fish Bayou Bienvenue areas.

· No wildlife sightings along Hwy 11 or 90

· Me thought me was early, but Big Bubba & Big Mike already had the Skeeter Bay boat in water, motor running, ready to go.

· Quick transfer of me gears into boat and we on our way.

· Off to MRGO for a fun day of fishing

CONDITIONS:

· Perfect

· Wind, N.N.E. 10-11, N.E. 8-10, E.N.E. 7-8, E.S.E. 8-10 mph

· Water status / conditions: clam to slight chop

· Sky, sunny & clear

· Temp, kept jump suite on all day

· Water level, up 10-12”

· Water Temp , 59 F

· Salinity, 2.6

· Specific Conductance 4800

· Pressure, 30.25 R

· Water clarity on a scale of 1-7, a 6

· Mississippi gauge: 12.20’

· Caernarvon Outfall: 6200 ft3/s

· Tide, falling slightly

· Peak tide, 03:11 H 1.18’

· Peak tide, 15:33 l 0.26’

· Major Feed Time: 11:55 / none

· Minor feed time: 06:23 / 18:27

· Tidal Coefficient: 108 Nice it be

· Fish Activity

· Very High Activity

· Boats were out and about, 30 plus, trestles had 24

· ONEOFTHEPACK’S REPERTOIRE OF TECHNIQUES / STRATEGIES

· Be safe.

· Have fun.

· This is me daily therapy for ALL me aliments.

· Put some run time on Skeeter Bay and the Yamaha Dream Machine 225HP

· Gather Intel for future trips, and to share with fisherperson, (on Facebook) to help assist them in their choice of areas to fish, lures to use and presentation of same to the elusive Silverwonders.

· Catch what catch can.

· Learn what learn can.

· Introduce Big Mike to:

§ Jerk bait technique / presentation fishing

§ Area we be fishing

§ Where the big NMR girls are located

· Bring fishes home for the Fink Boys.

· Find a spot # with the seven fundamentals / criteria of catching:

1 WIND AT YOUR BACK: (Wind is not a factor, helped us move along rocks, and keep us a little cool for the day)

2 MOVING WATER: (Falling, but not very evident, had to tell if moving, did not see any movement around crab trap corks.)

3 WATER CALRITY: (A 6, little off it be, water In Lake Borgne & mouth of Bayou Bienvenue a 3 plus, very sandy looking it be)

4 HOLDING FISH: (MRGO & mouth of bayou Bienvenue & Lake Borgne)

5 PATIENCES: (Needed some, had 4 in boat in first 15 minutes, then it died down, we fished for them the rest of the day, but crew stayed with it till around noon when last cast was called.)

6 SKILL: (Jerk baits, Big Bubba was on fire with the Salt Strong Power Prawn Jr. with yellow tail matched up with 1/8 oz. jig head. He would cast out let it sink some and work it back to him with a twitch and kept reeling in slow to keep just off bottom.)

7 LUCKS: (Big Mike’s knowledge of Lake Borgne action, proved to be accurate on BIG girls residing in that area.)

· Oneofthepack’s repertoire of Techniques / presentations:

· Anchor up cast & retrieve slowly along the bottom, with a twitch every now and then, tight lining…………………………………DID NOT TRY

· Drift with the wind cast & retrieve (DWWC&R)……………Used wind & trolling motor to move us along rocks, we stayed about 30-35 feet off rocks, caught 98% of fish.

· Oak River Troll (ORT)……………….(1) Bass.

· Reverse Oak River Troll (RORT) ………..DID NOT TRY

· Oak River Skim (ORS) ……………DID NOT TRY

· Cork ……..Nothing

· Lake P Troll (LPT)…………….Did not try.

· Drop shot: Did not try.

· Dead bait……None

· Live bait………………None

· Oneofthepack ‘S repertOIRE of LURE DU JOUR:

· 3” H&H Purple Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head with gold hook……………Did not try

· 3” Chartreuse Glow Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook………….Did not try

· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook……………Did not try.

· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 3/8 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY

· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 1/2 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY

· Salt Strong Power Prawn (added 10-25-24) matched up with: Did not use:

§ 1/8 oz. Jig head: caught 20% of fish

§ ¼ oz. jig head :

§ 3/8 oz. jig head :

§ Tandem Rig:

· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with 3/4 oz. round lead head w/ 2 trailers, ……Did not try.

· Tandem rig, ¼ oz. round H&H jig head with gold hook, matched up with Matrix Shad Lemon Drop …..Did not try.

· Various jerk baits caught 80% of fish

AREAS / SPOTS / NUMBERS ON THE MAP FISHED:

Bayou Bievenue area in MRGO (5) NMR’s Silverwonders, (4) Redwarriors, (1) Bass, (1) Flounder. Lake Borgne & mouth of Bayou Bievenue (4) nice Silverwonders.

OUR REWARDS:

· Lived to fish another day.

· (9) Silverwonders, 2 Miniwonders

· (4) Redwarriors, 3 Ratworriers

· (1) Flounder

· (1) Bass

· (2) Missed strike

· Missed NMR reeling in, pressure from reeling, fish fight, and pressure from tolling motor pulling us forward cause the hooks to come out of the BIG NMR.

· Seeing Team Jo-Jo’s Big Charle and his crew on the water in his beautiful Sportsman Bay boat fishing the MRGO with a crew of 4 on board.

· Spending time with Nephewsofthepack, especially on the water.

· Being with 2 of the best fisherpersons me know, Big Bubba & Big Mike, Big Peanut was a no show.

· Easy, quick, relaxing trip

· Lessons learned:

§ Jerk baits work in open water too, used them at Bayou Bievenue & mouth of Lake Borgne

§ Lake Borgne & Bayou Bienvenue holding some real nice (NMR) big girls or the taken

§ Slow day used many different types of lures, techniques, & presentations to be able to have some action for today.

§ Slat Strong Jr with yellow tail, matched up with a 1/8 oz. round lead head was on fire first thing in the morning, out fished all the jerk baits,

§ Bubba big boat nice to fish out of

§ I still don’t like fishing with smokers. It was a cool, dry, refreshing day, me inhaling all this into me lungs, suddenly a cloud of some came my way, me don’t like this scenario at all.

· Best fishing trip of my life, until the next one.

FISHERPERSON OF THE DAY:

Big Bubba was on fire with the Power Prawn technique / presentation, so much so I switched over to it, but it was too late bites stopped as quickly as they started. He nominated the Flounder category and lead us around all our fishing spots I his Skeeter. But it was not to be today,

Big Mike hung in there, but he more if a “call me when they are biting” type fisherperson, plus his mind /art was on Bayou Bienvenue & Lake Borgne, they caught a few there Thursday he with Big Peanut.

Oneofthepack caught first fish, a Ratwarrior it be, got on some Silverwonders, dominated bass division, and when we made our way to Lake Borgne, it was all about me technique & presentation with me trusted jerk bait, this is when me became fisherperson of the day.

SUGGESTIONS:

Order one each of the following

· Bill Lewis:

o Scope Stick BLF-SS100-SSP6-776 Pro herring

o 3/8 oz. o Scope Stick BLF-SS100-SSP6-791 Ayu 3/8 oz.

o Scope Stick BLF-SS120-SSP6-791 Ayu 1/2 oz.

o Greenish color works best

o https://www.rat-l-trap.com/products/scope-stik-100/

· Get early start, beat all eh waves beating up the rocks when all the boats come out.

· When you order confirm the size lure & select depth you want lure to work at

· Mix up your presentation, but they hit best when lure is paused

Our rods & reels, purchased at Gus Net & Tackle on Hwy 433 Slidell) me like:

· Penn Battel III 1000

· 20# power pro line

· 12-14” 20# mono leader

· St Croix Triumph TRS60MF 6’ one piece rod

Check with Gus, Hwy 433 if you buy rod & reel as a combination you might get a good discount. Also, ask him about Berkeley , Bill Lewis, and Rapala jerk baits he may have in stock and/or he can order for you.

PONDER OF THE DAY:

"Catching is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused."