LOUISIANA OUTDOORS

Hunting, gaming, and outdoor recreation.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneFreddie Deitz reels in one of his many specks caught while fishing at the oddly-named Lake Pato Caballo - Duck Horse Lake - in the marsh south of Delacroix Isle.

"Duck" and "horse" are two nouns seldom used together in the world of outdoor reporting. You can't ride a duck, nor can you shoot a horse. Nor is it legal, advisable (or even imaginable) to pursue either with a rod and reel.

But, as usual, southeast Louisiana provides an exception to these rules.

It can be found in the marsh southwest of Delacroix Island where specks and reds have been hungry lately in a place named "Lake Pato Caballo" - which is Spanish for Lake Duck Horse.

Traditionally the week before the opening day of duck season evokes irrepressible optimism among local waterfowlers. Like sports fans everywhere, they enter each new season undefeated -- undeterred by a history of past failures or predictions of hard times ahead.

But this year feels different. Local hunters getting ready for Saturday's opener are slowly coming to conclusions about their sport that makes optimism a rare commodity.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneThursday's sunrise found anglers back at Battleground Bay, a hot spot for weeks -- until the wind, tide and water clarity turned ugly. Improving conditions should make this a top spot again.

Just southeast of Pointe a la Hache, not 15 minutes from Beshel Hoist, lies a small interior bay with a name that's easy to remember: Battleground Bay.

Theories abound about the origin of that title. It might have figured in the British invasion of 1814-15, or the Union advance on New Orleans in 1862. It could have played a role in the trappers' wars, or perhaps a dispute between oystermen.

But Thursday, several dozen anglers who arrived at sunrise to partake in what had been a string of excellent fishing days had other answers. This was a place where they battled a stiffer-than-forecast east-southeast wind, a lower-than-predicted tide, and murkier-than-expected water.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneDrift fishing for specks in the ponds, lagoons and bays in the Magnolia area is a great way to spend October days.

Being adrift normally is not something to brag about. It implies you are wandering without direction, blowing with the wind, not anchored -- none of which are qualities anyone should aspire to.

But there is one exception: when you're fishing the southeastern Louisiana marsh in October. Then life can be a real drift, because this is that period of the year when speckled trout are also adrift.

As hunting seasons open across the nation this fall, three things will be certain.

1: There will be fewer of us than last year.
2. There will be more of us than next year.
3. Hunters who want to know the reason for those facts can look in any mirror.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneRedfish, considered a poor second choice by sportsmen just 30 years ago, has become the most sought-after trophy for many marsh anglers today.

Too much wind? Hogwash -- there's still a place to go

On the list of the things local anglers hate most, wind would be a tough one to beat.

Now that's saying quite a bit, because the list isn't small. You've got gnats, hardheads, no tide, too much tide, dirty water, water that's too clear, high water and low water, oh, and that idiot who does the fishing reports in the newspaper.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneRedfish are getting bigger in the Louisiana area. Fishing guide Sidney Bouirgeois shows off a recent catch.

Something is happening to our redfish.

Ten years ago, whispering that line at a marina would have provoked fear and alarm, then ignited a search for culprits. Petitions would have been generated. Sportsmen's groups would have demanded laws to stop this horrible event.

Not this time. This time something good appears to be happening to our redfish in the shallow interior marshes: They are getting bigger.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneBarry Brechtel, of Big Fish Charters, reels in a typical "Bayou Biloxi transition season speck." Late September through October are the weeks when specks leave the outer bays and begin moving into interior marshes of the Bayou Biloxi area.

The story was to be about the transition period of trout fishing in early fall, when specks begin migrating from their summer haunts in the large coastal bays into the shallow interior marshes. Guide Barry Brechtel explained how the pattern was just beginning, how we would be picking up seven or eight trout at each of our many stops during a wide circle through the marsh.