J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO: Hugh Nobile holds up a speckled trout caught in Lake Washington. (Staff photo by J. Edmund Barnes) PORT SULPHUR – As the rosy fingered dawn pulled the cloak of darkness from the sky, I realized that there were a lot more boaters out here than I anticipated. I was at a tiny marina on the west bank of the river, and the parking lot was full. The parking lot itself was noteworthy – scattered pools of standing water only inches deep had cockahoe minnows swimming in it, and one of my fishing buddies said that he had been here when the rising water had made the place little more than an extension of the bayou. Here’ was the Hi-Ridge Marina, a small but well appointed launch South of Port Sulphur. They were doing brisk business, and we waited in a long line of trucks and trailers for our turn to put into the water. I jumped out of the truck and went to the marina, only to find that there was no live shrimp to be had. Mike Kodrin, manager and resident guide for Hi-Ridge, said that live shrimp sells out quickly. In order to get any, he said, you have to either call ahead to the marina and reserve some, or you have to arrive very early in the morning. Kodrin was waiting for his clients to fly into Port Sulphur’s airstrip, and he offered to let us follow him around. We motored down the canal into the Freeport Sulphur Company Canal, where we followed the power lines out into Lake Washington. Lake Washington is dotted with capped wellheads and extraction equipment. We followed Mike until he pulled up to a wellhead next to a submerged island. The island had become an oyster bed, making the bottom rough and treacherous. Mike was using live shrimp on the top and pulling in specks left and right, while we had to make due with a combination of frozen shrimp on the top and Deadly Dudleys pulled across the island. We didn’t do as spectacularly well as Mike and his clients, but we did bring in five large specks. Lake Washington was choppy when we arrived, and by the time the fish stopped biting a stiff breeze was clouding the water. Mike pulled up his anchor, and we followed him into more sheltered waters. Along the lee of Lake Washington, around the oyster beds, pilings and drilling equipment, we could see the bait fish boiling the water. Again, the best way to catch fish was to use live shrimp on a shallow top rig. We fished there for a while, but then Mike pulled up his anchor again and said that they were going to try for some redfish. We fished the shallow marshes around the lake, alternating between cockahoes on the bottom and frozen shrimp on the top. I caught one tiny rat red, but at a mere 10 inches long I threw him back. “See you in two years, Bubba.” Hugh Noble did better, pulling in an 18 inch redfish on a top rig. Mike outdid us all, putting five redfish on ice. With his ice chest full, Mike headed back in. We followed him, making mental notes to bring more bait, espically more live shrimp. To get to the Hi-Ridge Marina, take I-10 into New Orleans, cross the River, and take Highway 23 South. Follow Highway 23 past Myrtle Grove. The turnoff is two miles before Port Sulphur. For more information, call the Hi-Ridge Marina at (504)564-2232.