Capt. Charlie Thomason

TRANSITION PERIOD The year is flying by faster and faster each year!  We are now moving into our late Summer transition period where our fish are going to start schooling up in certain areas and the fishing is going to begin to get even crazier than it has been.   As many of you know the Fall and Winter fishing in our area, east of the Mississippi, is the most productive in the world.   This is the time of year when duck hunting trips begin with Blast and Cast Packages , shorter boat rides to the fishing grounds, and ice chests of fish that are flowing over you should make sure to come and see us.   The transition period is one that the fish move daily due to the huge amounts of bait moving from the outer waters to the interior bays.  This movement to the interior bays allows us anglers to catch many species together at one fishing spot!  Yep, speckled trout, redfish, drum, flounder and largemouth bass can be caught on the same VersaMaxx cork prese...

DON'T FISH BAYOU SELF...FISH WITH BAYOU CHARTERS!! BIGGER FISH Well, it has been a hot and wet year so far and this month’s projection is that we are going to have a dry and warm end to the year.  August and September are our months for larger fish like, Monster Redfish, Huge Black Drum, Specks on croakers, Sharks and Jack Crevalle.  Now our normal redfish in the marshes and specks along the shallow gas rigs will be there for fish to bring home but boy do our clients love catching all of the big fish this time of year.  So, if you are an angler that loves catching the biggest fish of your life, book your trip now through the end of September for the “Big Fish Experience.” LODGE & DOCK IMPROVEMENTS We have a lot going on here at Bayou Charters.  First, many of our clients over the past few years have told us that it would be nice if we had an elevator to get up and down from the lodge.  Well, we are in the final stages of having a true ADA ap...

Anglers! It’s June! Summer has arrived. It’s time to begin the migration towards the outer bays and lakes. Like the predator fish, we will be following our prey to their Summer habitats.  As you know, speckled trout move out to the deeper water bays, lakes, and sounds in huge numbers to spawn and feed.  Along the northern gulf, many of these areas are littered with shallow water gas rigs, reefs, and islands.  We fish these areas because we know the fish we are chasing love to hold onto structure for protection and ambush points.  Many times when we are having windy springs the fish tend to hold onto the islands and reefs because they can be somewhat protected. Plus, they can have good salinity for spawning.  It’s like the old saying “right place, right time!” You have probably heard 90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the fisherman.  The reason why this holds true is that the anglers who catch the most fish know where the fish will be located under ...

Hello all, Check out the most recent articles on NOLA.com featuring my tips and tricks. Featured links below! New cork system much more effective for redfish, speckled trout Anglers can use all this wind to their advantage Rig live shrimp this way to catch more speckled trout, redfish Redfish right now aren't where you think they are I hope you enjoy. Visit the website for more information and email us about booking availability for your ultimate fishing experience! See y'all on the water, Capt. Charlie

SPRING HAS SPRUNG and just like it should be this time of the year, the fishing has fallen into place! The redfish are flooding the interior marshes and becoming quite easy to find and catch. Live shrimp are already available at the bait house and which is the earliest we’ve been able to purchase live bait ever!!  What does this mean to you, the angler and customer?  We will be heading into the sound to fish rigs and islands catching trout earlier on the outside. It makes more productive days on catching redfish and drum in the interior marshes. See ya soon! Capt. Charlie

Hey everyone! I hope your New Year is going great!  As you know, February is now upon us and our fishing hasn't slowed down.  Redfish and Drum are filling the ice chests every trip.  As a matter of fact, we have limited or filled the chest till we couldn't close the lid in every January trip.  With the mild winter, the fish never really moved into the winter patterns.  If you like fishing during the Fall run, it has never stopped!!!  It has been so warm that Campo ’ s Marina still have live shrimp as of January 31st!! We have been fishing under a cork with live shrimp in shallow ponds. The fish are schooled in tight groups, so once we get on them, it is triples and quadruples till the limits are done.  Reds and Drum are filling the chests but the speckled trout are around too.  They have been coming off current passes and small lakes either using corks with shrimp or soft plastics retrieved slow and steady.   I am in the proc...

Well the fishing has been off the charts for sure due to the warmer weather.  With water temps over 65 deg the trout are going to be scattered but the reds should be in pods around 20 fish.  I fished up in Lake Lery for some fun yesterday and there are a lot of redfish for sure along the southern banks where the marsh is broken up good.  Left there and headed over to Grand Lake and it was the same as Lery but the fish were up between the opening of Sun Lagoon and the small bayou that pours out to the west.  The entire bank had fish but it also had a lot of boats. Quick tip, this time of year make sure to allow your motor to warm up before heading out. I always allow my Honda 225 hp to warm up about 15 minutes before I head down the bayou!!  Also, cooler weather we have to make sure that we use  Ethanol Free gas, this time of year we use our motors less so our boats stay idle allowing condensation to occur with the fluctuation of temperatures.  It is ...