Cameron Jetty Fishing 

     When someone mentions fishing at the Cameron jetty or Calcasieu Lake, they have my attention. I can't think of a better way to spend a summer weekend than fishing in the Cameron, Louisiana Jetty area. Often times, it's easier to leave the boat at home and just go jetty or pier fishing. Something's always biting at or near the jetties, be it Redfish, trout or big Southern flounder. Usually, the flounder are found on the mud flats 1/8 mile north of the Cameron jetties. They have been known to make runs near the jetty rocks, though.

     If you've read my earlier article about the Cameron Jetty Pier and RV park, then you know about the pier and facilities inside the fenced area. So what happens if you dont have an RV and cant afford a motel?

     Well, some people camp out in a tent near the boat launch ramp, just north of the Cameron jetties. It's not the nicest campground area you'll ever see. I'll grant you that. In fact it's not even a campground, but it's workable. I'm not sure the Cameron Parish officials even want you to camp there at all, although plenty of people have done it, including myself.  Just dont get in the way of the boaters and you'll be fine. As a boater, myself, I'm not real fond of folks who clog up launch ramp areas, so choose your camping spot wth care. There's not much room there to begin with, just a tiny strip of grass along the north side of launch ramp parking lot.

    If one is careful, they can cover trip expenses quite easily with less than $400 if they live in East Texas, North Louisiana or Arkansas. My problem comes in during the week before the trip. It seems that every time I visit the Cameron jetty area for fishing, I need to visit the local Academy Sports and/or Bass Pro shop a time or two. It's a tackle addiction, I'm told. I also try to get to Lake Charles early enough on the day before I fish in order to pick up more tackle at Lake Charles Tackle on McNeese street too. I like to support small local fishing tackle shops when I can and hope you do too.

     I buy the normal saltwater tackle for jetty fishing. Steel leaders and drop rigs. Weights, weights and more weights...from 1 ounce to 4 oz sizes. Circle hooks... Size #5 for trout under a cork and #10-12 for bull reds. Let's not forget fishing line. I use mono. Period. For the big rods I have between 20 and 30 lb test line with a 12 to 18 inch steel leader, and for the trout rod I use 14-17lb. test. I always have extra line available, because you can get seriously hung up on a long cast, using a 3 oz sinker at the Cameron jetties. I prefer 20 lb test, because 30 lb is really hard to break off when I'm hung in the seaweed on the bottom. Sometimes I pick up an extra reel when I'm on my shopping spree prior to my trip. This is something I need to stop doing. I cant use all the reels I own, as it is. 'Sorry, I just like Penn and/or Shimano fishing reels. It's an addiction, I'm sure. Let's not talk about the 35 or so rods I own just for salt water fishing. Somewhere in the Castaway Rod factory offices, I'm sure my photo must be displayed on a wall. Maybe one day I'll begin receiving birthday cards from Castaway Rods. Same goes for Shimano reels. I'm still waiting, however. So far, my lowest pre-trip shopping spree has only cost me $235. I'm getting better. The average used to be over $450. In fact, I'm trying my best to skip the tackle shopping before I fish in Cameron. Yeah, right....when pigs fly.

Cameron jetty pier fishing bait:

     There are two main baits used for the big bull redfish at the Cameron Jetty. Fresh or live mullet and blue crabs. My friend likes to use cracked crabs. I prefer the mullet. It's easier to deal with. Dont forget artificial baits, either !  Reds will hit almost anything a bass will eat at times.

     Sometimes the fish will tell you what they want.

     I was on the jetty pier for the first time and an old Cajun told me : " Dey want 'da mullet." Of course, all I had was an ice chest full of live crabs. So, off to the Crab man's bait shop in Cameron I went and bought $6 worth of frozen mullet. That old Cajun was right too. The bull redfish wanted mullet that day.  Curtis the crab man is a real treat to visit with,  If he has time, take a seat and talk to him sometime. You can learn more about fishing from him in 10 min than you will in 10 years by yourself.

     Once I tried using a 5 1/2 foot cast net from the jetty rocks, in an effort to catch some live finger mullet. My lady friend said she wished she had brought her video camera while watching my feeble attempts to toss that cast net from the rock jetty.  Note to the ladies:  Please dont laugh at your man while he's trying to keep his balance on a slippery rock while throwing a cast net.  It's not nice.

      I did catch some baitfish. Just not mullet. After nearly falling in the Calcasieu ship channel more than once, and although I'm a very strong swimmer, I've since decided to stick to using my cast net in the shallow waters where the footing is better than on slick boulders. Besides, I didnt want my lady friend to laugh herself to death.

Fishing the Jetty rocks at Cameron

    So you get to the Cameron jetty at daylight, you find a nice flat rock on which to stand and you toss out your bait as the sun comes up. First, you're going to catch the biggest gafftop sail cat you've ever caught. He'll run about 5 -6 lbs and feel like a big red for a few seconds. Some folks keep them.  They are edible fish, but I dont.  So you cast farther out into the Calcasieu ship channel next time. Your sinker is holding against the tide and you wait. WATCH your rod tip !  If you dont have a fast tipped heavy rod, go buy one.. Redfish will sometimes barely pick up your mullet off the bottom and move ever so slightly. It's hard to detect them sometimes and the best clue is that rod tip. You'll know if it's a redfish in a few seconds, because redfish dont give up as quickly as those gafftops will. Sometimes a  big redfish will strip 100 yards of line if your drag is set properly, ...so let him, unless he's heading for the bottom. Play him out and bring him in. Dont rush it, but dont play him too long, in case you want to release him.

     Or you can fish with a popping cork using light tackle, about 3-5 feet deep with a piece of GULP! shrimp, tipped with a little bit of real bait shrimp on a #5 circle hook. Speckled trout will hit the artificial GULP shrimp at times. During late summer, try driving north of the jetties a short distance and find a parking spot just off the road. (difficult ) and try fishing the mud flats for flounder at the edge of the Calcasieu ship channel. Flounder bite live shrimp but have been known to hit anything at times. Downsize your hooks for flounder fishing. Use fairly small hooks, like a #3 circle hook or smaller.  I once saw a flounder jump straight out of the water, striking at bait fish in that area. It was spectacular.

     Speaking of flounder, try my Crabmeat stuffed Flounder recipe.

 ~Froggy ~

Part time Louisiana Food critic , honorary Cajun and Texas beach bum in training.