Trout are plentiful in the Delacroix marshes, with fish feasting under small shrimp and hiding in winter holes. Live bait or plastics are equally effective.

Last week's northerly blow left a surprising number of shrimp in the Delacroix marsh. They're small (I'd guess about 80-count), but there are plenty of them, and they're being devoured by trout from the bottom and sea gulls from above.

A buddy and I fought the ferocious wind today and found plenty of filthy water, but also plenty of feeding fish. There were at least five separate flocks of diving birds in Pointe Fienne and a couple more in Skippy Lake. Most of the fish under the Pointe Fienne birds were undersized, but we probably could have limited there if we'd kept fishing them. We saw two boats raking the trout in under the Skippy birds, but didn't stop to fish them. I'm not much for fishing birds unless it's late spring or I'm desperate.

Instead, we mined the winter holes in Oak River, and caught near limits of specks and reds and even two black drum and a lost white trout. We picked up a few fish in nearly every hole we hit on double-rigged chartreuse Salt Water Assassins.

Buy live bait if you must, but it's absolutely not necessary right now. Good luck this weekend.