And when these tides are running high, break out the trolling motor seek trout along the main shorelines of open marsh lakes. Channelization of Louisiana’s marsh has left a lot of it open to erosion, and that has created shallow, grassy lakes in areas that were once pristine marsh. Just because they’re not the optimum habitat doesn’t mean that they won’t hold trout. On the contrary, some nice fish are to be found along the shorelines of these sometimes-vast backwater lakes.

Attacking vast shorelines would be a waste of time ending up in dogged frustration, so you’ve got to have a strategy. Instead of looking over eight miles of shoreline, narrow your search down to about 200 yards. You must eliminate water to bag these trout successfully.

The first step I take while eliminating water amid a strange ecosystem is to look once again for a shoreline that has stands of roseau cane. Roseau cane’s intricate root system (somewhat like a smaller version of the mangrove’s) gives baitfish a place in which to linger, hide and dodge larger predators. It’s best to fish these areas during the first couple of hours of a falling tide. As the water recedes, the baitfish are dislodged from their cover, and the predator/prey dynamic kicks into gear.

As summer segues to fall, go back to the marshy cuts to find trout. The difference between fall and spring in this regard is that trout are usually concentrated more heavily at this time of year -- so if you find one trout, you’re liable to find a whole bunch more. I’ve had more success by spending little time in the interior of cuts and concentrating on the first 30 yards of them and then working my way 100 yards or so into the cut. This is especially effective after the first cold fronts of fall, when baitfish are seemingly pouring out of the marsh. If a flat lies adjacent to a cut or leads out of one of these lakes, spend plenty of time working it over.

These are great spots to fish with large topwater plugs like the Skitter Walk and the many variations of the Top Dog. I learned most of my topwater marsh-fishing prowess from the late Ed Holder, a popular coastal outdoor writer who spent most of his time in the backwater.

In the course of one day of fishing we both limited out on reds by fishing with topwater plugs. The best part for me was listening to Holder share his intimate knowledge of saltwater fish and, in particular, of how to catch them on topwaters.

His most compelling observation was what he calls the “cone of vision.” He was specifically talking about reds, but I have found the same to be true for trout. If a trout’s head were a clock, its eyes would be at 2 and 10 o’clock. The fish can basically see to 4 o’clock on the right side and 8 o’clock on the left, but 5, 6 and 7 o’clock are blind spots.

An angler should always make a point to throw the bait directly in front of the fish, or even at its head. The fish may strike at the bait if it hears it hit behind the eyes, but in Holder’s view, the combination of seeing and hearing the action of a topwater plug is what will drive a fish to hit most of the time.

When looking for trout to cast to, watch for subtle signs. A small mud boil may mean that a lone giant sow trout is on the prowl; a ripple in the water can point the way to a larger school of aggressively feeding trout. Think small in early late summer and early fall to find big numbers.