Louisiana Redfishing - Part Two

[Tony Buzolich]

The next couple of days were perfect. The wind layed down, the tides were good, and we’re seeing fish. Lots of fish and they’re big.

The water here is still off color and visibility is tough for both us and the fish. Fly placement is critical to getting a grab. The reds weren’t too particular about choice of flies but placement of cast was. A cast usually had to be within a foot or two of their head to insight a grab. Spotting a fish was the other problem. Even with Greg calling out distance and direction it was hard to see in the murky water.

I’m up first today and after blowing several shots on nice fish I finally get tight to my first big red. I set several times and the reel sings quickly into my backing. With the water being shallow the fish cannot dive deep and only go sideways on long runs.

Soon enough my fish is to the boat for a few quick pictures, a guestimate at the weight (27-28lbs.), and then back into the water. Yahoo! Let’s do that again!

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Jim and I would trade off throughout the day taking turns on the bow. We were seeing lots of big bull reds everywhere and blowing lots of shots at them too. Real “donkeys” as Capt. Greg would call them and it wasn’t long before Jim is hooked up again. We’ve been seeing lots of big reds in the thirty to forty pound class and this one is for sure bigger than any we’ve taken so far.

Controlling these bigger fish isn’t easy and turning their head with the rod doesn’t always work. Under the boat, around the pole and platform, and back again several times makes for lots of excitement.

Now in the net, Jim’s got his fish, and it’s over thirty pounds. High fives all around, lots of quick pictures, and back into the water she goes.

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Throughout the trip we’re seeing lot of other fish too. Sheephead, black drum, and even alligator gars were common. But we’re here for reds and getting spoiled with these bigger fish. Soon we’re starting to pass up 6 -8 -10 lb.fish while looking for more of those “donkeys”. We couldn’t pass them all up and they are all fun.

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Along the way we ventured out into some deeper water as Capt. Greg wanted to show us what few people can believe. Thousands of redfish all schooled up. Actually, it was “acres” of redfish almost as far as you could see. What we were looking at was their post spawn grouping and their mudding as they fed turned the water orangish/ brown. Too deep to effectively fish, we moved on but what a sight.

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We move on and spot another “smaller” school of perhaps a thousand fish mudding in shallower water of three to four feet in depth. The school would rise to the surface briefly and then drop to the bottom and feed repeatedly. Greg set up the boat perfectly as we would be able to drift through them and get our shot. Up they come and I place my shot at a huge red. Immediately I get my grab and am hooked up tight. Greg yells to Jim to cast also as we haven’t spooked them, and Jim gets hooked up as well. We’ve got a double!

As I work my fish close to the boat Greg yells that I’ve got a drum. Black drum often mix in with schools of redfish and feed together. Reds are much more the game fish but they’re all fun.

Jim is getting his fish in close now and we see he’s got a drum as well. We have a double black drum hook up right in the middle of a thousand redfish. Laugh or cry.

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The school has spooked now and go deep and we loose them. Capt. Greg tells me to put on a heavier fly for this deeper water as we move to another area of the same flat. I tie on a 1/0 Black Bunny with a chartreuse head and make another cast to a cruising fish. Instantly the red comes out of the water and grabs my fly in a huge swirl and I’m tight onto another big fish. Same drill as before. Over, under, all around and soon into the boat. My best redfish ever. Almost thirty pounds? Maybe?

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This trip was one of our best. Capt. Greg Moon is one of the best as well and gave us a 100% plus every day we fished. If you’re new to red fishing Capt. Greg will put you onto areas with lots of “smaller” fish to learn the sport and get acquainted with spotting and casting to cruising fish in the shallows. And, if you’re after a trophy red, and know what you’re doing, go to Capt. Greg Moon’s website at Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters and book a trip or call him at (702) 497-1673.
TONY

[k.hanley]

Jeeez what a great trip Tony. Nice going!

Cheers, Ken

[mems]

Who Dat! Some nice reds ya'll get der. Glad you and Jim had a good time. Looks like the seafood platter at deanie's was good as well. I hope you got to try some of the other places as. The drum is nice sized. They do pull hard. I love how aggressive reds are in the marsh. Glad you had a great time, thanks for posting the pictures, Don.

[Jim May]

Aloha Brah,
We had lots of great food we tried a different restaurant every night!The red fish are always fun and I love sight fishing for big fish.I think Tony is going to be In Kona for two weeks in june you guys need to get together and get some fish.I hope you and your family are all doing well.
Jim May

[M Duper]

Great detail! Felt like I was in the boat.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks for the fantastic post Tony......many of us are putting a Redfish trip in our bucket list.

[Tony Buzolich]

Bill,

I've been reading all the posts over on Dan's board as well about Louisiana redfishing and there is a lot of interest. I've checked out a lot of the lodges that offer package trips too and there are plus's and minus's to everything about planning one of these trips.

I've found that the lodges are almost all on the water. This is good once you get there but the downside is the distance they are from the airport and or New Orleans proper. To get to the Venice or Houma areas is almost a two hour drive from the airport. Another downside is you are away from all the fun and sights of New Orleans. There are tons of things to see and do even if you don't plan on hitting Bourban St. and the French Quarter along with the great food.

If you call the Uptown Angler they can book you a guide if this is your first time to New Orleans. We used them to find our guide Capt. Greg Moon, and we've used him ever since and booked him directly from his website Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters. He also sets up trips with several of the other good guides if he's booked during the time you want to go.

By staying in town you have easy access to everything, and your guide will pick you up at your hotel. Our guide picks us up a little before 6:00 am. We drive briefly southeast and stop for breakfast at Penny's Café every morning. All of the guides pile in here and everyone shares stories of their day and where they're going that day. We order our lunches there and then head out going farther south to the water. From Penny's you can head to Hopedale, or Delacroix. or any number of other launching points and you're on the water.

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Once in the boat it is endless in the number of directions you can go and this is where you need a good guide and a GPS as there are NO major landmarks to look for. Everything is the same with shallow channels and flats and grass that all looks the same. If you ever thought the delta here was difficult to find your way around, the Louisiana and Biloxi marshes is impossible without a guide who is familiar with the area. The other thing is knowing the tides for that area being fished. All of the fishing is in shallow 1'-2' water and if you're unfamiliar with the area it's easy to get stuck. Hire a guide!

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As this is all sight fishing your day on the water doesn't start or end in the dark. The sun needs to be slightly up in order to spot any cruising fish in the off-color water. Believe me, it's tough to see them when they're not on the surface tailing. Thankfully your guide is up on a poling platform and is able to spot them way before you do. Stealth and accurate casting is imperative. The fly has to be right in their face for them go for it. Once they spot it, they don't seem too picky about what they eat. The hard part here is to let them eat and get tight without setting the hook like fishing for trout.

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If you head down that way earlier in the year during the warm weather besides redfish you also can also target black drum, big topwater jack crevalle, and even sharks all on the fly.

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Go to http://www.louisianaflyfishingcharters.com/ and look at Capt. Moon's website and Facebook for ton's of information about fishing this area.
Tony