Tony Buzolich
11-22-2017, 04:35 PM
For the last several years my good buddy Jim May and I have been fishing the Louisiana marshes south of New Orleans near Hopedale. We'd been using the same guide by the name of Capt. Greg Moon and he's been great. So great in fact we couldn't get him this year as he is now booked solid over a year ahead of time. Uugh. Now what do we do? It's peak season for the bigger reds coming into the shallows and we don't have anything lined up. The only fly shop in New Orleans closed last year that we've used for referrals so now we've got to search.
Jim came up with a new idea that sounded fun. He had been talking with “the Olde Towne Fly Shop” in Slidell and they recommended staying and fishing out of the Dogwood Lodge located right in Hopedale which we were very familiar with. They put a package together for us which was very affordable and at a good time for finding some bull reds. We'd get to fish with a couple of new guides and share the lodge with ten other fishermen all doing the same thing.
After arriving in New Orleans we rented a car and drove south about an hour to Hopedale and found the Dogwood Lodge. The lodge itself is a retired buoy tender that has been used on various rivers throughout the area. Perfect, a mothership of sorts that we'd call home for the next few days.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0787_zpszqi4jajt.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0787_zpszqi4jajt.jpg.html)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0809_zpsex86n19z.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0809_zpsex86n19z.jpg.html)
We were greeted by Smiley Wiltbank, the man in charge who really took care of everything, including some really great gourmet meals. After unpacking we headed upstairs to a common room where we met several of the other guests and got acquainted. Beautifully decorated with fresh paint and trimmed in oak, we found an open bar and hor d''oeuvres waiting for us. A full inclusive trip.
The next morning after a hot breakfast, the guides would pull up to the fantail of the boat lodge and pick up their clients for the day's fishing. Lunches and drinks were loaded aboard and off we'd go.
Our guide the first day was a young fellow named John McCalla who really knew the area well. We headed south down the main canal till we got to the open flats and started fishing. Jim was up first and started to roll out some line. Before he could even get started a trout (speckled weakfish) grabbed his fly and quickly came to the boat. Naw! Too soon!. This is the kiss of death when a fish grabs your fly on the first cast.
And so it was, we'd pole and spot fish. Make a good cast, and get totally ignored, or perhaps spook and dash away. We'd take turns on the bow casting, only to get spurned again and again. We'd trade flies with previously successful ones still to no avail . Fish after fish would quickly spook even with perfectly placed casts. It seemed Jim's “kiss of death” was holding true.
Nearing the end of the day we could see fish beginning to feed. I decided to try a more natural looking crab fly instead of the attractor patterns we'd been using.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/20171122_143350_zps4wtxmald.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/20171122_143350_zps4wtxmald.jpg.html)
A short cast toward a little point and I finally get my first grab. Yahoo! Finally a fish on comes to the boat. These fish out in the open flats seem to have lighter color than a lot of others.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0795_zpsq5kkkb46.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0795_zpsq5kkkb46.jpg.html)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0796_zpsw1qwz3ov.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0796_zpsw1qwz3ov.jpg.html)
The next day we were warned that the wind was going to come up and we'd have to play the weather to find fish. Couldn't be any worse than Jim's “kiss” yesterday.
We started out the same after breakfast with another “new” guide named Mike Leishmann. Mike had traded places with the guide we were supposed to have for the rest of the trip. Apparently this trading off thing is not uncommon with younger guides who are just getting started.
After getting acquainted we were asked if we'd like to stay in close and catch more “slot” fish rather than go outside and get blown off for sure. Inside for sure, as it was already gusting. We headed up the main canal toward an area we'd never fished before and quickly found out why. We zipped through several canals and came to a quiet dead end bay. Looks good except for all the ,,,,,,,,,weeds. Outside the flats seemed almost void of weed. This area looked worse than Frank's Tract in the middle of summer.
I get first up this time and quickly begin to spot fish close to shore and the marsh grass edge. Mike poles us quietly along as we run over fish after fish. There is a little space close to the grass but weeds are everywhere and thicker as you go out. The wind is gusting and normal casts are impossible. Short flips of the line barely the length of the leader was all that could be done. Add to this Mike is in stealth mode and hardly talks above a whisper even in the gusting wind. Jim and I trade off every thirty minutes or if one of us hooks up we switch turns on the bow. Now Jim is up and luckily gets a quick grab. He can also the hear the guide's whispered instructions better than me.
Notice the darker colors of the fish in this darker weedy water.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0816_zpsz9uzjnng.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0816_zpsz9uzjnng.jpg.html)
Jim gets another dark redfish. Notice the weeds hanging from both fish.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0815_zpsyxwyx3bm.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0815_zpsyxwyx3bm.jpg.html)
The wind continues to grow as we keep moving from bayou to bayou. With thick weed growth everywhere we continue getting stuck and having to push our way off into hopefully deeper water. After stopping for lunch our guide asks us if we want to continue fishing as the wind is continuing to growth. Of course we do. We're here to fish.
Looking for some slightly calmer water our guide takes us into another large flat and again the weed and mud bottom stop us. Trimming the motor doesn't help and the wind pushes us even shallower till we can't move at all. Firing up the motor only sprays mud everywhere and heats up to almost stalling. Still pushing and poling the wind is winning. Finally our guide decides to jump in and try to push the boat while Jim and I push and pole to get the nose of the boat into the wind. Finally turned, he fires up the motor again spraying liquid mud everywhere till it comes out the pee hole. Fortunately the mud is soft and we begin to move toward a channel. Enough is enough and we head back to the lodge. Once there, we hear that the wind is going to blow even harder and decide to cancel our next day with this guide. Inexperience with the area and time on the water could have cost a lot more than days fishing.
We'll go again soon but only with a proven guide,
Tony
Jim came up with a new idea that sounded fun. He had been talking with “the Olde Towne Fly Shop” in Slidell and they recommended staying and fishing out of the Dogwood Lodge located right in Hopedale which we were very familiar with. They put a package together for us which was very affordable and at a good time for finding some bull reds. We'd get to fish with a couple of new guides and share the lodge with ten other fishermen all doing the same thing.
After arriving in New Orleans we rented a car and drove south about an hour to Hopedale and found the Dogwood Lodge. The lodge itself is a retired buoy tender that has been used on various rivers throughout the area. Perfect, a mothership of sorts that we'd call home for the next few days.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0787_zpszqi4jajt.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0787_zpszqi4jajt.jpg.html)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0809_zpsex86n19z.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0809_zpsex86n19z.jpg.html)
We were greeted by Smiley Wiltbank, the man in charge who really took care of everything, including some really great gourmet meals. After unpacking we headed upstairs to a common room where we met several of the other guests and got acquainted. Beautifully decorated with fresh paint and trimmed in oak, we found an open bar and hor d''oeuvres waiting for us. A full inclusive trip.
The next morning after a hot breakfast, the guides would pull up to the fantail of the boat lodge and pick up their clients for the day's fishing. Lunches and drinks were loaded aboard and off we'd go.
Our guide the first day was a young fellow named John McCalla who really knew the area well. We headed south down the main canal till we got to the open flats and started fishing. Jim was up first and started to roll out some line. Before he could even get started a trout (speckled weakfish) grabbed his fly and quickly came to the boat. Naw! Too soon!. This is the kiss of death when a fish grabs your fly on the first cast.
And so it was, we'd pole and spot fish. Make a good cast, and get totally ignored, or perhaps spook and dash away. We'd take turns on the bow casting, only to get spurned again and again. We'd trade flies with previously successful ones still to no avail . Fish after fish would quickly spook even with perfectly placed casts. It seemed Jim's “kiss of death” was holding true.
Nearing the end of the day we could see fish beginning to feed. I decided to try a more natural looking crab fly instead of the attractor patterns we'd been using.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/20171122_143350_zps4wtxmald.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/20171122_143350_zps4wtxmald.jpg.html)
A short cast toward a little point and I finally get my first grab. Yahoo! Finally a fish on comes to the boat. These fish out in the open flats seem to have lighter color than a lot of others.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0795_zpsq5kkkb46.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0795_zpsq5kkkb46.jpg.html)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0796_zpsw1qwz3ov.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0796_zpsw1qwz3ov.jpg.html)
The next day we were warned that the wind was going to come up and we'd have to play the weather to find fish. Couldn't be any worse than Jim's “kiss” yesterday.
We started out the same after breakfast with another “new” guide named Mike Leishmann. Mike had traded places with the guide we were supposed to have for the rest of the trip. Apparently this trading off thing is not uncommon with younger guides who are just getting started.
After getting acquainted we were asked if we'd like to stay in close and catch more “slot” fish rather than go outside and get blown off for sure. Inside for sure, as it was already gusting. We headed up the main canal toward an area we'd never fished before and quickly found out why. We zipped through several canals and came to a quiet dead end bay. Looks good except for all the ,,,,,,,,,weeds. Outside the flats seemed almost void of weed. This area looked worse than Frank's Tract in the middle of summer.
I get first up this time and quickly begin to spot fish close to shore and the marsh grass edge. Mike poles us quietly along as we run over fish after fish. There is a little space close to the grass but weeds are everywhere and thicker as you go out. The wind is gusting and normal casts are impossible. Short flips of the line barely the length of the leader was all that could be done. Add to this Mike is in stealth mode and hardly talks above a whisper even in the gusting wind. Jim and I trade off every thirty minutes or if one of us hooks up we switch turns on the bow. Now Jim is up and luckily gets a quick grab. He can also the hear the guide's whispered instructions better than me.
Notice the darker colors of the fish in this darker weedy water.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0816_zpsz9uzjnng.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0816_zpsz9uzjnng.jpg.html)
Jim gets another dark redfish. Notice the weeds hanging from both fish.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/IMG_0815_zpsyxwyx3bm.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/IMG_0815_zpsyxwyx3bm.jpg.html)
The wind continues to grow as we keep moving from bayou to bayou. With thick weed growth everywhere we continue getting stuck and having to push our way off into hopefully deeper water. After stopping for lunch our guide asks us if we want to continue fishing as the wind is continuing to growth. Of course we do. We're here to fish.
Looking for some slightly calmer water our guide takes us into another large flat and again the weed and mud bottom stop us. Trimming the motor doesn't help and the wind pushes us even shallower till we can't move at all. Firing up the motor only sprays mud everywhere and heats up to almost stalling. Still pushing and poling the wind is winning. Finally our guide decides to jump in and try to push the boat while Jim and I push and pole to get the nose of the boat into the wind. Finally turned, he fires up the motor again spraying liquid mud everywhere till it comes out the pee hole. Fortunately the mud is soft and we begin to move toward a channel. Enough is enough and we head back to the lodge. Once there, we hear that the wind is going to blow even harder and decide to cancel our next day with this guide. Inexperience with the area and time on the water could have cost a lot more than days fishing.
We'll go again soon but only with a proven guide,
Tony