SteveA
05-07-2008, 08:58 PM
A couple weeks ago I took a trip to New Orleans for a variety of good food, good drink, good cigars, and managed to even get out for a day of fishing. Used Rich, of fishwithrich.com fame as our guide. Started driving before first light and after about a 45 minute drive from town we were at the boat launch. Fishing what I'm calling the salt marshes, is like fishing in a maze of waterways surrounding grassy islands. After a short time I couldn't tell where we were but knew we were safe under Rich's watchful eye. Boated under power about 15 minutes to the start of the fishing and because the sun wasn't out just yet, we fished blind. Cast, strip, cast, strip. My partner, Todd, and I fished one at a time from a small platform on the front of the boat. Rich stood on another platform at the back and used a long pole to guide the boat through fishy waters. After about an hour of unsuccessful fishing the sun appeared and suddenly we could see clearly into the water(thank goodness for polarized sunglasses). It wasn't long before we started spotting fish and soon after that we were expert at identifying fish species upon sight. Redfish, black drum and sheepshead were a few of the species spotted. Our quarry were the redfish although that didn't stop us from casting to other species. Rich told us right away that casting accuracy was key in this game and we proved him right. Strip a fly 2 or 3 feet away and the fish will ignore it while slowly swimming out of reach. However, put the fly within a few inches of his nose and get ready for an explosion of action. The takes were fast and hard and redfish like to run. No acrobatics, just pure broad shouldered running for the ocean. Hard fighting fish! Redfish were the only fish that showed any interest and after a great day of fishing Todd and I could lay claim to landing 3 apiece. The largest weighed in at 8 pounds.
Before I went on this trip I searched this site for information on Louisiana and/or redfish fishing. Having found none I thought I'd be the first. Let me tell you, they have a great fishery down there. There is plenty of water and fish to go around and redfish are a great sport fish. This is my first time sight fishing in salt and I imagine it's a lot like bonefish fishing. Only difference is, no passport required. Now, I like to travel internationally but New Orleans is about the closest thing to a foreign town without leaving the country that I think you'll find in the U.S. Nothing like finishing a day of fishing and heading back for meals of crawfish and shrimp creole, and 10 cent martinis.
Before I went on this trip I searched this site for information on Louisiana and/or redfish fishing. Having found none I thought I'd be the first. Let me tell you, they have a great fishery down there. There is plenty of water and fish to go around and redfish are a great sport fish. This is my first time sight fishing in salt and I imagine it's a lot like bonefish fishing. Only difference is, no passport required. Now, I like to travel internationally but New Orleans is about the closest thing to a foreign town without leaving the country that I think you'll find in the U.S. Nothing like finishing a day of fishing and heading back for meals of crawfish and shrimp creole, and 10 cent martinis.