Louisiana Fly Fishing - Archived Reports

Louisiana Fly Fishing

Apologies to Paula Cannon and Mike Verduin 28 April 2002

My last report said the jitterbee ruled at Concordia, but that's not quite true. It did catch boatloads of brim for lots of folks, but the Cap Spider (Mike Verduin's creation) caught the most big brim. Paula even gave us a demonstration Saturday evening, catching one after another off the dock while nearby "cricket dunkers" weren't even getting a bite!

Catch

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RSFF Concordia weekend 28 April 2002

This past Friday marked the end of our week-long sojourn and the start of our participation in the Red Stick club's annual spring weekend at Lake Concordia. FRIDAY: We stopped at Lake Bruin, and looked for a launch on the lee side of the lake, protect us from the 15-20 knot northwest winds. We launched the canoe at Shiloh Campgrounds, great place. Almost immediately we were into BULL BREAM, nearly a pound each. They were near trees, piers, and shorelines. A black/yellow jitterbee fished 30 inches under a VOSI was the ticket. After awhile, we found a cut where it was as fast as the jittebee hit the water. We kept 53 for the group Saturday night fish fry, releasing all females and everything under 8 inches. SATURDAY: slow morning, winds still blowing 10-15, Concordia a bit off color from rains. Paula, Jake and I launched canoe at LDWF Camp on northwest side of lake where it was calmest. Action was non-stop from 9am to 5pm, except for a few times we tried the wind-blown areas. The brim didn't like the choppy water at all. Again, the jitterbee ruled, but in the last 2 hours an Accardo size 10 Spook outcaught the bee by a 3 to 2 margin. Other RSFF members also did great, others did very poorly. The difference seemed to be that those fishing calm water did best. SUNDAY: winds calm, and now fish bit everywhere across Concordia. Everyone tore up the brim. Paula again joined Jake and I on a brief expedition to nearby Lake St. John, just 10 minutes north of the LDWF Camp. We launched at Spokane Resort, and although the water was clear-green, the bite was off. Seven brim, one sacalait, one yellow bass. But all the brim were big like the ones at Bruin. The new owners at Spokane said this year the brim are a few weeks late, probably due to the chilly spring we've had. After leaving Paula back at Concordia, we stopped at JJ Marina on Old River Vidalia. This live oxbow was clear-green, and the lady said the white perch (sacalait) and stripers are biting even with the water still a bit high. Four lakes within a half hour drive of each other, and all offer world class fishing. Can't wait for the next trip!

Catch and Master Jake

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Easter week report #2 - fishing across Louisiana 28 April 2002

Immediately upon the family's return from San Antonio, Master Jake and I loaded the "Redsticker" atop the Jeep and like a modern-day Ulysses, drifted our way across as many water bodies we could manage in four days. Synopsis: with the exception of Kepler Lake, we caught lots of fish, mostly bream, some bass, a few chain pickeral. Spots included Cocodrie, Cotile, Kincaid (Alexandria), Sibley and Cane River Lakes (Natchitoches), Black Lake (Campti), Red River and Grand Bayou Reservoir(Coushatta), Kepler (south of Gibsland), and Cheniere Lake (West Monroe). Best spots were Kincaid and Black Lake. Kincaid was our best spot for bass and pickeral, caught nearly a dozen each species, mostly on Ted Cabali's Sqwirm Worm worked over pockets of grass. Our final night stay was in West Monroe, where we stopped at Bobby Phillips' Honey Hole tackle shop. Buster Wolfe and the Ouachita club have been working with Bobby and he now has a good line of fly tackle and tying materials. He recommended a new lake near Delhi, but we couldn't find it, so we proceeded to Lake Bruin - but that's another story.

Catch

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Easter week report #1 - Texas Hill Country 28 April 2002

Over Easter, we visited my older son Army PFC Kevin Cormier, who is stationed in San Antonio at Ft Sam Houston. Kevin's been there almost a year and has been fly fishing the Hill Country rivers. He took us out to one of his favorite spots on the Blanco River. We waded this clear-water rocky stream almost a half mile, catching and releasing lots of the most beautiful sunfish I've ever seen, one Rio Grand perch, plus a dozen or so bass. Many of the brim had green backs and bright yellow bellies and measure 6-8 inches. They were a load on our 3 and 4 wgt rods.

Catch

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BigFish+10 Group 28 April 2002

Gary Parrish,Mark Skinner and me fished Saturday for Cobia. We saw only two,but could not make a cast. We did catch Spanish Macks,Bluefish,Sheephead,one Mangrove snapper,and one Pompano. Mark's Blue was close to State record...over 3lbs. My Pompano weighed 2.17 lbs and does beat current State record of 1.94 lbs. I am sending in application. It was a gerat day with clear water and tolerable wind. Sunday was to windy for offshore.

del Rio Bay Marchand Rigs

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Marsh full of reds. 26 April 2002

This morning Danny and I fished one of our marsh honey holes. We caught 8 reds, 1 -11lb, 2- 10lb, 2-8lb a 7 a 6 and a 3 plus a big flounder. We had on 3 other reds that we lost in the 7 -9lb range. We saw well over 100 fish, mostly pretty big, like 7 - 8 lbs plus...we even saw a couple of really big moe's. The fish were not at all aggressive, most of the fish we caught we had to put the fly in front of several times to get them to bite....lots and lots of refusals.. When we got there the tide was low and still going out, the fish were slightly more aggressive early while the water was still moving, but once the tide got slack, the got pretty passive. We explored a lot of new area we hadn't fished before (and that I know no one else fishes) and saw lots of fish, very prommising. I'll have pictures of the fish up at www.redchaser.com within the next couple of days.

Ron Begnaud Calcasieu Estuary

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Bass 20 April 2002

Tried popper early but no hook ups until I changed to (yes you guessed it) olive wooly bugger.Landed three Bass...action slow...bright moon?

del Rio Private Pond

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Jacks and Bonita are thick 16 April 2002

Made a preliminary run out to Grand Isle this weekend with a couple of customers wanting a good tug. Started to head out to the first set of rigs but was stopped by an enormous school of Bonita and Jacks. Running and gunning we were able to hook up many of these speedy rascals--all we had aboard was an 8 and 7 weight so the hook ups were not always followed by a catch. One of my customers hooked into a Jack that must have been 35-40 pounds--I mean there are some real brutes out there. We ended up catching Bonita (up to 8lbs), Spanish Mackeral and hooking several Jacks. All fish were caught on a chart./blue and white streamer I tie. I have a couple of more fly fishing trips coming up and I am returning armed with a 10 and 12 weight. The inshore/offshore fishery should only get better over the next few weeks--not too long before those Cobia start showing up. Gives us a call at the Lodge if you are interested in a trip. 504-689-0000.

Capt. Bryan Carter Barataria, LA

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Slow Fishing 15 April 2002

Fished Rockefeller Refuge canals, weirs and Gulf out of Randy L's camp on Pecan Island. After the great trip earlier this year, we had great expectations. However, we verfied the results of others from Grand Isle to Bayou Corne. The torrential rains and high winds of the previous days had the water dirty and muddy and "fresh". Everywhere I "tasted" the salinity it was fresh to virtually fresh and together with the silt, mud and debris stirred up it put a damper on fish activity. Caught some on regular gear and some on flies and enough crabs for a boil Saturday night. I did manage to land an nice flounder and puppy drum on a clouser fished free near the bottom because of the muddy water. Randy caught one keeper red on a live pogy he caught in his cast net in the Gulf. I suspect we were dealing with the aftermath of 5-10 inch rains and 20-30 mile N winds. Like Catch said in his report, will be looking for a return of more normal weather and warmer temps. Wait till next time.

Dugan Rockefeller Refuge

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Bream are shallow! 15 April 2002

Caught a mess of bream in just a few hours on Lake concordia. Found them very shallow in the back of a cove in the reeds. Caught them on a chatreuse and black jitterbee under a popper. Also caught a few on a carter's dragon pattern under a popper. Even caught a few on the top! I didn't find eggs in any that I cleaned but full bellies. I think they were probably feeding on nymphs or something else in the reeds and my jitterbee was good enough. Tight lines! It's time to catch some bream!

Kevin Smith Lake Concordia, Concordia Parish

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The bream they are a'busting 15 April 2002

Fished a private pond from 6-7 p.m. yesterday. The bream action was spectacular. After striking out with a Fluff Butt at first, I switched to a black Ligon Spider. Every other cast brought a monster bluegill. I stopped,10 bluegills, one bass and a catfish later, due to a broken ferrule on my 3wt.

Felipe Plaquemine

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CentCom briefing from the lower Chandeleurs 14 April 2002

Four members of the 101st Battalion, Combat Fly Fishers - Mark Skinner, Steve Lee, and myself under the command of Rich Evans - made an early season reconnaisance to Gosier and Breton Islands. Ride across Breton Sound was rough, one casualty reported. Once at Curlew, we worked the flats. The only action came on sight casting and hooking up to hardheads. Yeah, it was that bad. Things got better at Breton. For a while, it was redfish here and there, with Rich doing most of the damage. Then about 2pm, reds and specks moved in, and it was fast and furious. The specks were mostly 16-20 inches, with a few bigger ones. Rich took top honors with a 4 pounder. Finally it was getting late, and we were having trouble dodging the "flats mines" (aka, stingrays). We left the specks biting. Speaking of biting, zillions of gnats were on hand to celebrate our return to the launch. Bug hood is a good investment.

Catch Hopedale

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Hwy 51 finally turns on! 14 April 2002

Master Jake and I have been bream-ing with expectation for the last few weeks, waiting for the gobbules to really turn on in our "blackwater" hotspots in southeast LA. We've been hitting our favorite, Hwy 51 canals, with little success. Until a late pm trip this Sat. Action on popping bugs was almost nonstop for about three hours, from time we launched until darkness set in and the hordes of mosquitos sent us paddling like mad back in. Kept 12, all males, and released the rest. All hit size 10 Accardo Miss Prissy and Spook. If you go, bring repellant, and please release the females. They are currently full of eggs.

Catch Ruddock

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LOW WATER 4/13/03 14 April 2002

Where has all the water gone? It seems that this year there is just less avalible than previously. The good news is that the fish are easier to locate when the water's dirty. Caught 11 all good ones, plus a huge Black Drum! All except the Drum took a new fly that stays just below the surface and above the grass.

Tim Aid Myrtle Grove

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still a little early for the bream 12 April 2002

Fished lake St. John on Saturday, April 12. Caught a few (6) pumpkinseed bream close to the bank on a jon's generic under a popper and on a white beetle spin. Water temps 61 in the morning 68 by the afternoon- not quite warm enough for the bream to begin bedding but should be soon. Lake Concordia should be just right for the Red Stick Fly Fisheres gathering next week. Heard that they were really hitting white, white w/ blue and white w/green. going to try those color combos in a mini-clouser next week.

Kevin Smith Lake St. John Concordia Parish LA

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Reds in the marsh. 11 April 2002

This afternoon (Fri 4/11) Danny Williams and I went to Haymark marsh. This is the first time I've been on the water since a minor outpatient proceedure a few weeks ago. My doctor still has me limited on physical activity. Becuase of this Danny did most of the push poling, right now I can only pole if there's no wind and the boat is fully floating. The water was VERY shallow, Danny's Whipray was dragging bottom much of the time. We saw TONS of redfish, unfortunately we usually didn't see them untill they spooked. Early not many fish were tailing or showing themselves...when we did spot fish, the water was often too shallow to get over to them.. We ended up catching only 2. 1 about 3 pounds on a redchaser and 1 about 61/2 pound on a Kwan. In addition to being limited on push poling, I couldn't put a lot of pressure on the fish I was fighting and essentially had to just "lead them in" so it took a while to land that 61/2 pounder. We're going back in the morning to see if there's a little more water.

Ron Begnaud Haymark Marsh - Calcasieu estuary

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Weather turns bream off 07 April 2002

Since we promised my nephew fried bream, and we never freeze fish, it meant catching some this weekend. No problem for a pair of combat fly fishers, right? Guess again. After torrential rains Sat, tried False River late pm. Caught only 2 white bass, 9 keeper bream in 2 hours. Tried Hwy 51 Sun am, water up and dirty, wind nasty, caught 4 keepers in 4 hours. Tried every fly, bream just aren't in the shallows...yet.

Catch and Master Jake New Roads, Ruddock

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Spotted Bass 05 April 2002

Stopped at Kisatchie Bayou on way to S'port. Caught five nice bream and four spotted bass. Very pretty with white sandy beaches, rocks in the stream, clear water, and waterfalls. Black size six wooly bugger with straight hackle for a tail and flash caught the bass while a yellow popper snagged the bream.

Ken Holmes Kisatchie Bayou

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Lake Bienveneu was a good welcome back 31 March 2002

All these years traveling to Texas on I-10, I've always seen that lake at the Louisiana welcome center. It's called Lake Bieveneu, and late yesterday pm coming back from a weekend in Houston, gave it a try. The water reminds me of many other SW LA freshwater marsh lakes, with black water and lots of grass and weed lines. And full of BIG bream. Caught and released about 30 on yellow Miss Prissy size 10. Despite the cold snap, these bream look to be bedding.

Catch LA-TX border off I-10

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Chasing Early Bream 26 March 2002

To get tuned up for the April Lake Concordia trip, Randy L. and I took to the Bayou Corne/Grand Bayou swamp and canals last Saturday. Weather was in the comfortable 70's, sky was clear and wind was tolerable at 5-10. Hunted bream with fluff butts and jitterbees both with and without vosi's. Had a slow time of it early but finally stumbled on a bed of chinkapin and bluegills near a big cypress tree. Jitterbees 12-18 inches under a vosi did the trick but the underwater knees and stuff took almost as many bees as the fish. Put 14 beauties in the box. Randy ended the day with an nice sac-au-lait and his all time record bass, 3 1/4 pound/18 3/4 inches, and yep both on a jitterbee under vosi. The Bayou Corne swamp area is a beautiful place to fish and is less than an hour drive from BR. Highly recommended for birdwatchers, frog listeners and flyfishers.

Dugan Bayou Corne/Grand Bayou

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PUDDLERS UNITE 26 March 2002

This used to be the best website in the entire Gulf Coast, especially for puddlers. Everywhere I went, coast to coast, I told every flyfisherman I met to log on to "laflyfish.com". Now, they all paraphrase that great Louisiana flyfisherman, "NO MO ......" Let's get the Puddlers Forum up and running. We need it, NOW.

A Frustrated Puddler

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Ambrejack 26 March 2002

The BigFish+10 group fished w/Scott Avanzino Tuesday. Gary Parish landed 17lb + Amberjack Roger del Rio landed 23 lb + Amberjack Both on Fly. Susan Gros,Rip Manint,Pat Amedee(NOFF)all fought but lost Amberjack. Later in PM we lost three Jack Cravelle.Hard to keep these strong fish out of the Rigs. The Amberjack will be submitted for State Records on Fly Tackle.

del Rio Main Pass Blk.313

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2 spots, 2 results 24 March 2002

Late Sat pm went to Hwy 51 w/ Masters Jake and Josh. Two bream and one sacalait was all. Water still not right. Sun went to Concordia. In morning, sacalait did well on fluff butt, but bream very slow on jitterbee under vosi. Then from 1pm to 4pm, bream around piers hit every fly thrown at them. Absolute great day on the water!

Catch

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Hailey's first trip 23 March 2002

03/22/03 Hailey is 5 and has been waiting for more than a year for a chance to go with me to catch a Redfish. She has been catching Brim and Catfish with her snoopy pole for years. The weather was perfect and the water in the upper marsh was fairly clean, it looked like a great day. Though the conditions were good there were not many fish? They didn't want shrimp under a cork and thats the extent of my ability with spinning tackle. To our good fortune she broke the spinning rod on a Sting Ray, that left just my trusty 8wt. Around 12:00 we found plenty of targets cruisers and tailers over a hard bottom flat, Reds, Black Drum and tons of Cajun Permit. They were anything but easy, all they wanted was a well placed crab pattern. Not just any crab fly, they only wanted "Hailey's Comet". A simple pattern that acts more like a swimming blue crab, rather than looking like the speical at Joes Crab Shack. I named the fly after my daughter when I designed it last year so what could be better for Haileys first time on the flats. She had a blast, learning about single action reels was a little painful and we broke off a bunch but what a day!! Now she wants to learn to cast what could be better! If I could just get her to pole the skiff.

Tim Aid Myrtle Grove

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Private Pond 23 March 2002

Fished Sat. morning at sun up.Tried Popper but no Bass hits. Used Wooly Bugger for three Bass and several Sunfish. Bass were not making nest yet.

del Rio Baton Rouge

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Trout on the Little Red 22 March 2002

My wife and I just returned from a week on the Little Red at Heber Springs Arkansas. We arrived Monday afternoon and were on the water fishing by about 3pm. We stayed at Lil' Green Acres which is located on the river, and we brought a canoe, so that gave us access to a lot of water besides the public access points. The first couple of hours Monday afternoon were kind of slow but steady, then the last 30 minutes before dark the bite really picked up, with a trout on almost every decent cast on sow bugs #16. Tuesday broght cloudy skies but decent action, and a couple of better fish, up to about 16". Wednesday we arranged a shuttle with Ozark Anglers and floated from our camp, which is just a little below Cow Shoals, down to Swinging Bridge. Unfortunately Rains Tuesday night had muddied the river pretty badly. About the only place the water looked decent, and we caught fish, were in the shallow, fast moving shoals. They seemed to settle the water and clear it up. I spent a while casting to 1 rock in Johns Pocket. I could see the fish waking and splashing right behind the rock, every time I caught a fish off of it, I could see another fish move onto the rock, before I had landed the previous one. I caught about 10 fish off of it and they were still there when I had to move down river... Thursday I only fished in the afternoon, strong winds and a slow bite made it tough... Friday morning was good, producing my best fish of the week, a rainbow of 17 to 18 inches. I still saw a bunch of fish on my rock in Johns Pocket but they were less cooperative, I only caught 2 off of it, but I caught good numbers in other areas. Friday afternoon they generated for the first time all week. Great trip, great accomodations, great fishing and a great fishing parter (my beautiful wife).....

Ron Begnaud Heber Springs Arkansas

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LSU lakes bass moving in 21 March 2002

Fished City Park Lake after work. Looks like the "black plague" - 1000s of cormorants that invade the lake each winter - may have spared a few bass. They've started looking for beds. Caught/released 3 in an hour.

Catch

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Fishing every day now 19 March 2002

Ahhh.. it's great to be back to 'normal', for me that's fishing everyday. After work in the evenings and on weekends. Master Jake and I did well on the gobbules Sunday afternoon at the docks at Bonaventures on False River, putting 17 in the box and releasing dozens more. Jake also landed 3 bass. On Monday, I went back to FR, this time few fish (maybe the full moon?). But I did box a 4 lb catfish that attacked my fluff butt in open water. He almost yanked the rod from my hands when he hit! Yesterday, MJ and I hit the BREC pond up in Baker. MJ caught 4 bass, I missed one. Flies: gobbules are hitting black/chart jitterbees and olive fluff butts, bass hitting Cabali's sqwirm worm.

Catch

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Rainy Day Redfishing 17 March 2002

SUNDAY FLYFISHING REPORT... Against my better judgement, I met up with Capt. Rich Waldner at the dock at West Point-A-La-Hache for a try at some Reds on fly yesterday under cloudy-rainy conditions. After a short run, we arrived at the shoreline we planned to fish. I was surprised to see clean water, as the siphon has been running for a few weeks. Using an 8-wt, I started blind casting. About 30 minutes passed, with only one Redfish sighting. Then, it was if someone had flipped a switch, Sheepshead started tailing like crazy. I made several casts and hooked a nice one. Although relatively hard to hook because of their tough mouth and full set of teeth, I quickly found they are GREAT fighters on a flyrod. This action continued until the rain started. The skies darkened, the winds were blowing and the rain came; at first light then a steady downpour. The Sheepshead turned off and stopped tailing immediately. We thought about calling it a day, when unexpectedly, with all the clouds and rain, we were able to spot Redfish cruising the shoreline. A quick cast with a Chartreuse Waldner Spoon fly resulted in a 5 lb. Redfish, then another and another. They just kept coming toward us, swimming slowly and near the surface, which made them easy to spot. I caught and released 14 Redfish on fly in just a couple of hours, all but one by sight casting. These were all nice fish, some upwards of 7 lbs. Add to this, a short battle with an Alligator Gar on fly and it was a fantastic day. One of the neatest sights was when a Sheepshead was tracking the fly and JUST when he started to take it, a Redfish streaked from the bank about 20 yds away and smacked straight into the Sheepshead, stealing the fly from its jaws. What a sight! I don't think the Sheepshead knew what hit him! We ended the day in a pouring rain just before dark. Lesson learned: what seemed to be a "washout" turned into a fantastic 5 hours of fishing. The Redfish actually became VERY active and aggressive in the rain. It was great to see everyone at Redstick Day. Can't wait to get a kayak so I can join the "puddling" trips. Susan Gros 504-329-REEL

Susan Gros - Reel Louisiana Adventures West Point-A-La-Hache, LA.

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Reds in the marsh. 16 March 2002

Danny Williams and I managed to sneak out to the marsh this morning. We saw good numbers of fish,and caught 3 ranging from 5 to 8 pounds. I caught 2 on a redchaser, Danny caught one on a KWAN fly. Danny also broke one off. We saw lots of good fish, probably should have caught a few more.. The water was off color, and the fish weren't super aggresive. We had several fish follow fly's over long distances and not eat, and the fish we did catch followed them quite a ways before eating as well. Fun morning, reds in the marsh up here means spring has arrived.

RON B

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A muddy Calcasieu river 16 March 2002

Saturday afternoon me and my dad launched east of Moss Bluff and fished the main river near the launch. The water had that chocolate milk appearance but was not particularly high. We left there after the wind started giving us trouble and headed up to one of the the nearby bays. The water was marginally cleaner there, but with less wind. My dad had a couple swirls and I hooked a fish as I started to back cast, and that was it. There was a lot of boat traffic, which may of contributed to the difficult fishing. Other than all that it was still a beautiful day to be on the water amoungst the old cypress. William

William Lake Charles

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Fly Rod + Plastic Worm = Spring Bass 11 March 2002

Got 30 minutes of fishing in before dark at the neighborhood pond. Started with casting rod and a 4" plastic worm and caught 3 bass in first 15 minutes. Then taking a page from the books of Tom Nixon and Jack Ellis, I tied the hook and worm (minus sinker) to the end of the leader on a 5 wt fly rod. Proceeded to catch 3 more bass, but this time it was much more fun.

Catch

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Mardi Gras - Puddler's Style 05 March 2002

Made the run down to the marsh to celebrate Mardi Gras with Catch's "Krewe of Redfish". Put in about 9 am and immediately saw a red with his back out of the water slowing rolling from side to side. Now, for those of you who don't know, this is redfish getto talk for "Throw Me Something Mister". I immediately cast a chartreuse Lefleur's charlie and that fish attacked it just like a big woman fighting for parade beads on Canal Street! This scene repeated itself three more times until 11:30 when the wind shifted and the action stopped. I continued to see fish tailing and cruising in water 8 to 12 inchs deep but they had become spooky and very selective. Called it a day about 2:30 pm with a final tally of four reds from 25 to 28 inches, all released to fight another day.

Steve Lee Hwy 1 - Golden Meadow Area

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Got a 'rise' fishing the Little Missouri 04 March 2002

The two surviving members of the RSFF 'Rainbow Coalition', Master Jake and myself, braved the reports of ice and cold, but found nothing but sunshine, mild temperatures, and rising rainbows on our weekend in Murfreesboro. Saturday pm was still cold and drizzly, but trout were hitting beadheads in the deep runs. On Sunday, the sun gave way to a mid-morning hatch of both midges and March Browns in the shallow runs below the dam. Lots of nice fish on size 14 gray/green Comparaduns. On Monday, they ran the generators, and although Jeff Guerin says they only run a few hours each day, we took it as an opportunity to head to Albert Pike. Here the water was much colder (still ice and snow on north face of mountains), and although there was a small hatch, few trout rose. But Master Jake killed the trout and smallmouth using a TNS (okay, it's not exactly a 'fly', but it works!)

Catch

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Where are the fish? 03 March 2002

Got tired of waiting for perfect conditions so I decided to take a trip to the North Shore to try out my new kayak. Launched at the lake about 2:30, and fished hard until just before dark. The conditions looked better than I expected. There was a strong wind, but it was blowing from the north and the water was quite calm. Very overcast skies, so my hopes were high. Good thing I had hopes, because that's all I had. Not one bite all day, not one fish spotted, not even so much as one bird was anywhere to be found. I quess that's why there have been no reports available on the North Shore area. I did have a great time paddling though, and the new yak is awsome. Maybe I'll have a fish story next time.

Mike Z Bayou Lacombe

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Redfish Report 03 March 2002

I have had the pleasure of spending the last few days with Scott Leon, Editor of Flyfishing in Saltwaters magazine. This is Scott's 3rd time to fish with me here at the Lodge (I think he has taken a liking to our redfishing). We headed out yesterday morning with the winds a little stronger than I like for tailing fish. Scott was hot for some tailing action (his last trip down here we really got into them), so we check out some ponds off Bayou Dupont. Working a lee shoreline we were able to spot a couple of tailers in the second pond we tried. Scott put his money where his mouth was and nailed a nice 5.5 lb redfish. We continued to work lee shorelines and the wind continued to blow. Although, in one particular spot, we saw probably 10-15 more tailers we were unable to seal the deal. Scott will be back to get even. Give us a call @ the Lodge if you are interested in taking a trip 504-689-0000. Bryan

Capt. Bryan Carter Barataria, LA--Lodge of Louisiana

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Georgia Bream. 01 March 2002

I'm a Louidianan doing some temp work over here at Ft Stewart Ga. I was checking out the Ft Stewart web site when I noticed they had a fishing section. I discover that they have about 20 or so managed ponds and lakes avaliable for fishing. They also have about 5 bass in the top 20 of georgia records. All of them are between 14 and 16 lbs.they have one lake with hybrid stripers that you can catch off the dam at dusk, i have three under my belt so far. Most of the ponds have stocked bream and they are huge. I caught 6 bream the other day and the were all 7 to 10 inches and every bit as big as a plate. I havent seen one but their bream are supposed to get up to 2 lbs and I can beleve it with the ones I caught. all the bream fell to an orange popping bug, size 10 I think. most of them hit it while it was sitting still for a while, but one took it when it hit the water and another took it while it was moving. The fees are not bad here. The base charges 5 bucks a day and the state charges 7 for a week. That's a lot less than a lot of other southern states, including our own. There is a web site showing all the ponds and lakes as well as brush piles and depths. http://www.stewart.army.mil/dpw/fish/default.htm All the lakes I have been to have been flyfisher friendly and clear around the banks. I do reccomend a stipping basket. It will help you shoot line and keep your line out of the grass. If ya'll are around coastal Georgia, especially around Savannah, check out Ft Stewart. William

William Fort Stewart Ga.

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Tailing Redfish report 25 February 2002

We have had some excellent redfish action down in the Lafitte area for tailing Reds. As seems to be the case in late winter, the water starts to come up exposing new flats to fishing and the reds are active in between fronts. Last Thursday I had a customer down from Vermont out for a morning of fishing and the tailers were everywhere (all the fish we caught were between 6 and 8 lbs). I make it a point to check out the flats everytime I see the flags slack in the evening and the reds are there. Check the forecasts--a variable wind 5-10 mph prediction and a day off work=tailing fish. When the wind gets up I have been fishing waters to the South (clear water and have seen some real monsters-30 lb range). If you see a front coming in give it a day or so to calm back down. If you are interested in getting after some fish aboard my '18 Hells Bay give the Lodge a call @ 504-525-8404.

Capt. Bryan Carter Lodge of Louisiana--Barataria

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Little Mo Festival fishing 19 February 2002

About 110 folks attended last Saturday's Little Mo Fly Fishing Festival in Murfreesboro. Weather was nice and mild on Fri and Sat, but freezing and snowing on Sun. Still the trout didn't care what the weather was, and Steve Lee, Paula Cannon, and I set the hook on many. A beadhead gold ribbed hare's ear (BGRHE, I pronounce it Bur-gee) size 14 worked best in the riffles, while the olive SR71 wooly bugger or the Little Mo Wooly did best in the pools. Most of the fish were 9-10 inches, but several went over 12 and boy, we're they tough to land! Can't wait to get back for Mardi Gras for the RSFF club trip (and hopefully, the start of the March Brown hatch).

Catch Murfreesboro, AR

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Bass 15 February 2002

Caught five Bass Sat. AM used olive Wooly Bugger #6 size. Low Barometer & cloudy good for Bass action.

del Rio Pond Highland Road

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SST @ TPH 14 February 2002

AAfter looking at weather reports, it looked as if there might be a decent fishing window before gale winds moved in. I arrived early and sure enough, winds were slight and even a hint of sunlight. I had really wanted to try a new fly that I had heard about on Dan Blanton's website that seems to be making a pretty big splash on the left coast.It is basically a epoxy glass minnow with a neat weighting system tied on an EC 413 hook. ( They do not like the circle streamer hook, but prefer this one much more) It is called Dave Sellars SST and really is a neat looking fly. I decided to use a shad rig set-up with a chautreuse clouser in the lead and an SST behind. My test was inconclusive as each fly caught about 5 specs with one double. Overall action was slow til about 11:00 when wind picked up and I did too. Anyway it is fun to tie and expect it will do well in the surf,but don't throw away your charlies and clousers just yet. If anyone else tries it let me know your thoughts

Jeff Machen Fourchon

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Redfish Limit 05 February 2002

Well Catch already stole my thunder sort of if you read the lead article on the La Flyfish site. But here is the rest of the story. Randy Leonpacker took me to his Pecan Island Camp to try out the fishing on Rockefeller Refuge. Like everyone fishing on Saturday, we started out on a real low note when we heard of the space shuttle disaster which practically happened right over the top of us. We arrived at the camp around 10AM and was in the water at Rockefeller Refuge on Grand Chenier by 11AM. The tide was low but on a slow rise when we headed for a spot that fish were reportedly caught a few days earlier. It has been several years since I have been to Rockefeller and I had forgotten how unique and beautiful the live oak lined coastal cheniers are and the incredible bird life there is to see in the surrounding marshlands. We were greated right off the bat by the resident flock of Canada geese and the muddy canal banks were full of American avocets and black-necked stilts as well as numerous other shore birds. Ducks were still flying over the marsh. Quite a sight. The short of the fishing was that we hit the redfish at one of Randy's trusy weir sites. We had to park the boat out on the canal and walk in but the reds were there as we hit the tide just right. Probably could have been there a little sooner and caught even more. I used a standard line and leader on a 7 wt with a heavy weight chartruse/amber/white clouser under vosi. The tide was coming in around the weir and the reds were waiting along the muddy water/clear water interface. Randy and I both set our fly fishing record size reds, his went 27 inches and 7 1/2 pounds caught on a black charlie and mine went 25 inches and 6 pounds. I had the thrill of playing the red on the reel and seeing the edge of my backing. The rest of our limits were made of 18-20 inchers. No trout. Quite an experience for us but old news to redfish fly slayers like Mike,Steve and Catch and others. Together at least Randy and my record reds weighed more than Steve's record 12 pounder! Ok not a fair comparison Steve but one of us will try to get a 13 pounder next trip. We finished up Saturday on the water with a basket of crabs and rounded out the day at the camp with a fried redfish and potato dinner complemented with boiled crabs and a beer. We were in fish heaven. Sunday was not as productive as we were faced with a ferocious falling tide that almost stranded us on the bank. No reds and only one flounder on a black clouser were caught on Sunday. Saturday was good enough though for making a memorable trip.

Dugan Sabins Rockefeller Refuge

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Busted flat on the Lump 02 February 2002

As for the flyrod trip with Roger Delrio, Gary Parish, Frank, Rob and John on Saturday...we would have been happy with one fish. Tried for wahoo on fly at 93 early only to find green water, 3 ft seas and 15 knot winds from the north...marked fish at 100 feet but they never came up to investigate...depth charge line reached an estimated 40 feet given our drift (no engines allowed)...The run to the Midnight Lump Boat Show (160 boats by noon) proved waistful as we didn't even see a bonita for our 40 pounds of chum. Several attemps to set up on skipjack tuna in open water south of the Lump resulted in nothing. Jigged up some jacks at 152 to put meat in the box, while Roger, Gary and Rob teased blacktip sharks with deceivers and streamers. Returned to the Lump in the afternoon to find fewer boats...only 100 by then...Nothing on fly despite tireless efforts...It makes for a great excuse back at the dock for me....although conventional tackle would have been likewise ineffective. Until our next adventure....Capt. Scott

Scott Avanzino Midnight Lump (Boat Show)

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SPECKS 02 February 2002

Friday afternoon fished Turners bay with Danny Williams. The bite was a little slow, and Danny skunked me. He caught 4 nice trout..biggest was over 5lb all on decievers. By the way, thanks to everyone who showed up and made Contraband Conclave a success. Dave Whitlock was great. Thanks to Al Bernard and the folks at Lafayette Shooters for donating our raffle rod, and a big thanks to Catch Cormier for showing up and donating a Scientific Anglers rod to the auction.

RON B Calcasieu Lake

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Big Fish 02 February 2002

I forgot to mention Scott Avanzino's boat "Balancing Act" is very comfortable for this type fishing.Scott worked very hard to raise something to throw flys at. When weather is warmer we will try a Night Trip for Big Fish.

del Rio Crowded Gulf

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Big Fish 02 February 2002

Sat.the Big Fish +10 team went to sea looking for the big ones.Well not one fish caught on Fly.The Tuna bite was very slow.We trolled for Wahoo...no luck. We did catch five Amberjack by Diamind jigging @ West Delta 152.On way back to Venice we stopped at the Lump...it looked like a Marina as we approched,counted over 120 boats. Our chum didn't even raise Bonita. But Genusa,Parrish, Krieg,Surek and me had plenty practice with big rods.

del Rio The Crowded Gulf

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God rewards the faithful (or maybe the foolish) 27 January 2002

Drove down to the Fourchon marsh Saturday morning with high hopes for a great day of fishing. The weather man predicted winds up to 10 kts with sunny skies and a warming trend. Launched in the TPH about 9:30 am under thick overcast skies, 10 to 15 kt winds and COLD temperatures. I braved the cold with 3 other boats and several bank fishermen until noon when I went to the truck to warm up and everyone else went home. Just as I was beginning to question the wisdom of leaving a warm bed to drive 3 hours and sit in frigid, windy conditions all morning without a single bite, miraculously, the sun broke through, the clouds went away and the temperature began to rise. I then climbed back into my canoe and enjoyed a truly great afternoon of fishing. Using a full sinking line and various colors of the LeFleur Charlie, (pink was best) I caught over 40 redfish between 18 and 23 inches before packing it in about 4:30 pm. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the really big reds to bite and didn't have one of Catch's Coma Cockaho's that he used so effectively the previous Sunday. It was still a great trip and the fish seem to be following a predictable pattern of really "turning on" during the 1 or 2 moderate days between cold fronts. Tight Lines.......and remember what Mike LeFleur always says, "you simply can't catch fish if your fly is not in the water".

Steve Lee Hwy 1 South

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Would be state record... 24 January 2002

Check out this link to see what was recently caught in Cocodrie. http://members.ij.net/danscustomflys/

Ron B.

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Fly fishing/Bluewater 23 January 2002

I am happy to report that the bluewater has returned to the Lump. I have Roger, Gary and Dugan coming next week and hope it holds. The fish are responding well to surface flies and sinking flies. Anything white or silver is working. I had one guy try and he wore out the bonita and blackfin. Weekdays are probably better to try since the weekend crowd is approaching ridiculous numbers. (The rsff group has booked a Saturday) Yesterday we were handfed the yellowfin and blackfin. They were boiling in the baits....I caught one on a surface popper just for fun. I was at the Atlanta boat show 2 weeks ago and had a guy from Tennesee show me a baitcasting rod. It was 7 feet long, light and incredibly stout. I immediately suggested he make a blank for flyfishing and he said he has a 2 piece model in the works...chaserproducts.com was his website although I haven't checked it out. I liked the rod since it was increadibly stout for something so light to hold. It would be perfect for jacks and tuna and I will report how they work after I try one. Just wanted you all to know that the blackfin and bonita are starting to fatten up and the yellowfin have been getting smaller...that's a good thing for you. Tightlines...Capt. Scott Avanzino

Capt. Scott Avanzino Midnight Lump

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Little Mo 21 January 2002

Well for those who did not go for the Rainbow Coallition YOU BLEW IT. Sat Afternoon at the Old Factory caught them on every cast. Sunday at Hinds Bluff and River Ridge caugth them morning and afternoon. Did talk to Jeff and things look good for the Festival. I will be there and a bunch of others. Oh, what were they hitting, anything as long as it was my magic bugger on a clear slow sinking line, two days only one pattern. Yep guys you should of gone.

Marc Pinsel

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Beware of Al Qaida fishermen! 20 January 2002

I forgot to mention...stopped by at Golden Meadow public launch on the way to TPH at 11am. Pipes hole was crowded with anglers, 2 boats, 2 pirogues. Most were commie fishing, but some were "Al Qaida fishing", that is, they were snagging specks. Using a treble hook and weight, letting it drop, then jerking it back up. This is illegal in most states, but I wasn't sure about Louisiana. Here's what the LDWF rule states: "No person shall take or possess game fish taken by means of snagging devices, not including bow and arrow." Is a rod and reel a snagging device if used as such? I need to get a clarification on this. In the meantime, beware of Al Qaida fishermen!

Catch Golden Meadow

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David is in heaven smiling on this day 20 January 2002

It was exactly 21 years ago this week that our best friends since college, David and Hillary, joined Lisa and I for a Grand Isle excursion, not knowing where the fish were biting, only reports of good fishing. As we drove the last leg from Fourchon, we came across crowds of people fishing a pit known as Rabalais Hole, pulling out reds and specks. We continued on but came back several hours later. The fish were still biting, but it had slowed down, and they were only hitting bait. David refused to fish bait ("if I can't catch them on artificial, I rather not catch them" was his motto). Tried as we may, we didn't land a single fish. Over the next few years, we'd fish the pits, but with limited success. David always stuck by his no-bait policy, and convinced me to do the same. This past summer he was killed in a car accident. In the last decade, I've done very well in the pits with flies, but nothing like yesterday. David must have been given me blessings because from 12 noon to 5pm, I had less than 10 casts where I didn't catch a red. Oh the bank commies did well also, but while it took them a couple of hours to get a limit, it only took me 20 minutes per 5 fish. The cold water seemed to give them extra vitality, even the many rats were tough customers. Readers want to know equipment so here goes: Boat was Oldtown Guide canoe, rod 8.6ft, 6wt, Diamondback All-American, reel Aurora Suntech 7/8, SciAngler DT7F line, 12 ft leader Orvis SS tippet. Most fish caught on LSU Clouser (purple, gold krystal flash, white) w/ 1/36 oz eyes. When they chewed it up, I switched to a sz1 Coma Cockaho black/pearl. The CC has really become THE fly for BIG reds in winter holes, and it proved it again catching about a dozen over 25". Kept just 2 reds and 2 (lost) specks, so they're all still out there.

Catch Hwy 1

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Cold Reds 20 January 2002

Fished Sat.with Merle Schexnayder and Andre Boudreaux out of Four Point.Very cold boat ride toward SW. The group of six bait chunkers kept 23 Reds,fly fisher- man Zero.They actually wanted me to put a shrimp on the fly....but I resisted.Camp Matens was in group but fished with bait. Andre a guide led us to dams on pipeline. Reds were behind dam. Reds were so cold they could hardly fight.

del Rio Dulac

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42 degrees and drizzle, yet we fished 13 January 2002

As proud members of the Combat Fly Fishers 101st Battalion, Paula Cannon, Randy Leonpacher and myself weren't going to let a little cold and possible rain spoil a fishing opportunity. However, my boat had other intentions. A noon trip was still on hold at 2pm, and with no end in sight, I called Paula and suggested she stay warm and let Randy and I take our chances. We finally left, and managed in a couple of hours on False River. The boat ran okay as long as it was under 5mph. With the cold, wind, and about to rain, our only hope was for crappie up Bayou Jarreau. We fished fluff butts under VOSIs, getting a few hits and just 1 bream. Right as the drops started to fall, I picked up a 2.7 lb bass. We then had to negotiate 2 miles at idle speed to the launch in the rain. I'm sure Paula is sore for missing out on this experience.

Catch False River

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Looking for the trout 06 January 2002

Randy L and I gave the trout an effort in the Catfish Lake area Sunday. Gave them a run for our money from adjacent east side canals and Lake areas early but very slow and no trout were caught! Though the weather was perfect the water was still murky. Randy tried the black charlie and I did the clouser/Vosi. Slowest day of year for us. We agree with Catch's website article about January being in the fishing doldrums. Later checked out Bayou Blue, west side canals and all the way to the Sulpher mine lake. All to no avail. Everyone around us was coming back empty also. Came home with one red, three trout and two sheepshead. Was glad that Catch was able to disprove his January doldrum theory and cleaned up in adjacent canals and Steve and Mike cleaned up on the reds down south. Must have been Catch's underware and Mike's black helicopters that attracted all the trout and reds to their flies and not ours! But wait till next trip. We will not give up. Our turn will come!

Dugan Also Golden Meadow

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keeping my new year's resolutions - all ten 06 January 2002

Sunday I started on my New Year's resolutions - all 10. #1 and #2: more fishing and more catching. Now resolution #3: don't bore readers with details. Okay, went to Meadow, caught ~60 specks, kept ten 13"-16", released rest up to 21". That's it... what? ...you want details? ...well if you insist... but you'll probably live to regret it. Well it was Sat nite, I was lying on the sofa, recovering from a cold, and Steve calls and tells me he tore up the reds at Leeville (resolution #4: believe what Steve says, even if he is an alien out to eat my dog). Despite my wife's concern for my health, I got up at 6am and headed south with canoe on Jeep (resolution #5: stop listening to wife, she knows nothing of fishing). As I passed thru Golden Meadow, noticed the launch was only half full, something must be wrong. Pulled into T-Pops for a bag of ice and got a fishing report. "The specks were hitting topwater yesterday". Couldn't pass this up (resolution #6: seize opportunities that arise, particularly if the opportunities have spots and snaggle teeth). Until sunset, fished the canals west to Catfish Lake non-stop without food or drink (resolution #7: go on diet). Started near the pipes where I did considerable damage until I heard "$%#!@ fly rodders" from one of the bank anglers. Might've been "Pro". Adhering to resolution #8 (don't get shot while fishing), I moved on. The specks were taking advantage of sunny days and moving from the depths onto canal banks, and flats at the end of canals. Secret was to work a clouser s--l--o--w. Some as mentioned were REALLY NICE FISH. Late this pm, the specks went berzerk for a Kirk's Popper worked from the banks. Best action was to pop it, then let it sit for about ten seconds. Boy, oh boy, do I LOVE FLY FISHING FOR SPECKLED TROUT! (resolution #9: confess to world that I prefer specks to reds). Okay, that leaves only resolution #10 (stop wearing ladies underwear). Think I'll work on that next week.

Catch Golden Meadow

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I cheated 02 January 2002

As roger said we continued for a couple hours brought home 4 reds 16-20" and 1 black drum 16" and 1 big pinfish. But I must confess grandson is 9 and we were using commie tackle and even bait shrimp. But the grandson had a big time and thats why I went.

Ardes TPH

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