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surf fishing	29 April 2004
going surf fishing at grande isle and fourchon beach this weekend if anyone has any reports or ideas of where to fish or what to use email me at jkinsl1@lsu.edu. Also I am looking for a place where i can fish lake ponchartrain from the shore.
josh	grande isle
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Bayou Grosbec	28 April 2004
Fished out of Peirre Part on Sunday before the rain. Got a lot of small bream and bass on poppers and a few larger bream on jitterbee under a vosi. I'm pretty new to fishing bream on the fly and this seems to be a pattern at least for me. Is this common- small fish on poppers and large ones on subsurface flies? Also how do you fish for sacalait with the fly rod?
Chris	Baton Rouge
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Atchafalaya Basin	27 April 2004
I fished three days last week, in the Duck Lake area. The bream and goggle eye are biting. It was tough with the wind, but each day found areas with a protected shore. Most fish were caught on what I call a Green Swimp.Chartreuse estaz body, with chartreuse krystal flash tail, and brass pull chain eyes, fished 12-15 inches below VOSI. tight lines Brad
Brad Pillaro	Franklin
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finally!	27 April 2004
Records fell in late April, some state and others purely personal..after much effort we were finally able to convert a decent yellowfin tuna on fly on April 10th..the fish were boiling around the boat in groups of 5-12 at a time..first to hook up was Chip Metz and from the looks of the it 10 feet from the boat, I am guessing it was a fish in the 80 pound class..fish on fish off..if they survive the first run things usually look up, then you get to look forward to gaffing it if it doesn't break of pull the hook..funny thing is, Chip's fish came back for more with the fly and leader streaming from his mouth...next to hook up was David Coinget who lasted a little longer than Chip before the all too familiar break off on the 1st run..Roger Del Rio was next in the rotation surviving the first run and some quick manuevering around the platform and neabty supply vessel until a 45 pound yellowfin came to the gaff in 75 minutes..Gary Parish was able to pick up 2 blackfin although Mr. Big never came cruising for him today..lost the school not long after fighting Rogers fish then we went looking for a world record aj didn't take long..while the rest of the gang toyed with kings and bonita Frank Genusa got ahold of a nice jack..after a 45 minute fight the fish came to gaff at nearly 26 pounds beating Roger Del Rio's state record by 3 pounds..got back on the slick and David Coignet hooked a larger fish only to loose him as he dug 280 feet into the hardbottom..the fish never even knew it was hooked until about 5 minutes into the fight after which he made his 3 minute run to freedom...lost them shortly thereafter and decided to go look for mangroves never did get the big ones chummed up as there was a supply boat at the G-spot with his engines in gear..decided to get home early to weigh the fish..and here's where God shows up again, delivering the coastal flyfisherman's heaven on Earth..4 mies from Tiger Pass we came across 2 acres of frenzied bull redfish feeding a mass of rain minnows..when I say they were thick, they were running into the boat, litterally..sounded like someone dropping 10 dozen bean bags on the deck of the boat..wait until you see the pictures..talk about a screensaver..red and yellow on green, you could have walked on them...there had to be hundreds..seen that 3 times in ten years..once off Horn Island with Tarpon mixed in and in Breton Sound a few years back...only problem is everyone had put there gear away..Roger was the only one with a fly still on a rod and before he could make a cast a 23 pound bull grabbed the bait as it dangled off the transom..I ran to the bow with a spinning rod and slung it into the pile and immediately hooked a jack..while we fought our two respective fish while the school scattered into groups of 10-20 and we were never really able to set up again...Roger released his fish 20 minutes later..There just aren't enough hours in the day but no one was complaining...later that night Darryl and I ran the boat up to the shipyard for it's annul check-up..made for a long day..hopefully you have seen Chip's pictures of the school of reds..you can actually see them bouncing off the boat!!!
Scott Avanzino	Venice
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Weather makes for tough trip, new tactics	25 April 2004
I once fished the Madison River with winds so strong, it blew the guide's boat upcurrent. I also once fished a pond during the peak of a tropical storm. Saturday was probably the worst wind I've ever fished from a paddlecraft. Concordia is a north-south lake except for small stretches at both ends that go east-west. After spotting whitecaps on the main body, I decided to launch at Lakeview Lodge on the extreme south end of the lake. About 40 boats were out, and all of them were fishing that 1.5 mile stretch of protected water running westward from the lodge. Fishing was tough, the jitterbee under vosi seldom got a bite. What did work, but it took extreme patience, was a fluff butt retrieved slowly along the bottom. About 3pm, the storm clouds gathered, and we rushed in. A tough day for everyone, but again the fly fishers did best. A flyrodder from Natchez and I each had a good mess of bream, 7 to 8 inchers, with a couple of catfish. The bait jerkers didn't do squat we were told. I was on my way back to BR when the sky caved in. My popping bugs are still anxious for some action now that bream are biting!
Catch	Lake Concordia
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Grand Isle	22 April 2004
I made a quick trip to Grand Isle yesterday and found high winds, waves and dirty water. None of which was unexpected. Within my first dozen casts, I had a solid strike in the wash a little more than a rod's length away. I missed it and that was it for the day. Except for the lack of fish, it was a nice day to be out on the water. Any suggestions for other areas that I can fly fish from land would be appreciated.
Jeaux
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The Freshwater Marsh is Hot!	21 April 2004
Whle the rest of ya' were up at Lake Concordia, Ian and I met up with Acadiana Fly Rodders Mike Pettit and his sons, Neil and Carl, and headed over to the freshwater marsh below Intercoastal City (west of Vermillion Bay). We walked the marsh and fly fished some private canals. The fish were in the canals with cleaner water. We caught a large number of Bluegills, Red Earred Sunfish or Chinquapins(up to 1.25 lbs.), Red-spotted Sunfish, Warmouth, and Marsh Bass (up to about 2 lb.s). The hot flies were Black Cap Spiders and a Pink Polar Flash Grass Shrimp that was tied on 34007 #8. (I'll bring the Pink Grass Shrimp to the fly tying class next Monday night.) On this trip, we fished 4 - 6 wt. rods, but next time we'll all use 3's or 4's! Ian can attest that a bunch of 1/2 lb. to 1 1/2 lb. marsh bass on a little, soft action 4 wt. rod is the way to go! Two adults, three kids, little flies, light fly rods, plenty of willing fish = lots of fun! P.S. FYI Mike attended the RSFF Rod Building Class and built a 4 pc. 9 ft. 6 wt. rod using a Battson Forcast blank (less than $30.00). That rod turned out to be a very sweet stick! It has a very fast tip action, and even in last weekend's winds, it was joy to cast.
Kyle Moppert	Baton Rouge
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Lake Concordia	19 April 2004
An outstanding weekend for RSFF annual spring outing on Lake Concordia. A lot of big bluegill with chickapin and yellow breast thrown into the mix. I got to fish with Reverend Smith of Ferriday, and I thank him for a most enjoyable trip. Wish we could have put our hands on that bass, but; on your 3wt. it wasn't a fair fight. Thanks to Bill Brown for organizing another great outing.
Mickey	Baton Rouge
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Myrtle Grove Redfish are on Fire!	14 April 2004
The past 3 times ive been out to Myrtle Grove over the past two weeks the redfish have been schooling all over the place in the marsh ponds. It doesn't really matter if its overcast, clear, calm, or windy, the fish are schooling in the bunches, like schools of 50-75 fish. I went out in my little 12ft. flatboat w/ a five hp and last friday caught ten reds all sightcasting within the first 45 minutes of being there. I kept a couple and when I fileted them I took a lokk in there stomachs and they seem to be feasting on crabs. Ive been catching them on a gold spoon pattern and a crab fly. The fish are so aggressive right now that you could put the fly 10 ft. from them and they come at it like a torpeedo. I can't wait to get back out there and catch some more.
Greg	New Orleans
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sac a lait/perch	14 April 2004
Caught several nice Sac a Lait and many perch in the cuts along bird island over Easter Weekend. Sac a Lait scattered in tree tops but were solid 1lbers. Perch lined the cypress banks in 2ft of water. Most were caught on Jitterbees in blue/white and chart/black fished 10-15 in. under a strike indicator. Also caught 3 nice flatheads 11,11,18 on single hook bush lines along bird island channel. Cant wait for bullfrog season to open. I could hear those boomers all day long.
Chaumont	Lake Dauterive/Fossi Point
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flounder time	14 April 2004
flounder are stacking up along cuts during low tides. Caught several large doormats on chart/white clousers and dupre spoons. Redfish to 10lbs mixed in. Find clear water running out of marsh and you have feeding fish.
Chaumont	SWLa marshes
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Great trout fishing this past weekend	13 April 2004
Well, it has been a while since I went home to fish in North Carolina. In fact almost a year since I caught my last native Brookie. So I went home to Western N.C. for Easter weekend and went fishng with my Dad on a creek I have never fished before. This was perhaps the most beautiful creek I have ever fished, boasting plunge pool after plunge pool full of Rainbows and the occasional Brown or Brookie. Cascading crystal clear water in which you can see details of rocks 10 feet down is hard to beat. The name of the creek is Big East Fork and lies about 1/2 hour from my home town of Waynesville. This is just one of countless creeks in and around the Smokies that offers superb fishing and scenic beauty. You probably won't catch the lunkers here that you might find in the tailwaters of Arkansas but 6-12 inch Rainbows, Browns and Native Brookies are a treat on a 2wt. We had a fantastic March Brown hatch on Saturday that had fish pouncing on flies such as March Browns, Parachute Adams, dark Caddis and Royal Wulffs. It was a wonderful day to be in a trout stream and left me feeling as though maybe I had taken my homewaters for granted while growing up. It is always special to go back to fish the area you grew up in and there's nothing I like better than to spend a day fishing with "the old man". If anyone has any interest in a trip to N.C. just let me know and I'll point you in the right direction to put you in good water and away from crowds. There is a wonderful fly shop and guide service in Waynesville if anyone wishes to go that route (www.loweflyshop.com). Roger Lowe, owner, is an absolute wealth of knowledge, a master tier of traditional Smoky Mountain Patterns and most importantly, a hell of a guy. Take care and tight lines. Alec Griffin Fishing Director, Uptown Angler
Alec Griffin	North Carolina
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Bream Fishing Primer	11 April 2004
In what has been developing over the last few years into a pre Concordia tradition, Randy Leonpacher and I made a Good Friday trip to the Bayou Corne area. Arrived at the Sportsman's Landing around 10AM in keeping with our plan that the better bream fishing is late morning and early afternoon. Already had 30 boat trailers or so parked when we got there. Fortunately there is a lot of water to hide all those boats in and we found some quite water to fish in. Our plan was to start with the venerable jitterbee under vosi and move to free lining a jitterbee or switching to other bead heads or poppers as the conditions demanded. We had a beautiful day to fish! Clear sky, warm air and a cool breeze with several kinds of warblers, just in from their spring migration, singing in the cypress trees along with native birds and a scattering of tree frogs, cricket frogs and pig frogs. Didn't see our ospreys and bald eagle of past trips but were also serenaded by fish crows, barred owls and pileated woodpeckers. Fishing was slow to start but picked up with the bright sun and warm temps. Found the bluegills scattered but constant all day. A few goggle eyes and redears were also caught. We set a high mark for ourselves and kept only those 7 inches or greater. We ended the day with 23 in the box and over 50 released. Randy found the poppers working later in the day as did some other flyfishers we talked to. The big bream spawn is not quite yet on in the Bayou Corne area as no big concentrations were found and this was confirmed by other fishers. But the time is near and with a few more sunny days, both Bayou Corne and Lake Concordia should be near their prime. I can't wait for next weekend. The feel of the tight line of a big bream on a 3/4 wt is true flyfishing sport. Randy and I could not have asked for a more enjoyable day on the water and all only an hours drive from the house.
Dugan Sabins	Bayou Corne/Bay Alcide
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Good Friday Fishing	09 April 2004
This Morning after taking care of a few things, I met up with Danny and Seth Williams. They had already been on the water for a while, and had caught 1 good red. The water was way out. When we got to the marsh there were litterally hundreds of redfish concentrated in the area's still holding water. As the tide came in we were able to get to where the fish were, it's wild being in the middle of a huge mass of redfish in only 8 inches of water. Fish were running into the boat, and push pole frequently. There were so many fish and the water so shallow that the fish had muddied it up so bad that they couldn't see flies right in front of their face. In addition, they didn't seem to be feeding heavily and were being very spooky because of the shallow water. We ended up catching 2 more good fish around 7lbs. It was however very cool to watch. I have Never seen so many fish. Tight Lines, Ron
Ron Begnaud	Calcasieu Estuary
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Louisiana: a redfish paradise	05 April 2004
Louisiana has the highest redfish population, per square mile, of any coastal area in the nation. That was very evident on Saturday. I took my younger son, Master Jake, on his first marsh trip since October. Grass was everywhere, so were reds. Water was clear, and backs and tails were teasing him. By 2pm, he'd had enough... those Spottail Elvises had worn my boy out. It was a collabrative effort, fly wise, that hooked up red after red: Redfish Popper (Accardo), Coma Spoon, Crystal Shrimp, and Bendback with a gold metallic braid body. The bendback worked over the grass, heavily matted because of low tide. Many times Jake would wiggle a bendback right over a red, the fly on top the mat, the red under the mat, and the red never saw the fly, or couldn't get to it because the grass was so thick. What a wonderful problem to have when fishing for the Spottail Elvis!
Catch	Fourchon
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Concordia: bait don't work, flies do!	02 April 2004
Yesterday was absolutely fantastic day, clear and calm, just right for spring brim fishing. My father-in-law Leon and I arrived around 10am. Around the launch ramp and piers at Sportsman's Lodge was a small crowd to greet us - a couple of hundred of gobbules swimming in clear green water. But a few casts only resulted in one fish. Although a fly caster, Leon bought crickets, and rigged up his fly rod for bait fishing. I stayed "straight", tying on a jitterbee under vosi. For the next several hours, we fished piers, cypress trees, and the grass flats on the north end of the lake. Everywhere we saw lots of brim, but bites were slow. The jitterbee, and later an olive fluff butt, outcaught crickets 10 to 1. Lots of small fish, about 6 keepers per hour. Then around 4pm, it's like a switch turned on. The gobbules went stupid - no, make that CHICKEN STUPID - for popping bugs. I'm talking every cast, some jumping out the water. Leon couldn't believe what he was seeing, and decided to surrender on the crickets for good. Ended up day with 71 in box, 7 to 10 inches in size. Another clear case of "clear water favors you-know-who".
Catch	Vidalia
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dulac	01 April 2004
hit dulac tuesday morning with a fellow contraband fly caster (lake charles fly club) devin palomino. we got back in some pipe line canals and found a pond full of grass, crystal clear, and loded with hundreds of reds! first five minutes we landed a 6 lb'er. we then caught 2 3lb'ers and a 9 lb'er... all in one small duck pond. all fish were caught on a "shwimp". ( shwimp pattern can be found on REDCHASER.COM.) weather was awesome. wind did pick up around 2pm but tails were still abudant.
ty southerland	lake charles
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Tough but fun day of fishin'	30 March 2004
I fished a few days ago out of Empire with my buddy, Capt. Bryan Carter of Voodoo Charters (voodoocharters.com). It had been a while since I had been out and although the forcast was for strong winds from the Southeast, the thought of a sunny day on the marsh was appealing. Well, it was sunny and it was most definitely windy, but we managed to bring a few nice reds to the boat as well as a few decent trout. The largest was an 11 1/2 pounder (red that is) but I'm still being haunted by a fish I saw tailing in close to 3 feet of water. The tail looked like a broom but no such luck getting that guy to bite. The water was very high and off color, but it was a good "training day" in that I constantly had to remind myself to stop looking for a fish and just look for subtle signs of a fish. This proved to work out O.K. and we had a blast. Capt. Bryan has a killer new crab he as been tying and let me tell you how good this thing works. I threw at a nice Redfish only to find myself hooked up on an oyster shell. I had a few select words as I thought I had blown it, but about that time, the Redfish came over to the oyster and literally wrestled that fly away from it. I landed the fish and it weighed in at just under 9 pounds. What a thrill! As I commented to Bryan on the effectiveness of the fly, he told me about a client he had out earlier that week who hooked the same fish 3 times in a row on the fly and couldn't land him, but the fish just kept eating it. Anyone interested should call Bryan and have him tie you up a few (504-329-5198), or hell, have him take you fishing. You will not be dissapointed. Take care and tight lines! Alec Griffin Fishing Director, Uptown Angler
Alec at Uptown Angler	Empire
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A ditch runs thru it / A tide runs thru it	29 March 2004
Sat pm fished the "ditch" that runs thru my neighborhood. Lots of big redears spawning, and some pesky bluegills bothering their nests. Did well on BHGRHRs size 12. Also caught 3 small bass. Sun pm, Jake and I took the "Red Sticker", our canoe, over to Highway 51 canals. Normally this area is red-hot for bream right now. Strong east winds and strong tide had pushed muddy water from Ponchartrain into system. Water was about a foot above normal high mark, and of the 23 miles of canals and pits, only the last 3 near LaPlace had any clarity. We caught about 30 bream, mostly small, only 8 keepers, mostly on Miss Prissy and Bluegill Specials size 10, with a few on black/chartreuse fluff butt size 12. A couple of fly rodders were in the vicinity and they also caught a few fish. It'll take at least a week before the water settles - IF we don't get more strong east winds.
Catch
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March Madness!	22 March 2004
I'd been anxiously waiting since January for a return trip to the Little Mo, and more importantly, hoping such trip would coincide with terrific dry fly action. Well, I hit the jackpot. Little did I know that the "surface feeding frenzy" would apply to ALL species, ALL waters. Fished my way up, with canoe on top, starting sunrise Friday am at Miller's Lake near Ville Platte. Started slow, but when fog broke, gobbules went nuts on size 10 Miss Prissy. Every cast. Water was clear, you could see hordes of them 3-4 feet down swimming thru the grasses. By the time I left launch at 1pm, had caught and released well over 100, kept 37 in size 7-9 inches. Next stop: Lake Nantachie north of Colfax. Fished less than 200 yards from launch, same story as Millers - lots of bream, one bass, one pickeral. Final stop of the day: Grand Bayou Reservoir, my number one bass hotspot in LA. Lake was flat, so started with commie torpedo. After first 3, switched to fly rod and size 6 Titone Popper and continued until dark, ending with 7 caught and released, all 1.5 to 3 pounds. SATURDAY: arrived at Little Mo early, Hinds Bluff, lots of trout at first in the holes on olive wooly bugger. Then about 1pm, a mayfly hatch started, and it was "Katy bar the door!". This continued until 4pm. SUNDAY: started early at the runs at Low Water Bridge. Found schools of trout sitting below some of the runs. Caddis, and even stoneflies were coming off the water. A size 16 elk hair caddis, followed later by a "smudge", Jeff Guerin's midge pattern. At 3pm, moved to catch-and-release section below the dam. March Brown mayflies filled the air, and trout were going nuts! These bugs are so big, they made the size 12 Rusty Adams I had on look small. Still it did the trick. Then I broke off, and the only brown/rusty mayfly imitations were all sizes 14-18. That was apparently too small, lots of rejects. By now it was time to head home anyway. Jeff is exactly right: these are bigger trout they're stocking, and those that have been in the river awhile (noticeable by their dark colors) will take line off your reel, for sure! Can't wait to see what these fish will be like come summer.
Catch
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False River bream	18 March 2004
Went to Bonaventures after work yesterday late, and fished along bank, dock and piers. Got in only an hour of fishing. Lots of bream, but most small. Talked to gentleman who was fishing for bass, and he said his neighbor caught 100 big bream from 10 to 2pm. After that, it was just small ones. Hmmm? Maybe we need a "lunch bunch" on the banks of False River?
Catch	Rougon
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More bass action	15 March 2004
Sunday am Master Jake and I took the canoe to Highway 51 canals. Our first and only stop among the dozens of pullovers was the first one just south of Pass Manchac. On loading the canoe, we realized we'd left the camera and our rain jackets on the kitchen table. A mistake we'd pay for dearly. Almost immediately we got into the bass. Jake started with a commie rod and plastic worm, and hooked and lost his first two. I then landed a 3lber on black/chartreuse fluff butt. He then landed another one that size on worm, then caught 3 small ones under 12 inches. I started catching lots of bream, mostly small, and the occasional bass, on popper. Jake then switched to fly rod, and caught the biggest of the day on a Peck's Popper. The fish probably weighed close to 5lbs!! Like all the fish we caught this day, it was released unharmed. Just minutes later, the rain started, and the action came to a halt. We paddled to our launching spot just a tad wet, but feeling very satisfied.
Catch	Manchac
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Reds on Poppers	14 March 2004
Saturday Steve Lee and Roger del Rio Caught several Reds near Bayou Thunder in Elmer's Island. Water was low, tide was incoming all morning. We were sight casting to backing Reds along shorelines of small lakes and Bayous. Steve caught several the largest 9.5# I caught two... 8 and 5 lbs.on Flip Flop Popper. Steve also used poppers.
del Rio	Elmer's Island
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Spring - and bass - busting all over	08 March 2004
Got home noon Sat after spending am in the office. Desperate to wet a line, took my commie worm rod to the pond and landed a bass. Then topped canoe on Jeep, and drove to Black Lake to fish the "white perch". Instead, found the bass there also waking along the banks. Lost 2 on Sqwirm Worm before I noticed the hook point was broken. Then caught and released 3 nice ones on popper. Remember.. if you haven't used a fly in awhile, check those hooks!
Catch	Black Lake
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Redfish Starting To Show Up In Marsh	07 March 2004
Fished this morning with Danny and Seth Williams. Beautiful morning, clear skies and very calm. We saw quite a few redfish although they weren't being very active. Didn't see most of them untill we spooked them with the boat, some were kind of skittish, spooking off of flies. We each caught 1 red, and I had a huge sheepshead eat my fly, but I missed the hookset. With a week of sunny, warm afternoons forcast, next weekend ought to be good. Tight Lines, Ron Begnaud
Ron Begnaud	Calcasieu Estuary
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lefty kreh	06 March 2004
We got him! Lefty Kreh has been confirmed for our Oct.2nd Conclave, for the Lake Charles Contraband Fly Casters Club! We will keep every one posted on the agenda. We are going nutz over this in LC! For info you can contact me or Ron Begnaud (redchaser.com). Keep your VOSI's down. ty
ty	lake charles , la
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Louisiana Sportsmens Show	05 March 2004
Went to the Sportsmens Show last night, and was very disappointed. Unlike past events, no fly rod vendors, no fly tackle, and the fly casting pool is no more. In fact, the only fly fishing was the New Orleans club booth. Did see a couple of Mitzi Skiffs and a few kayaks that an store in Texas had brought. It's mostly boats, hunting, cooking, and apparel. However, Chag's, Puglias, and Hook and Line did have a lot of commie rods on sale, some IM6, two for $29. If you're into that commie stuff...
Catch	New Orleans
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Bream are getting started	02 March 2004
Fished Lake Concordia this afternoon. Caught a mixed bag of sand bass, and bream, total about 30. Caught them shallow on a black wooly bugger and black jon's generic. They really had a preference for black. Warmest water I could find was 58 according to my fish finder. Saw large schools deep (about 30 feet) that I figured were sacalait. Saw several bass shallow but could not get them to bite. Go fishing! Things are getting started!
Kevin Smith	Ferriday- Lake Concordia
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Out of the closet	27 February 2004
...rods that is. After several months collecting dust, I pulled the ol' fly rod out of the closet and made a couple of quick forays to local ponds Sat. and Sun. Decided to upscale the flies to see if "bigger fly-bigger fish" would apply. It did. Sat. I used a 8 clouser and landed several bream and one bass. All larger than those I usually catch. Sun. I reverted to my old offerings of smaller wooly buggers and beadheads with no takers. Switched to a large deer hair frog that quickly brought a couple of strikes from some obviously big fellas. One a 4lb+ bass that really got me excited about fishing again.
Felipe Martinez	Plaquemine
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Weekend Report	23 February 2004
Sat about noon fished subdivision lake and caught about 20 nice bream on BH Hare's Ear size 14 under vosi, water was high but surprisingly clear, and grass was beginning to setup. If the gobbules are biting here, they might be biting elsewhere? High water everywhere left few options, one of those being Black Lake, a backwater to the lower Blind River near Maurepas. Well, forgot my net and my Deet. Gobbule action was almost non-existent, switched to bass and sacalait. Around sunset, the sacs turned on, and so did the mosquitos. Ate me up alive. The lack of net cost me 2 slabs at the boat. Did land 3 keeper sacs and a goo. Fly of choice was black/chartreuse fluff butt size 10. Late Sunday morning I decided to test Lake Concordia. There's been some years in late February/early March days on this lake where the bite has been slow, but the bream we caught were quite big. Water was high and milky, but clear enough that the little bream nibbled on my jitterbee all day. The vosi skipped around most of the day, but seldom went under! By 4pm, the only decent fish landed was a giant carp, possibly 15 pounds. Gave me a hell of a battle on 5wt. Then gobbules started hitting the surface, feeding on a hatch. Popper did okay, but a dry fly did even better! Managed to put a few nice ones in the box. No bass, no crappie. Looks like 2-3 more weeks before decent fishing arrives.
Catch	Maurepas and Ferriday
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Correction	20 February 2004
Land of Giants, not Land of Monsters. Sorry
Alec at Uptown Angler	New Orleans
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Land of Monsters exceeds all expectations	20 February 2004
Well folks, I just don't think I could ever say enough to do this place justice. The Land of Monsters, as Capt. Gregg Arnold has rightfully named it, is an area he has been fishing over the last few months that some of you may have read about. I had the pleasure of fishing with Capt. Gregg yesterday along with his good friend and client, Mr. Tony Kirk of Dallas, TX. Tony didn't fly in untill about 8:30, so we didn't get on the water untill about 11:00. Capt. We made a quick run out and Gregg had no sooner shut the motor off when he called out FISH and Mr. Kirk had a fly on it. That first fish weighed in at an even 30lb's and would be our biggest of the day. However, I literally lost count of the fish that we caught over 20lb's. Keep in mind, this is all sight casting shallow water. It is absolutely obsurd. I started out with a 17 pounder, then a 24, then a 27...you get the picture. Although Mr. Kirk's 30 was the biggest fish of the day, we saw plenty bigger. Oh yeah, Mr. Kirk and myself also had a double. A double hook up with two fish over 20 pounds is a pretty unforgetable fishing experience. We were hootin' and hollerin' like little kids. Mr. Kirk was doing most of his damage with a Haley's Comet, while I fished a crab I have been tying recently with trimmed rootbeer blue water chenille and an olive marabou tail. The key to fishing this place is to have something that will get down quick and that blue water chenille coupled with a heavy dumbell eye drops like a rock. Anywho, I could talk about the Land of Giants all day, but you really must experience it for yourself. Give Capt. Gregg Arnold a call (504)237-6742 and leave the 8wt. at home. Take care and tight lines!! Alec Griffin Fishing Director, Uptown Angler 504-529-3597
Alec at Uptown Angler	New Orleans
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conclave	14 February 2004
i attented the Lake Charles conclave today... it was great! the speakers all had lap top projected slide shows, very informative...the auction went well and the gumbo was great! lots of good fly patterns made as well....looking foward to next year. now that im all pumped up, we need some good weather!
ty southerland	lake charles
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Combat Fly Fishers earn their stripes	09 February 2004
On Sunday, members of the Louisiana 101st Battalion of the Combat Fly Fishers accompanied out-of-state guest speakers and tiers from the RSFF Conclave on a marsh fishing trip. Several had never caught a redfish on fly rod. Conditions couldn't have been much worse: low 28 degrees, high 45 degrees, wind 15-20, overcast, and no water. When I say 'no water', I mean that several spots where we caught reds this summer were eyeball-level while sitting in my canoe. Commander Steve Lee led us to Galliano, just 2 hrs from home base, in case a quick retreat was necessary. But our spirits were high, and we were determined. Lt. Commanders Mike LaFleur and Joe Kahler scouted the area in advance, and directed the strike teams into locations where the Al-Quada reds might be hiding. The fish were extremely scarce, few tails or backs were seen. However, there was some success. Four fish were landed, several more were hooked, fought for awhile, then got off. The JAG team investigating determined that the ones that got off were hooked with flies tied on circle hooks. Our conclusion is that circle hooks work on active fish, but not those just mouthing the flies. Regardless, the LaFleur's pink charlie was the weapon of choice. We rendezvoused back at the launch at 4:30pm, exhausted from having push-poled our noes and yaks through shallow mud flats for most of the day. We rewarded our efforts by proceeding to Sals in Boutte, where we partook of hot Louisiana seafood, and told of the great confrontations we endured.
Catch Cormier	Galliano
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Fluff butts worked this time, butt...	31 January 2004
not on the sacalait (white perch) as expected. A couple of hours at the pond produced several bass instead. At first, they hit the shiny butts, but when the clouds moved over, I had to switch to olive to get any action. I'll be tying plenty of both to stick into next Saturday's raffle at the RSFF conclave.
Catch	home base
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Short but sweet in Myrtle Grove	29 January 2004
Hello to all This is a bit of a delayed report, but I'm still thinking about the fishing I experienced Monday morning and hoping for many more like it. I met up with my good friend Bryan Carter of Voodoo Charters (www.voodoocharters.com or 504-329-5189)at the Myrtle Grove marina around 7:00 a.m. The weather was exactly opposite from the forcast. We were expecting plenty of sunshine and a fair amount of wind but found ourselves in overcast but calm conditions. The water was as high as I've ever seen it in Myrtle Grove. For that reason, certain flats that are usually great for seeing tails were tough to find fish on. Shortly into the morning however, we found shallow water and plenty of fish including a 14lb hog that was working down a shallow bank with his tail floppin' up in the air. Luckily, he was more than willing to eat the Barrett Brown Spoon Fly I was fishing with and gave me a great fight. We followed that fish up with a nice 11 pounder. These are as nice of fish as I've seen on any given day in Myrtle Grove and we were thrilled. Shortly after, the rain came and we headed in. It was a short day on the water but who can complain with a couple of fish like that. Not to mention, theres something to be said for fishing in short sleeves and flip flops in January. I love this place!! I highly recommend Capt. Bryan Carter to anyone interested in a professionally guided fly-fishing trip. He is a wealth of knowledge and a pleasure to spend a day on the water with. Take care. Alec Griffin Fishing Director, Uptown Angler 504-529-3597
Alec at Uptown Angler	New Orleans
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Bream getting an early start	27 January 2004
After the clouds broke free Sunday afternoon, it warmed up nicely. Decided to give the lake near my house it's first test of the year. Started with a size 14 dark tan Bead Head Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear - I just call them Burgers for short. Fished it straight with a few nibbles, but when I switched to under a tiny cork, they ate the Burgers! These were very decent bluegill and a pair of redears, and they put a serious bend in my 3wt. Then I drove over to Parker Lake on LSU Campus. No action there, but one shiner dunker landed 2 sacalait (white perch). They'll come around to biting fluff butts in a few weeks.
Catch
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Wolves in sheep(head's) clothing	25 January 2004
Friday morning did not start out promising despite no wind and clear water. As I was pulling my kayak off the rack the pumpimg station kicked in (shades of Arkansas). I wanted to catch a few specks in the deep pit but immediately the water turned brown and dirty with no strikes forthcoming deep or shallow. I decided to try for reds with the water being so nice and low, flat as a mirror but fish were extremely spooky and would not even let you in the same area code. I decided to try and cover a large area and see if I could get close to Sulfur Mines by paddling. I also switched to a Richard Whitner's flexo crab I had tied up, since the only bait seen was a crab or two. This turned out to be a lucky move because as I was approaching a small lake about the size of a football field, tails started popping up all over -5 to 6 at once. I threw at one and whaamo, it was a large sheephead. For the next hour or two action was fast and furious with sheephead aggresively attacking the fly. I have not had enough experience to know if this is common behavior for them but it was fun while it lasted. There was also a generous amount of reds in the same area to round out the day. The lake was near a few old camps but i don't know how close to the Sulfur Mine's I got as it was then time to head home.
JeffM	Galliano
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Free at last, free at last - on the Little Mo	21 January 2004
If it's Martin Luther King weekend, it must be the "Rainbow Coalition" trip for rainbow trout on the Little Missouri River. I remember hearing those immortal words Dr. King once spoke: "I have a dream, that someday all people, of all races and creeds, rich or poor, will join together to fly fish for trout." Okay, maybe those weren't his exact words, but, hey... I was 10 years old at the time, okay? Anyway, did my usual 'coma' thing and drove up last Friday night. Didn't see any of the other guys the whole 3 days. Could it be the strange hours I keep? Anyway, Saturday was so foggy everything beyond 200 yards was gray. In the calm, mild mist, the trout were feeding well. BH Hare's Ears did well in the runs, olive woolybuggers in the pools. Saturday was clear and much colder, wind in the 15-20 knot range. That didn't stop a small mayfly hatch up in the C&R section below the dam. Best fish of the weekend was a 15 inch holdover that slammed a 16 Parachute Adams and made several jumps. That evening returned back to Low Water Bridge, where I couldn't resist adding a float to my leader above a woolybugger. This semi-commie technique doesn't necessarily catch more trout, but it's always a blast to watch a fish sink a cork! On Sunday morning it was even colder, 26 degrees, and after the generation ended - on schedule at 10am - I fished a bit of the old "ice on the guides". That kind of fun gets old very fast! So I visited with Jeff Guerin to get the latest (check out his site), then went exploring some potential smallmouth waters for this spring.
Catch	Murfreesboro, AR
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dolphin on fly part II	19 January 2004
Finally got back to the dolphin G-spot last week..this was the same spot I left them biting 3 weeks ago when Terry my friend from San Diego severed some tendons removing a barracuda ending our trip early..they were there too..unfortunately my charter wouldn't let me cast to any of the big ones until they culled them out with conventional tackle..after they wore out eight of the 46-20 pound dolphin I broke out my 10 wt..picked up 2 small yellowfins deep on a "Gary Parish pink and white squid mimic fly" Basically a small white deciever with some bushy pink fur by the hook eye..released two small yelowfin before getting a white deciever to a cruising baby bull of 20 pounds..after a 30 minute exciting fight we gaffed the fish and tosed it in the box..seemed I converted two of my guys who each had the opportunity to hook a tuna pulling the hooks both times..one was a stud that would have probably taken hours to get to the boat..glad to have had the opportunity although just one fish over thirty pounds would have made my day, week, month, year..etc...bring it on R
Scott Avanzino	55 miles offshore
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Caught and released	15 January 2004
Big Fish Hunter, Tim's fish was released. There's been some debate over whether it would've been a record anyway since it was only an estimate, and never actually weighed. Regardless.... all I know is that my Lip Gripper only goes to 15 lbs, and it's been maxed out by many "baby" tarpon in Florida. Given the giant reds and drum showing up lately, maybe I need to get a 50lb model.
Catch
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Land of Giants	13 January 2004
I hear that Tim Aid's record drum is not a record.
Big Fish Hunter	SE LA
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Strange Fishing Day	06 January 2004
Randy L and I fished the Golden Meadow area from his boat last Saturday and somehow didn't see Catch but had much the same fishing only we didn't fall out of the boat and stayed dry all day. It was a strange day in that it was unseasonably warm and we shed our jackets by 10AM. It was calm enough to fish Catfish Lake in the morning but much to our dismay there were only a few schools of throwback trout to be found. We spent the rest of the day fishing beautiful dark clean water in the east side canals from top to bottom! Wind came up to 15 mph by late morning-early afternoon. Used classic clousers under vosi, black charlies, pink charlies and I tried my sinking line with a heavy clouser and no vosi. We also reverted to some regular tackle but the result was the same whatever and wherever we tried! Trout from 8 inches to 15 with a preponderance of the former sizes too small to keep. Didn't keep an accurate count but somewhere around 50 or so would be close. Redfish were found and caught but were also on the small size from 12 to 15 inches with no keepers. Came home with 10 keeper specks. Like Catch we found very high tides and surmised that the high water along with the high winds scattered everything making it hard to find schools of keeper fish. Of course everything has changed now that winds are in the high 20's and chill factors are in the low 40's. Randy is off the England so we will have to try again when he gets back. Maybe we can catch a more normal day and suprise the fish.
Dugan	Golden Meadow Too
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One streak broken, another remains alive	04 January 2004
My wife's brother-in-law told me their church group is having a fish fry, and if I could provide him with some fish for contribution. "No problem" said I, "I'll have 5 reds for you Saturday, and maybe a few specks". After all, we've been tearing up the reds this year, and it's been almost 3 years since the last time I made a marsh trip without catching a red. And besides ... I'm a member of the Louisiana 2003 NATIONAL FLY FISHING CHAMPION team, right? Well, the team isn't doing so good in 2004. Got a report from several team members that went out on New Years, and it was pretty dismal. Saturday didn't start off great either. Didn't leave BR until 7am, fog was so bad. As I crossed Lake Ponchartrain, the water was smooth, and visions of reds chasing poppers skipped through my mind. But when I arrived in Golden Meadow, the wind had kicked up big time, so I opted to stay there and fish protected water. Tons of small trout, but not a single keeper. Decided to hit marsh for reds. Tide was very high for this time of year, and now the wind was gusting so hard there was ripples only inches from the grassline, and 6 inch waves in the middle of the ponds. What very little activity there was couldn't be traced. Lots of false casting resulted in only one undersized drum. Around 3pm, my streak appeared in jeopardy when suddenly a tail popped up near a clump of broken grass. His mistake. A good long cast (tough with a 6wt in this wind) put the spoon fly right on his nose. He bit and headed off. Here's where everything fell apart. First, the tip section of my rod fell off, so I had to bring him in with the butt section. When the fish and tip section were close enough, I reached for the tip section, and in an instant, became aware that my orientation had changed, in fact, the left side of the canoe was higher than my head... I WAS CAPSIZING! I've been fishing from canoes since my college days (1978), and NEVER have I fallen or tipped over a canoe. I righted myself up, my legs imbedded in marsh mud, and attempted to put some order back to this chaos. First, the red. I reassembled the rod and brought him to net. Then I walked... the hardest walk you can ever imagine.. to the ice chest and put him in. Then I lifted the Pack from the bottom of the pond (unlike my Guide, it doesn't float), drained the water out. Put chest, rod, paddle, flies and accessory box (waterproof, TG!) back into canoe, then myself, then started my paddle back home. Guess this was God's way of giving me a cold shower, because by now I felt peacefully calm. So did the wind, it just about went slack. Enjoyed the last hour of daylight in the canals catching lots of specks, including a few keepers, on a Kirk's Popper. Which gave me hope that perhaps the capsizing was the low point for 2004, and it only gets better from there.
Catch	Golden Meadow
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Land of Giants	02 January 2004
Tim Aid: Congrats. You finally have a record fish. You really set the bar pretty high. What is a "Hailey's Comet? Would you please post the tying instructions. And maybe a photo, now that the website can publish them. Where in the Biloxi Marsh is the Land of Giants. Not familar with that hole.
Big Fish Hunter	SE LA
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THE LAND OF THE GIANTS	31 December 2003
I have been recently been fishing the Biloxi Marsh in area my good friend Captain Gregg Arnold refers to as the land of the giants. Most often in life expectations surpasses reality but occasionally you get to pinch yourself just to make sure your not dreaming. Captain Gregg and I made a trip on December 13th and it was one of those days. Light wind, crystal clear water, and blue blue sky; we brought to hand over 50 fish all on the Hailey's Comet. That’s how Gregg became a true believer in the fly. December 20th was not one of those days it was windy 20 to 25 out of the northeast no water what was there was clear and good sun. I brought my youngest son along so he could video tape Gregg and I catching fish after fish. This was not the case, I caught only two fish that day a 10.5 pound Red fish and a 57 pound Black Drum! We saw the "freight liner" as Gregg referred to it 300 feet down wind in about 24 to 30 inches of water. I started casting at around 80 feet and made over 40 casts to the Freight Liner. I finally changed flies to a Black and Red clouser type fly, one I tie for the winter in Myrtle Grove spacificly for the Drum in the upper marsh. I made two more cast the second was perfect and we were off to the races. I quickly wished I'd of grabbed a 10wt when I changed flies because the 8 was no match for this fish. Gregg wisely bottomed the boat in less than 6 inches of water and we beat the drum by getting him so shallow that he couldn't use his whole tail. Jordan my son dropped the video and grabbed the boga. There is a nice picture on the Home Page of Louisiana Sportsman. I've been able to make two more trips since and haven't caught another Drum but I have landed 9 Reds over 20 pounds. Needless to say I leave the 8wt at home but bring plenty of Hailey's Comets!!
Tim Aid	BILOXI MARSH
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