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Deja vu all over again	06 May 2005
Once again the weather prognosticators have proven that their job is better left to leaf readers and Ouija boards. I took a good day of vacation hoping to hit the home run on big gobbules. Decided on Concordia for reasons (1) according to Windcast and other sources, it called for 5 mph and under, (2) Wally's report. The early morning drive to Concordia is so scenic, especially when you hit the peak of 424 ft "Mt Selina" and look down on Homochitto River Valley below. I actually pulled over and did the scenic view thing for a minute, but not much longer, as the low oxygen at that altitude had me faint. When I arrived at the launch, the flags at the Wildlife Station gave me the bad news... fooled again! Strong north wind and high pressure kept those gobbules down again, just like two weeks before. And just like that last trip, when the wind died down about 4pm, they went nuts on poppers. Just about every cast. Even the jighead jitterbee black and chartreuse was getting nailed on each cast, when hours before, same location, same fly, didn't get a single bite! Caught more than half my fish in the last two hours of an 8 hour trip. Can't wait until summer comes, the wind is dead calm, and mosquitos eat me alive. There's a permanent whistling sound in my head from all this wind...
Catch	Vidalia
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better than class	04 May 2005
went out tuesday and put the canoe in along bayou lacombe. i was able to boat two small reds and two nice large mouths before the wind picked up to much to deal with. it was a cool morning and the tides wern't really moving that much, but it was a heck of a lot better than sitting in class and listening to a prof drone on and on.
keith	lacombe
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Short window from the wind	03 May 2005
Early Monday afternoon the wind wasn't blowing quite as hard as it has been for the last 2 weeks. I took the opportunity to sneek out to a patch of marsh I had not yet fished this spring. Of course as soon as I got on the water, the wind started to build. The tide was fairly low and coming in fast. I saw a lot of redfish, all nice and chunky in the 6 to 8 pound range. I managed to get 3 to eat, landed 2 missed one. I had quite a few other shots and made good presentations but those fish were tight lipped and snubbed me. After about 2 hours the tide got too high and the wind got too strong for me to manage by myself so I went home. It was just nice to feel a tug.
Ron Begnaud	Calcasieu Estuary
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guide service reports?	02 May 2005
The guide service report has a virus! I dont read these reports to get advertisements from commies!
E.S.	lafayette
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Bream	02 May 2005
I went to Concordia Sun. Caught 42 watch band bream. Mid day on Jitter bees and Caps. Fish turned on good at 3:30 on poppers. I had to leave at 4:00,Then I had to leave at 5:00. So much for a time table. I left at 6:00 with the fish bitting good. It is hard to leave on a good top water bite. Had a great time. Wind blow all day. I kept looking around for Roger, must have blew him to the other end of the lake. Wally ><###)">
Wally Hoover	Lake Concordia
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Fishing Report	02 May 2005
Hello Everybody, Fishing has been very good lately on Lake Palestine and Richland Chambers. A summary of this last week on Palestine first. Water temps have been up and down with cool fronts comming through. The main Lake has been in about the upper 50's to low 60's and in the back of the coves and creeks water temps are from 63-70. The Lake has gone down about 2 feet but overall is still full. Water conditions are excellent right now with good water all over the Lake in clear conditons. The Neches is stained in the upper North but the waters out of the flow of the Neches are excellent. Bass hit topwaters early with Bass over 6 lbs. comming to the boat. Lots of solid fish hitting texas rigged o plastics in 3- 10 feet of water. Baby brush hogs and tubes also lizards and craws in watermelons and black and blue are catching Bass. Worms in bluefleck,tequilla sunrise, and junebug are great colors right now. If you want some fast action carolina rigged plastics in watermelons off point are catching Kentuckies or spotted Bass. Points and creek channels have been very good for large fish. Boat houses and brush piles also produced good numbers and some quality fish were also mixed in with the catch. Topwaters are such exciting action and shad patterns in poppers or spook type baits are excellent. The morning bite has been awesome lately. Spinnerbaits have been catching since we have had alot of windy weather also. Action has been hot on Black Bass with up to 35 fish a day being brought in with about 12 soild fish between 3-5 lbs. Stripers are hitting rattle traps and sassy shad baits early for about the first 2-3 hours of the day. Moving into deeper channel mouths and humps on the Lake to feed Early and Late. Also cut bait like cut shad fished on bottom has been taking fish up to about 10 lbs. mainly Hybrid Stripers in about 12- 22 feet of water. White Bass orr Sandies have been hittting little george's in silver and spoons jigged over schools in about 17-22 feet also. You can see the schools up on top early and late then going down about 9:30 am. Catfish has been good with alot of Blues and Channels comming to the boat. Fresh shad caught in my casting net has been the hottest bait. Fished in channels and off points in 14 -17 feet of water. The Bass on Palestine have finished the spawn and we had a great hatch with millions of fry seen in the coves insuring a great future for the Lake. Females are healing up and beginning to put on the feed bag. Richland has been producing great numbers of White Bass on Little George's in Silver and spoons and slabs jigged over schools in deeper water with an occasional Hybrid Striper. Schools have been comming up but unpredictable. Deeper schools have been more stable this week. Use youe eletronics and find those big schools and hoover over them and just jig something silver or white in them and it is some exciting action as air temps warm up into June the shad will move up higher in the water sections and the schoools will spend more time on top feeding. We are booking trips for Bass and White Bass along with Hybrid Stripers and also catfish. I have baited holes for catfish now for some great action. If you want to book a trip just call 903-478-2413 or 903-724-0961 or e-mail me. Till next time good fishing and may God Bless. Don Mattern Sr. with Mattern Guide Service.
MATTERN GUIDE SERVICE	Lake Palestine- Texas
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Pete Cooper's Report	27 April 2005
I know this isn't a report per se, but I couldn't pass up Pete Cooper's report (below) without offering a hearty "At-A-Boy". Way to go, Coop! I love these stories about fly fishers coming in and showing the hardware fishers and bait-chukkers how it's done. As a matter of fact, being on the receiving end of one of these little lessons in humility years ago in Red River, NM is what converted me from being an infidel, to full-time, fly fishing only, true believer. Coop, you sound like the kinda' wise fellow who goes to the casino, wins a hefty jackpot early, collects his winnings, and goes the h... home. I bow to the Master. Keep those reports comin'!
Joe Kahler
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Ponds	27 April 2005
Funniest thing about Broussard ponds. Was on my way home from Shreveport when I decided to pay a quick visit to my daughter and grandsons in Broussard. Took a stroll down to the lower of their two ponds, noticed some sunfish in a patch of bright water, then some bass, and it was then requested that I catch one. So I walked back to the truck, strung a 5-weight outfit, returned to the pond, and offered a size 8 popper to a very willing, chunky 12-incher. Then I strung down the rod, said my good-byes, and finished my drive home. Wouldn't it be nice if you could strut your stuff like that all the time?
pete cooper, Jr.	Buras, La
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Pond Fishing	25 April 2005
I was in Lafayette over the weekend. Sunday, late morning I called my sister who lives in Broussard and told her that I wanted to drop by her house "to visit my babies". She thought I was talking about my nieces, actaully I was talking about the fish in the pond on her property. I fished for about an hour and a half and caught 4 bass up to 3 pounds, and one big bluegill. I think she needs to start taking some bass out of the pond. The pond used to have a lot of both blue gill and bass in it, but now the bass are absolutely eveywhere, and the blue gill are pretty scarce. It this keeps up the bass population will probably reach carrying capacity and crash.
Ron Begnaud	Broussard
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Wind!	23 April 2005
And plenty of it! But managed five excellent bass and a couple dozen 'gills, including some fine chinquapin this morning before boat control got too frustrating. All were on black/chartreuse Jitterbees under a VOSI. The bite was slow by the time I left around 11 a.m.
RStouff	Chitimacha, La.
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Flyfishing Destin	21 April 2005
Late Report. I found myself in Destin last weekend for business and was able to sneak away for some fishing on Saturday morning. I chartered with Alan Steele and would do so again. We chased pods of albies up and down the beach. They were very finicky and skittish. There was no discernable pattern – one pod would be working into the current on the color change and another would be going down current in dirty water. I was using a small epoxy minnow. I got a few to the boat and had a few long distance releases. With their speed, albies have to be one of my favorite fish to catch. We spotted several schools of rays and a large turtle, but didn’t find any cobia shadowing them. Also, there were spanish mackrel all over, but not really schooled up. Alan said that he fishes for tarpon in June and July. Has anyone had any experience with this in Destin?
Jeaux	New Orleans, LA
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reds in my RIDE (yak that is!)	18 April 2005
capt. dev and i were going out sunday morning but dev got ill so i decided to head out alone in the new RIDE kayak....went down to hackberry (south of sulphur LA), and the fog was thick. water calm! geat site casting morning. fish were everywhere. water was pretty clean. i managed to catch 3 reds, one 6lbs, one 8lbs and one 10lbs. one was caught on my zydeco shrimp and 2 were caught on danny's tan shwimp. i really got to do some cajun sleigh rides that morning! ...........ty
ty southerland	lake charles
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Strange day at Concordia	18 April 2005
After taking care of urgent business on Saturday, I was free to fish yesterday. Concordia was on my brain after missing out last weekend, and then getting good reports from RSFF members who attended. For some reason, Concordia wasn't her usual self this day. The jitterbee-vosi combination, which invokes strikes anywhere on this lake this time of year, got a handful of taps in the first two hours. So I moved to the north end and into the woods. The "flats" weren't their usual state either. A few schools of small gobbules and some carp - by now the carp are usually out and the big gobbules are in here. A popping bug did manage about a half dozen keepers with about four times that many throwbacks. By 3pm, I moved back into the main lake, and decided to break out the commie rod with a 1/32 ounce beetle worked slowly. Things then got busy, in 3-10 feet of water. Switched back to fly rod, tied on a 1/80 ounce jighead jitterbee, and a 12 foot leader. This combination worked just as well. At some point when I had about 30 in the box (half redears, half blues, two cats), I called it quits and headed back to the launch. I passed by a few piers with folks fishing. All were having a tough day. Also spoke to one guy at the launch, and he was fishing bream and sacalait and caught ZERO fish. I asked if he was using a hook, because that's impossible for this time of year. But on reflection, this was the strangest fishing for April I've seen.
Catch	Ferriday
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The Marsh is full of fish y'all	18 April 2005
Sunday Danny Williams and I fished. I met him at his house at 5:45am. We made a 10 minute stop at the store, got to the park, launched and had our first redfish on by 6:30. Man I love having this stuff in our back yard. We saw TONS of fish Sunday. The water was low and clear so visibility was great. Early the tide was still moving out a little (it was the very end of the outgoing) and the fish were being fairly active and eating ok. Once the tide went slack the fish got VERY difficult. They were extremely spooky, and not much in a mood to eat. We had to put the fly on their nose to get them to eat, but it was a catch 22 because trying to put the fly on the fish's nose, you could easily spook the fish. This was VERY technical fishing. We ended up hooking up with 10 and boating 8. From what I've seen and also heard from others, the marshes are full of redfish pretty much everywhere in the Calcasieu Estuary. Come visit.
Capt. Ron Begnaud	Calcasieu Estuary
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E.S. - imagine if you'd used a fluff butt!	12 April 2005
I grew up near Henderson and have fished those bar pits for many years. The fish there really love fluff butts, and a jitterbee under a small cork (vosi) works great too. Never had much success with crickets or grasshoppers, so you've broken new ground.
Catch
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Victory!	12 April 2005
I went to the bar pits north of henderson this afternoon. Two brim liked the black grasshopper I was casting. finished off with a crappie that took an olive grasshopper. The black grasshopper ended up 15' up a willow tree. I had my commie tackle with me and was very tempted to scoop up some minnows from along the bank to use under a cork. But then a bite! then two more as I worked along the bank. I even saw another fly caster on the far end of the pit. As I was leaving the dejected commie fishing by me jumped on the hole I vacated. I am a happy man.
Ernstfried Schmidt	henderson
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Don't Do It, Ernstfried	12 April 2005
Don't regress to commie tackle, my friend. Remember, clear water favors the fly fisher. I'd be willing to bet that the waters you were fishing were turbid. Also, there are MANY other factors to consider here: fly selection, rate and pattern of retrieve, time of day, casting technique ("splashdown?"), etc. Best advice I can give any new fly fisher is, "Burn your commie tackle," and fish only with the long rods (preferably with folks who've been doing it longer than you have - come to RSFF meetings or the like, to meet such folks). The more you do it, the more you know. Second best advice - READ anything and everything you can get your hands on by Lefty Kreh. The man is a walking encyclopedia of the art/science/discipline of fly fishing. Third best advice - read anything you can get by John Gierach. He's funny, entertaining, informative about the subtleties of fly fishing, a hell of a writer, and a decent human being. I've felt (frustrated) like you; we all have. Endeavor to persevere!
Joe Kahler
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spanish lake	11 April 2005
I went to spanish lake today. I cast four types of grass shrimp flys, a plastic shrimp, a olive wholly bugger, four diffrent jig heads, and caught nothing! The bp was falling in front of the front and the sac-a-lait were flopping right in front of me. I sould have clubbed them with my 8' 6weight. When a 17 yr old drove by and told me to add a worm or shinner to my glittery butt jig head, I walked across the road whith my shovel and found two worms, they had no effect. If I don't catch somthing with my new fly rod soon I'm going back to Zebco.
Ernstfried Schmidt	lafayette
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Last Friday	11 April 2005
Last Friday am left for weekend at Concordia, but had to come home Friday night due to illness. Rather than launch at Concordia, I decided to go 30 minutes north and take my chances on Lake Bruin, in hopes of latching onto some of those one pound redears that Jake and I hit the motherload on last spring. Wind was excessive, and Bruin being twice the size of Concordia, I probably should've opted Concordia. In addition, water was surprisingly cold, and fishing was typical of "preseason", that is, mostly small bream, no beds, and everything off the bottom. Did manage a dozen over the 7" minimum using a 1/124 ounce jig head fluff butt. It also attracted the yellow bass that were schooling along the edges of nearly every pier. I'd get bites, then watch a school follow the fly right to the canoe. Only managed to land seven. How they can hit a fly without eating it defies scientific explanation!
Catch	Lake Bruin
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plenty of tails	10 April 2005
Even though redfish tails were everywhere, I only managed to land a single 25" redfish on a chartreuse Clouser. Not being in the marsh or canoe since November took its toll. Poor casting, boat control and hook setting left too many fish in the marsh. I hooked two that I lost in the grass (poor hook setting). I could not get a cast within the strike zone on about 10 more tailing redfish (poor casting). I forgot my anchors at home (poor boat control). Bad move. Trying to fight the wind to get into casting position put the fish down after a cast or two. Conditions were calm at sunrise and not surprisingly that's when I landed the lone fish. The worst part of the trip was the gnats. The gnats were terrible despite repellant. Almost to the point of being unbearable. Kurt
Kurt	between Fourchon and Elmer's Island
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The Cap Spider works	10 April 2005
I tied a few of the Cap Spiders and tried them on one of my favorite ponds today. It was covercast and windy, so not an ideal day, but after one bream and a few small bass, I landed a 6 lb 11 oz bass on a cap spider tied on a 1/124th oz jig head. Conditions must be getting better.
Robert Gill	Shreveport, La.
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No Mo "No Mo' Mo'" - Another Thought	06 April 2005
I ran across the following passage in John Gierach's latest book, "Still Life with Brook Trout". I liked it, and thought about the recent abortive No-Ark trip when I read it. Gierach writes, "Weather isn't the only thing that can go wrong on a fishing trip, but it's high on the list, which is why fishermen have an almost pathological love/hate relationship with meteorology. If there's such a thing as perfect fishing, it would require perfect weather, but in actual practice it's either too cloudy, too windy, or too still, and on those rare days when it's just right, we know it can't possibly last. Like all good comedy, fishing depends almost enitrely on timing." Here's to FWW, and the rest of the guys who "braved the elephants" in north Arkansa last week! You are certainly among "The Brotherhood of the Angle".
Joe Kahler	Home
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Sat-Sun Consolation Trip	05 April 2005
Having heard early reports from the No-Ark Expeditionary Force of the Redstick Combat Flyfishers on the generation problems on the White River this past week, I decided NOT to exercise my "leave" options and travel north. Instead, I went down the Hwy 1 corridor, fishing from Saturday ~ 1:30pm to sundown, then Sunday from sunrise to ~ 2:00pm. Glad to say, it's springtime in the marsh! Redfish were backing all over the place. Water was turbid, so a chartreuse Charlie was the fly of the day (after frustrating trials of black and pink). Lots of "grass" (algae, grasses, etc) blooming up from the depths in the ponds, making for something of a mess to fly fish in, and shallowing-out some previously productive spots, but still plenty of fish to be caught. Heard the guy at T-Pop's say they had no shrimp, and indeed, saw few if any shrimp breaking the surface of the water ahead of Redfish torpedo wakes - mostly baitfish trying to get away. This may have been part of why the chartreuse color did better than the pink, but then who knows the mind of The Spottail Elvis? I'd like to talk to him. Looking forward to using banked leave time for a trip to the TN - NC cold water streams in May.
Joe Kahler	The HWY-1 Marsh
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No mo "No mo Mo", or "How I Learn to Trust Cows"	04 April 2005
Several members of the Red Stick club converged on Mt Home, Arkansas last Wednesday, for what we had hoped was five days of great trout fishing. Prior to leaving, we knew they'd been generating on all tailwaters, and our hope was that at some point, they'd relent on either the White, Norfork, or Red, just long enough to get some quality fishing in. The first day we all managed to get a few trout despite the Norfork running 1 unit, and White River 6 units. Roger del Rio pointed out that afternoon, as we drove back to the lodge, that half the cows were standing, half were sitting. "As cows do, so do fish", said the all-knowing, all-wise Roger. On Thursday, the weather was near perfect, and more cows were standing. Sure enough, we did a tad better on the White that morning, again despite 6 units. But that afternoon, the cows began to lay down, and sure enough, the Norfork was a bust. On Friday, cold wet windy weather moved in, all the cows were down, and fishing downright sucked. With the cold, the wind, and the generation predicted to remain, some of us said "enough, already" and decided to move to the warmer, sunnier confines of southern Arkansas. In particular, Murfreesboro and the Little Missouri River. Before making this move, we checked with Greeson Dam, and they said "no generation now or this weekend". As we headed from Arkadelphia west, Dave McDougal pointed out that the cows were all standing. Sure enough, we arrived in time to get two hours of fishing under our belt, and caught nearly as many trout in that brief time as we did the previous 2 1/2 days in Mt Home. Saturday morning was picture perfect. We noticed the cows were not only standing, they were acting foolishly giddy. The day started off with a prolific mayfly hatch, and ended with midges blanketing the air, and trout rising everywhere. Both occasions were cause for breaking out the 3 weights and getting some serious fun with dry flies. In between, Dave and I caught well over a hundred on buggers. Biggest measured off at 15 1/4 inches, and shaped like a football. How we landed him without a gaff, I dunno. At one point, I stood in the stream, looked about at the blue sky, the red, gold, and green of the trees and flowers, let the warm sun soak my body, and made peace with God and the river. No mo Little Mo? Not here! That night, Roger and Kurt Loup met us for dinner, and gave us details on their trip for smallmouth to Winding Stair. Sunday morning we all fished at the Park access, and while fishing a bit slower (1/3 of the cows were sitting), Roger did well on Dave's "Jedidiah" fly, as did I on a size 16 grizzly Parachute Adams. I met up with Jeff Guerin, and he and Sandy were also having a good day on the dry. Is there anything in life better than standing in a clear stream, catching trout on dry flies?
Catch	Arkansas
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Grand Isle	02 April 2005
Not really a fly fishing report, but I was at GI on Thursday for field work with one of my classes and kids were pulling bull reds and big black drum like it was nothing. You should have seen the looks on my classmate's faces- none are from the US much less La. It looked like most fish were pulled in on cut mullet.
cp	br
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Buras on Wed	31 March 2005
Fished the marsh south of Joshua's marina on Wed - too windy for the fly rod, but did manage to get some really nice specks (10-20 ft off the grass) and a handful of reds (back in the shallow ponds, perfect for kayak) on commie tackle. Amy
AmyG	Baton Rouge
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Good Friday indeed!	27 March 2005
Bream on the brain.. went to Concordia on Friday. Beautiful drive up from BR thru the hills. Arrived at 11am, and launched near LDWF complex. Got a report from another angler that bream were just starting to bite, but tons of boat traffic were keeping them down. He explained that bass were on last leg of spawn, and four fish over 10 pounds had been caught in last two weeks. Sure enough, between boat traffic and a strong south wind, fishing early on was sluggish. While bites were frequent - the float would bob around a lot - they just wouldn't eat the jitterbee under the float. Switched to fluff butt on occasion, and caught more bass than bream! Paddled to the stump field on the north end, where bass boats had to slow down, and found the gobbules a bit more accomodating. Around 3pm, wind went slack, bass boats were few, and the gobbules went berzerk. Switched to a size 10 Miss Prissy and started nailing nice bream. On the way back to launch I could see bream busting bugs around the docks. Ended day with 28 bream and 2 yellow bass kept, with dozens more bream and two largemouth released. Hope it's like this again in two weeks!
Catch	Ferriday
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Big Fish on Fly	27 March 2005
Had good trip with Scott Avanzino Saturday. Fished Lump Caught many Bonito/Little Tunny. Midday some big sharks were in the chum Frank Genusa and Gary Parrish hooked couple 8-10 footers,after about an hour the leaders wore out on sharks sandpaper hide.It was entertaining to watch them dance around cockpit trying to keep from fouling the fly lines. Oliver Boyd and Dr.Chip Metz caught a good share of Bonito also.Heavy fog early, no wind till 1:00PM. I did get a small 4' shark to boat.
del Rio	Midnight Lump
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PUDDLING REDFISH	26 March 2005
A-TEAM WAS OUT OF ACTION ON GOOD FRIDAY SO C-TEAM HAD TO KEEP PRESSURE ON THE REDS..WAS AT 1ST BRIDGE AT FIRST LIGHT..BEAUTIFUL!!!! NO BOATS..WENT TO OMNI BUT NO FISH..FOUND 3 ALONG SOUTH BANK OF POND..HOOKED ONE BUT IT CAME RIGHT AT THE CANOE AND SPIT OUT THE CIRCLE HOOK BLACK CHARLIE..THEN RETURNED TO THE SCENE WHERE IT WAS REPORTED THAT I TURNED THE PACK OVER..BUT STILL CAUGHT THE FISH...TAILS EVERYWHERE..LANDED 4 IN A ROW. 2 8#,1 6# AND 1 4#..KEPT THE 6#AND THE 4#..WIND CAME UP ABOUT 10:30. "FWW&R" MUST HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT FISHING. DIDN'T SEE BUT ONE MORE FISH IN ABOUT AN HOUR AND HE SAW ME AT THE SAME TIME .CALLED IT A DAY AND BEGAN THE SUICIDE RUN HOME TIRED BUT HAPPY....
JIM T.	HWY ONE
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Offshore Report	24 March 2005
A friend of mine went offshore with fly rods this week, his report was "rough as snot. Caught 8 blackfin, 3 kings and about 50 albies and hooked one monster yellowfin that popped off as soon as it hit." Happy holidays - saltwaterflyfisher
Mark Rumph	Venice
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Big bream moving in	23 March 2005
On our way to Houston, we stopped at the Park Lake in Jennings to stretch our legs and make a few casts. The bluegill were staging in 4-7 feet of water, and a fluff butt allowed to sink count of 10 then stripped in tiny strips (or one slow strip) did the trick. In 15 minutes, caught half-dozen bruisers, biggest weighed exactly 1 lb. Weighed thanks to commie bait angler who was impressed - he had a nice stringer, but nothing as big as the ones we caught on fly. Quote, "I need to get me a fly rod", unquote. He told us this was the first day this spring he's caught enough bream for a fry. We're almost there...
Catch	Jennings
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The Destruction of Louuisiana	23 March 2005
Hey Guys again. Heard anything about something going on around Mansfield? It's a strip-mining project for coal - and the results will be exactly like what happened to eastern Kentucky over half a century ago. Heard about the proposed LNG projects offshore? As is, they will kill more fish than the gill-netters could ever have hoped for. Isn't that lovely? And the CCA isn't concerned! Heard why? Because Louisiana folks allow stuff like that to happen! Does anyone elae care about our state - and our rights to fish places like the Pushe, Calcasieu Lake, and - possibly - the Chandeleur Islands? Come on, guys, we are sinking, and in more ways than one. HELP! Pete
Pete Cooper, Jr.	Buras. La.
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News	22 March 2005
Hey Guys - Spent last weekend at the Chandeleurs on Bart Haddad's boat, "Southern Way" out of Long Beach, MS. Great weather, good sight fishing for reds in surf-side cuts through the big island the first day. On the second we got into a school of fine specks off the big North Island - chartruese and white Clouser Minnows with lots of silver flashy strips (Not mine, but some California dude's - he waxed me!). News from Calcasieu Lake. Jeff guided a couple of folks to some new spots in the speck fly-fishing division of the record book a couple of days ago. The biggest was 8.4 or something like that. Eat your hearts out! Will be over there the second week in April to see if I can best that one. Doubt it, but I must continue to try. Tight lines you all!
Pete Cooper, Jr.	Buras, La.
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Could not ask for more!!!	19 March 2005
If I could bottle the kind of day I had fishing yesterday, I'd be a rich man. Yesterday was, without a doubt, the best sight fishing I've had in a couple of years. I fished with Capt. Bryan Carter (504-329-5198) just south of Myrtle Grove and had non-stop action from around 9:30 until we quit around 2:30. When the day was done, we had boated a couple of dozen fish with 4 or 5 going 10lb's or better and there was a heart-breaking 20+pounder that shook loose. The sun was out, the wind was no where to be found and Redfish just couldn't hide from within 70 feet of the boat. I have never seen a bite like this. I don't know if we had just the right fly, if we were casting better than usual, or if the planets just aligned, but whatever happened, I hope it happens more often. The fly we were using was a fly Bryan had tied that was almost a mix between a Borski P.M. Crab and a Mangrove Critter and was just perfect. We really simply had to just put it somewhere in the vacinity of a Redfish, give it a big initial yank to get thier attention and they were all over it. Bryan's girlfriend Milly was on board with us and even made the comment, "It just doesn't seem fair. It's as if the fish have no choice but to eat the fly". Friends, that's good fishin'! I highly recommend giving Bryan a call if you would like to experience Louisiana Redfishing at it's finest. I can't guarantee sight fishing conditions like we had yesterday, but I can guarantee a wonderful fishing and learning experience with a top-notch guide. P.S. Keep your eyes out for a new Scientific Anglers Mastery Series Redfish Taper fly-line. I tried out an experimental version yesterday and was absolutely thrilled with it. I'm not sure when it will be out, but as soon as it is I will post it in the forum. Take care and tight lines. Alec
Alec at Uptown Angler	South of Myrtle Grove
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Plan B means "Bass"	14 March 2005
Nick Curcione and I decided to punt on a marsh trip after hearing 20-25 knot winds forecast. Instead, we opted for Plan B, which included sleeping late, enjoying coffee and beignets, and then heading to the protected waters south of Ruddock. We arrived at 1pm, water was a bit dirty, tide was extremely low. Fishing was dead slow, especially for bream. Then Nick tied on a gold foam popper, and his luck changed completely. He picked up a few bass along the main canal, then we slipped into a backwater where small bass were busting minnows everywhere. By the time we left this spot, Nick had numerous strikes with 7 fish landed. Most were 10"-12" but one went about 2lbs. After that, the action slowed down considerably as clouds moved in and skies darkened. I paddled us back to our launch site where the "state birds" were there to welcome us. We're about 2 weeks from great fishing at Hwy 51 canals. In the meantime, get Deet!
Catch	Ruddock
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Another F.... "Day After"	14 March 2005
Another "Fine" Day After RSFF Conclave: Well, we're two for two. As I recall, last year the day after RSFF conclave was COLD and BLOWING! So cold that Crystal Murray, one of our speakers, from The Sunshine State, was literally trembling at the launch. If not for her intestinal fortitude, and the expertise of one of the RSFF "Ahabs" who guided her (Steve Lee), she'd have gone home thinkin' there are no fish in LA. This year: I put in at Galliano at sun-up in pretty stiff winds (10-15). I fully expected Catch Cormier and Nick Curcionne to be pulling up behind me at any minute, but such was not to be (Catch apparently has better judgment that I). I cast to a couple of nice redfish - early, while the light was still orange, but they were very spooky, and the gusting wind confounded my efforts to place the fly (Black Charlie) where I thought they would've been most interested in it. Water was fairly skinny. I paddled back into a couple of spots that were protected by trees and where the water was relatively deep and flat, but I found no reds. On the return trip at least the wind was at my back, as it rose by the minute. No fish to be seen - blind casting various colors to "likely spots" produced nothing. Despite the now strong (15-20) Southwest wind, there was a falling, more and more turbid water level. Everything seemed to be falling apart, so I headed back to the launch and made my way down to the 1st Bridge to see how much worse it could possibly be. It didn't seem to be that much worse . . . or that much better, and sitting in a comfortable, padded seat (in The Runner) felt so good that I blew off a re-launch and headed to Estay's for "a sure thing": nice, fresh shrimp at a good price. Oh well, maybe the RSFF club will get a break next year and be able to show off our marsh-land fisheries to the conclave speakers. We're due for a break.
Joe Kahler	The HWY-1 Marsh
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Water Falling in Spillway	10 March 2005
I heard this morning that grand river began to fall considerably night before last. I checked a couple of websites and they all support the report I heard. One projection indicated that the atchafalaya could fall up to 1 ft at bayou sorrel by early next week (with no rainfall taken into consideration). This weekend could be awesome if the weather cooperates. I know that there is at least one big bass tournament in the spillway this weekend, so there will be crowd.
William	Spillway
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Promising signs: Carpe Diem	06 March 2005
Saturday morning I fished with Danny Williams. The flat we started out on had good numbers of redfish, but they were being real lethargic and inactive. Most of the fish didn't move until we ran over them with the boat, and because the water was a little dingy, and the sky overcast, we couldn't see them until they moved. We saw a couple of fish kind of tailing, and made good presentations, but couldn't get them to eat. At around 10 am we moved to another flat, there were a decent number of fish there, and a few more were actually being active. We caught 3, Danny a 9.5 pounder, and I had 2 over 6. When I got home Sat afternoon, I got a call from Dave Falk, he was fishing about a mile or 2 north of where we were and said he saw a bunch of redfish tailing, pushing wakes and showing clevage, but they wouldn't eat. Sunday morning Dave and I went to the flat where he saw the fish. As soon as we got there we started seeing fish pushing water, and showing backs in the distance. Dave poled me toward an active fish, and I made a bunch of good presentations to him, but he wouldn't eat. Finally the fish swam right under the front of the boat, I looked down and saw that it was a great big CARP! The carp were all over the flat. Salinity levels are super low right now because of recent rains, and the flat we saw the carp on has a coulee that comes out onto it. We're pretty sure the carp came out of the coulee with the rain. We played with the carp for a while, and I got one to pick up a tiny merkin crab, but missed him. Since we only had redfish flies with us, we figured our chances of catching a carp were slim, so we started poling down a bank away from the carp. About a hundred yards from where the carp were we saw a couple of nice redfish moving and caught them both. Imagine, redfish and carp on the same flat!! We were then going to run to the flat Danny and I had caught the fish on Saturday, but Dave spun the hub on his prop, so we headed in. I'm excited about the numbers of redfish we saw this weekend. As the weather warms more and more redfish will be moving onto the flats, and they will get more active. The key was bait. The redfish were where there was and abundance of bait, particularly very small shad about an inch long.
Ron Begnaud	Calcasieu Estuary
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Reds	05 March 2005
When I arrived at the public landing the first thing that caught my eye was the few cars in the parking lot- only a handful for such a pretty day. I started fishing for specks and after having no luck, I thought that was probably why. I switched gears and decided to cruise the marsh for reds. The water was clear and the wind wasnot too bad. After reading Pete Cooper's book, I realized that I had not tried poppers on reds in a couple of years and decided to give one a try. I managed to get 4 good gulps on it and even though none of them made it into my kayak it was a thrill to watch them turn on the popper and hit it. I switched to Marc Pinsel's 4M fly in the afternoon and did land one. I have used this fly extensively over the last few months and it is rapidly becoming my favorite redfish fly. Ther were quite a few redfish, I had legitimate shots at 10-12, and if the wind would have been a couple knots slower, could have thrown at 20-25. Sheepshead were everywhere and I saw more sting rays than I ever have on a single trip. For some of you just getting started, what works well for me is taking along 2 rods, 1 is a fast 6 wt. with 7 wt line to which I attach a clouser under a vosi and use for specks, and the other is a 7 or 8 wt with 8 wt line to which I attach a charlie, 4m or popper or whatever and use for reds. Lately I have been using a TFO Cr 7 wt with the new Orvis mid-arbor reel and have been very pleased with it.
Jeff Machen	Golden Meadow
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Bottled water	02 March 2005
Hey Guys - Here's something to think about. Rick Long is a biologist I served with in a committee of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to create an updated management plan for the Gulf striped bass. It made me take a good look - and there will assuredly no longer be any bottled water in the Buras Cooper's household! -----Original Message----- From: Long, Eric [mailto:eric.long@MyFWC.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 12:52 PM To: VanderKooy, Steve J. Subject: RE: still more Striped Bass stuff I am not familiar with Pascale (1974) or Rosenau (1977). I do know R. Long, and generally think he is full of ...., however in this particular instance he is correct. Something that I learned of recently, at least one spring in Holmes Creek has been closed off and water is being pumped out for bottling and selling - probably destroyed at least one Gulf striped bass thermal refuge. Attempts are being made to get permits to do the same at others. Add that to your list of habitat threats to Gulf striped bass! For those of you that like to drink your bottled water, you are probably contributing to the demise of more than one threatened or endangered species. I also noticed an article on the MSNBC web page ref problems with disposal of all those plastic water bottles - apparently they don't recycle well and mountains of them are being created. Pete again. This is in reference to a Florida problem, but it assuredly applies here! Think about it.
Pete Cooper, Jr.	Buras, La
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What a difference a day makes!	28 February 2005
Whoever said "wind from east, fish bite least; wind from west, fish bite best" deserves a monument. I failed to mention that Joe and I started out Saturday on my neighborhood lake, with not even a bite. Sunday the wind switched to the west, and although it was quite brisk, I caught nearly as many fish in one hour as I did all day Saturday! Some good sized bream and even one bass fell for a gold-ribbed hare's ear size 14 fished two feet under a vosi. The "gobbules" displayed early season vigor, running like small sheepshead and bending the Temple Fork 2 weight in double!
Catch	BR
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Black Lake, Brett 2, John Catalanotto	27 February 2005
Joe Kahler and I hit Black Lake yesterday am. Once again, the weatherman deserves capital punishment for being an enemy to all mankind. Instead of sunny and warm, it was cold and windy. In the immortal words of the late Lynn Tolleson, "the action started off slow, but then just like that, it died". Too bad because we did start off with some nice bream, 7" range, and Joe even managed a bass. Nobody else was even catching fish. Around noon, we headed to Hwy 51 and hit a couple of the road cuts with no success. Joe went home, and I continued south to Ruddock. South of Pass Manchac, sacalait fishing had been good that morning. I was running late to Uptown Angler to see John Catalanotto, but by nature, had to make a few casts. A couple of bream later, this young black man came over and told me he'd been given a fly rod for Christmas and that he'd like to know how to use it. Per my column in this month's Sportsman, we shall call him Brett 2. Same fiberglass rod with 5 guides, level fly line, and a 2 foot leader. I replaced his leader and showed him a couple of knots, gave him a couple of fluff butts and vosis. We worked on his casting and fishing technique a bit. Session ended when he hooked into something big (looked like a bass), that doubled his rod, and broke him off. Me thinks we've made a true convert to our fraternity! I then had to rush off, and made it to UA only an hour before closing. John was still there, fortunately, and I got to pick his brain a bit. He's been teasing this potential state record bass (fly rod). Where it is, I'm not telling. He also said he's been targeting big specks around the Trestles and well, let's just say he's as deadly as Dudley! If you want his secrets, UA sells John's booklet for $3.
Catch	Maurepas
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Northshore Blues	26 February 2005
Friday afternoon was beautiful, so I thought I'd sneak out to Big Branch Marsh (again) to try for some fishes. Tugged on my hip boots around 3 p.m. and headed toward Goose Point casting poppers and clousers over the oyster beds and into the pockets along the shore - NADA - got some sun, enjoyed the scenery, saw no fish or bait - may go back out tomorrow morning for a walk in the water - any tips would be welcomed - Also, the bass and bream are starting to hit topwater over here in Slidell -
Mark Rumph	Slidell, LA
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2nd big bass caught in Central Lafourche	25 February 2005
A 10-pound, 2-ounce bass was reported caught on Tuesday in Lake Fields, just off Bayou Lafourche in Lockport. The fish was caught on conventional tackle and was not released. The type of lure used was not reported. This is the second such bass-catch reported in Central Laforche in the past 60 days. The earlier report put the other 10-pounder in Bayou Laforche near one of the Raceland bridges (they have 3, including H'way 90). Could there be more?
Jeaux McMahon	Thibodaux
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Not a creature was stirring, except for big Trout	22 February 2005
I have been living here for a little over three years now and it never ceases to amaze me the plethora of fly-fishing opportunities that present themselves around each corner. Last night as I was closing the shop, a friend and fellow laflyfish report poster, Greg Dini, called to see if I was interested in fishing Lake Pontchartrain for the evening. I could not pass this up as I remember reading and hearing great fishing reports from Greg about this time last year. I have never fished under lighted docks before and was not sure what to expect. I was most pleasantly suprised to find out that we didn't run more than a few hundred yards all night and absolutely hammered nice trout around every lighted dock. Of all the trout we caught, there were very few that would not have been keepers and there were a good 1/2 dozen that went 2-3 pounds. The fly of choice was anything chart/white (imagine that). Anywho, for more information on fishing opportunities around the city, including those on the South and North shores of Lake Pontchartrain, don't miss John Catalanotto at the shop this saturday for "Urban Angling, in and around New Orleans". Take care and tight lines. Alec
Alec at Uptown Angler	New Orleans
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Little Mo - Mo, Bigger, Better?	21 February 2005
Another great Fly Fishing Fest by Jeff Guerin and company, probably 80-90 folks showed up. The culmination of the event was Saturday night's presentation with the state trout biologist, district biologist, and Corps of Engineers representatives. About forty hardcore Mo enthusiasts showed up, which really impressed these folks. Stan Todd of AFGC said they are in the process of implementing management plans for trout waters, with the LM starting this fall at earliest. The public will be allowed to state their desires and suggestions, and those will be weighed against scientific data and angler surveys. Todd told attendees that all suggestions will be considered for "more, bigger, better" trout. After Sunday's outing, I can't imagine it being more better, perhaps bigger. Even so, the trout that rose to my size 14 parachute adams were all chunky fish in the 11"-13" range, and as Jeff might say, fought like wet cats. Although the river was draped in a thick fog all day, the march browns were popping up, especially in the afternoon, and made for some fun observing. As always, the joy of the Little Mo is sharing the stream with it's occupants, in this case, a deer, a raccoon, and an osprey all within a hundred yards of where I stood.
Catch	Murfreesboro, AR
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Caernarvon	16 February 2005
Went to the Caernarvon canals today with Capt. Bobby Warren - gates apparently wide open. Found extremely high and mostly dirty water east - didn't even try west. Had one hit from a very aggressive fish on a foul-hooked piece of hyacinth - no hook-up. No wonder! Bobby got one on a spinnerbait and lost one on a J&P. Lots of old spots blocked off by new bulkheads and dams. Why?!? Greedy Del. Corp. bastards don't want anyone out there doing anything at all, I guess. Whatever, will NOT go back again for a WHILE! And I recommend you don't either.
pete cooper, jr.	Buras, la
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Bass on Beds	14 February 2005
I fished the catch & release pond at Waddill saturday pm. Caught 2 nice bass on size 4 clouser (olive over white). The fish were active but spooky. I think the exceptional water clarity had something to do with the spookiness. I had to go to a flouro leader before I got a single strike. I was picking up late in the afternoon (right at closing) and i noticed two different pairs of bass cleaning off the bank and getting their nest ready. They were not the least bit concerned with me. They were even considerate enough to set up shop on the north side of the lake right in front of a bench. Their timing definetly left something to be desired. I don't know what the nasty weather sunday did to them...but I would recommend heading back out asap this week. I definetely will! Tight Lines... William.
William	Waddill Lake
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The boys are back!	13 February 2005
After taking care of some home duties yesterday am, grabbed the long rods and headed out. First to the 'hood lake for an hour, where the gobbules kept rising to Jake's Bread Fly. Clouds moved in and action stopped, so I decided it was sacalait time. Loaded the canoe and headed to Black Lake. Lots of gobbule action there also. Even a popping bug took fish! Then right at dark, finally one small sac on a black/chartruese fluff butt. Water was coming in from the Blind, so conditions are still not ideal.
Catch	Maurepas
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Big Reds	13 February 2005
Like Randy and Dugan, I could not pass up a perfect wind forecast. Went down near Elmer's Island. The wind was none existant. The water was like glass. I figured that it would be easy to spot fish moving. Wrong. I did not see a fish for the first hour and a half. On the way down, I was listening to Don Debuc (sp)and one of the fellows at Marsh Masters said that the reds were way back in the ponds. I started going into the ponds but there was a thick algea bloom and no fish. So I went deeper into the marsh, away from the main canals, and found ponds with no algea and clear water. The reds were not showing themselves. They were just cruising, very slowly, but there were several at the end of each pond. Using a Black Charlie, I was able to catch several in the 28 to 32 inch range. What a fight in a small area. It was great. The wind stayed in the 1 to 5 knot range all day. And nobody else around.
Mike LaFleur	Highway 1
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Slow Bites	13 February 2005
Randy Leonpacher and I took advantage of the first good weather Saturday in weeks for a fishing trip to the canals and marshes in the Cafish Lake/Golden Meadow area. In deference to the cold weather (morning temps in the 40's and 30's on the previous mornings), we didn't start fishing till around 9:30AM. Wind was slack in the morning but built up to 5-10 from the SE in the afternoon. The weather was overcast and it all made for cold boat rides. The water was cold! Specks were reported from Catfish Lake the days before but we found not a single fish for our efforts. But after looking for them for a while, we finally found some specks in one of our favorite canals on the east side of Catfish Lake. And as with Ron B's report from Calcasieu, we found that because of the cold water the strikes were coming on the "in between". We were fishing with regular line and leaders under a Vosi strike indicator and found the strikes came most often after we "popped" the vosi and let it sit a few seconds. Typically they hit immediatly after the popping sound of the vosi. We used classical chartruse and white color clousers. And like Ron, we ended with about 8 keepers but not in Calcasieu size. Instead ours were in the 13-14 inch range. Threw back several under size fish. But they were good fighters on our 5/6 wts and it was also good to get out in some rare nice winter weather and feel some tight lines.
Dugan Sabins	Golden Meadow
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Saturday Morning Specks	12 February 2005
This morning Danny and I went to Calcasieu Lake looking for specks. Conditions were perfect early, little to no wind, decent water clarity and no other boats where we wanted to fish. We started making a drift in about 5 feet of water over scattered shell. Danny started out with a "Catch 2000" on a conventional rod to "locate" the fish. He located a couple of trout pretty quick and joined me with a fly rod. There was a decent bite on for about an hour and a half. We caught 8 specks in the 20"-22" range, but also lost a couple we had on, and missed a lot of strikes. The missed strikes were due in part to the fact that the fish were hitting the fly on the pause. We were getting bites fishing sinking lines, with baitfish patterns that were close to neutral buoyancy. All but one fish hit while the fly suspended between strips. Of course this meant they were hitting while there was slack in the line, that's why we missed a lot of them. I was fishing large bucktail Deceivers in Chart and white and Chart. Blue and white. Danny was fishing an E.P. style baitfish in Chart. Blue and White. I was fishing an intermediate sink tip, Danny was fishing a full sinking line, with a faster sink rate, so he stayed deeper and got more hits. After about an hour and a half, the bite just shut down. Just about all of the fish were caught in an area about 50 yards square. It was a very nice morning, and it was great to feel a tug! Tight Lines, Ron
Ron Begnaud	Calcasieu Lake
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Little Mo, not-so-little trout	06 February 2005
Joe Kahler and I made the right call. This weekend at the Little Mo was the first time in nearly a month that the generators were off. And just as predicted, the fish went nuts. Saturday we each caught around 40 during the morning session. The afternoon session Joe went to dry fly (early March Brown hatch) and had limited success, while I aided a youngster to his first fly rod-caught trout (5 total). Sunday we braved the drizzle, the fish weren't nearly as active. We still caught about 20 each, and Joe managed to hit again on dry fly action (yes, another MB hatch!). This year they are stocking slightly larger trout, and 30 days of high water have made them bigger and stronger. Most were 12" but Joe had one yesterday that probably went 16 (didn't have his net and lost it trying to grab it), and today I had one that was landed and went 14 1/2. Both those fish ran line off several times, and took forever to land! You knew these were "veteran" river fish - probably stocked in the fall - because they were richly adorned in red, green and purple colors. With the C&R zones in place, hopefully enough Mo trout will be big and bright when the Caddis hatch begins next month. On a side note, it was the maiden trip for my Sage DS2 8'6" 4wt 4pc, and just casting this rod was half the fun of it all. I also had a chance to use Steve Lee's TFO Pro 8' 2wt 4pc and even an 8" trout (the smallest either of us caught) felt like a 2lb speck!
Catch Cormier	Murfreesboro, AR
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greedy redfish	03 February 2005
Hey Guys! A few days ago I caught an 18-inch red. In its stomach was a 6-inch mullet that had just started showing signs of being digested. Go figure. Hey, it's a report! Pete
pete cooper, jr.	buras, la
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Nice going, Greg	03 February 2005
Good to see there are still some "combat fisherman" amongst us! Everyone else is waiting for better weather, but you proved there's fish to be caught NOW. Looking forward to seeing the Green Wave here at the Box on March 8. Despite what you might read on some internet sites, we Tiger Fans really do hope you guys live up to your ranking and kick butt (well, except against us).
Catch	Baton Rouge
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Monday afternoon redfish	02 February 2005
went to myrtle grove monday afternoon, got a late start after class and headed out to the launch with fellow teamate Ricky. Only brought commy tackle only because my buddy didn't know how to pole and the forcast was for 10-20. Fished the ponds, water was very high, I guess that is unusual for this time of the year because the last time I went out every flat I usually fish was out of the water atleast a foot. Got to fish some spots I havnt been able to get to before and found a number of schooling fish as close as you could get to hwy 23, could have hit a cow with the gold spoons we were throwing. Ended up boating 5 nice keepers with the biggest one weighing 8 lbs. Fish seem to be in the ponds so hopefully we can get some DECENT weather and catch a good day of fishing in the next couple of weeks. We open our baseball season up Feb 11th at Turchin Stadium so maybe you can come out and support the Green Wave Baseball Team.* Tight Lines!
Greg Tulane Baseball	Myrtle Grove
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Belize Bonefish	24 January 2005
Just returned from a 7 day cruise with my bride. We went to Progresso, Cozumel, and Belize. We shopped in Progresso, experienced some unbelievable snorkeling in Cozumel, and Fished in Belize. By the time we got off of the boat and met our guide, it was just after 9am. I was hoping to get into some tarpon in Belize, as my guide Richard Young had been having good success with big tarpon at the mouth of the Belize river lately, but a strong front came down with us and messed up the Tarpon fishing, so we adapted and hit the bonefish flats. Caribbean Bonefish are pretty easy, if you can see them they aren't particularly difficult to catch, as long as you are able to make a decent presentation out to 50 - 60 feet (most of the shots were actually closer, in the 40 to 50 foot range). We caught 5 bonefish including my wifes first ever (she caught hers on a jig on spinning gear). I caught one bonefish on a size six tan Shwimp with a pink "hot head", the rest were caught on a small size 6 merkin crab. I also caught a small cuda. We saw some huge cuda on the flats, a couple of snook pushed way back in the mangroves, and while idling off of a flat, we spooked a big school of BIG permit. It was a great trip, temps around 80 with bright sun. I need to go back when I have more time to fish, as we had to catch the tender boat back to our ship at 4pm.
Ron Begnaud	Lake Charles
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Friday wasn't a washout	23 January 2005
Managed two decent bass and one midget bream at a little pond before the weather turned on us again. Hadn't been out in weeks, took my cane Granger Victory for a little late-evening relaxation. Spring's still just too far away.
RStouff	St. Mary Parish
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Final tally: bait shrimp 11, clouser 10	21 January 2005
If you don't count the drum, then it was a tie, 10 reds each, mostly under 18". The clouser led for most of this morning. Every time "Commie" Kevin would catch a red on his bait, "Clouser" Catch would shortly land one on fly rod to stay ahead. Even the big fish category ended a tie, we each had one just over 6 lbs. Coz (Kevin) pulled it out with late 4th quarter heroics - as we were heading in, he spotted a large back along the shore. One of the very few backs or tails we saw all day. I put the canoe in position and he made the most of the opportunity. Shame he did it with commie tackle. I let him slide because he's been away from fly casting for a year. Next trip he uses the long rod.
Catch Cormier	Bayou Ferblanc
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Fly tying and Little Mo report	18 January 2005
Didn't go fishing yesterday, but my precious time wasn't wasted - I tied flies instead. A couple dozen clousers, Coma Cocahoes, and pink Charlies, along with a batch of pencil poppers (waiting to be epoxied). Some will go to donations for the AFR seminar, the Little Mo Festival, and Red Stick Conclave. Others will spend time in my box waiting their turn to battle reds, specks, and drum. There's still much more left to tie: SR71 woolybuggers, beadheads, jitterbees, fluff butts, cap spiders, Tom Nixon spinners, Sqwirms. IOW, all the freshwater stuff. While tying yesterday pm, Meg (a new member of the local club) stopped by on her way back from the Little Mo. It was her first trip to southwest Arkansas, and she really enjoyed the scenery and being able to wade a rocky stream for trout. She only caught and landed 6 up at Albert Pike, but fishing was slow for everyone, and "ice on the guides" didn't help.
Catch
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The Pushe	15 January 2005
Mr. Cooper, Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I was offshore the past two weeks. They decided that the reservoir would go on site two. It will be on the Bogalusa creek. Thank you for you help saving the Pushepetappa Creek. Rory Schwegmann --- flyguy@cmaaccess.com wrote
pete cooper, Jr.	buras, la
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Imperfect weather forecasting & a few specs for the box	10 January 2005
Dugan & I headed down Saturday morning for what was supposed to be a day with 5 to 10 knot SE winds, 70 degree highs, cloudy in the AM and Sunny PM. Well, the weather folks got 1 out of 4 right.... we did see the sun for a few moments on Saturday. Winds were 10 to 15 on the back of a cool northeaster. Upon our mid morning arrival, the word from fellow collecting the funds at the boat launch was that a few specs were being caught in the lake. We immediately headed up to our usual starting spot on the north end of Catfish lake. There we found a few trout but all were under 12. We then headed over to the western side of the lake and managed to find a few fish in the 13 to 14 inch category. Winds picked up, fishing slacked, and after tossing about a dozen in the box we decided to try our luck (with commie gear) in Bayou Blue bottom fishing. No luck with the commie gear on Bayou Blue. Also, no luck in a nearby deadend canals. So back to the west side of the lake we went where Dugan managed to find an 18 inch trout to add to our collection. After 30 minutes of battling the wind, we moved to the northwest corner of Catfish lake near one of the islands. At the northwest corner we found a few more keeper specs. We then headed back into the canals near the boat launch for a few last minute casts. There we boated one more keeper spec on a black charlie and (Dugan) had a short bout with a red which chose to spit the chartruce clouser back at us. When it was all done we had 21 keeper specs, and tossed back a bunch of babies. All but one of the trout were caught on chartruce clouser under a strike indicator (vosi)... Turns out the early AM report from the boat launch guy (a few fish being caught in the lake) was accurate by our accounts.
Randy Leonpacher	Catfish Lake, Golden Meadow
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the story	09 January 2005
Yes it is true I had to use a pogey to get the dolphin to bite..but I only did it to beat Joe Cerise to the punch..Delrio made a wise choice not coming as he feared the sea and I didnt even call Pete b/c I know his rule - he now goes by 3 feet Pete - and yes the seas were a might bit sloppy although the wind was kind enough to allow a few casts..I was going no matter what the forecast..the thought of seeing a pack of 30-50 pound dolphin was just too much to pass on andit kept me from getting a full nights rest..two things.. this was not a charter trip and I was fishing..after arriving it was apparent that Vic's record is still safe, for now....I have found that this pursuit of a 30 pound dolphin is as elusive as my first swordfish..anyway..though it was a dissapointment to find rough conditions offshore, it was even more dissapoining to find two 20 pound dolphin..we were able to make lemonade in the end and I was thrilled to chum them to the boat..most of the fish were in the 40-80 pound class although I saw two fish come calling, one 120 and the other 150 for sure..think Susan and Gary got a peice of them for a moment..Susan did land a fine fish at 40 pounds after an extended battle..I can still safely say I want no part of a large tuna on fly tackle..well get the dolphin next time..got an email from Dave C. telling me that we'll give it another shot in the spring..
Scott	Cajun Express Platform
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Have aliens abducted our marsh fish?	09 January 2005
Had planned to hit the Leeville and Fourchon marshes yesterday am to fish a little and film some video on tailing and backing fish. Mild, sunny and calm conditions were forecast. Stupid me for getting hoodwinked again! I stopped at the Meadow instead, just ahead of the rain line, and where the ponds are buffered by banks. The marsh was dead quiet. I mean, no backs, no tails, no swirls. Not even mullet. Poled over a few reds, just lying still on the bottom, but not one sheeps or drum. I didn't bother filming; who wants to watch marsh grass? Finally spotted one red drifting a bank, put the fly ahead of him, and he obliged. As I released him, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him being so alone. Turned my attention to specks. Lots of small ones in the canals, ended with 7 keepers, and a few lost over 16" because I didn't bring a net. On a sad note, the trip to and from was spent listening to WWL radio and a tribute to New Orleans sportscasting legend Buddy Diliberto, aka "Buddy D" who passed away on Friday night. Buddy D was the radio beacon that guided us home from hundreds of trips over the years. He will be sorely missed!
Catch	Golden Meadow, LA
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Those were NOT Dolphin!	09 January 2005
OK Scott, you got us to "bite" to join you for the fun trip to target bull dolphin offshore Venice last Friday... As the story goes, Roger elected to pass when the decision was made to take Timmy's 26' Glacier Bay instead of your big boat. Joe Cerise, Gary Parrish, Scott and I headed down river at 5:30 a.m. on a cool, foggy morning with the aid of radar. After a L-O-N-G ride out, we arrived to find that someone had apparently fished this deepwater rig before us, and managed to clean out all the dolphin (except for two) that we chummed up. Scott did hook a nice one, after doctoring his fly a bit with a pogie. Unfortunately, I made a bad gaff shot, sending the fish screaming off to fight again. We moved on to another nearby rig, where we found not dolphin, but yellowfin tuna. It didn't take long for Joe to boat his first football yellowfin on fly, with Gary following up with his close behind. A bit later, I joined the action, boating my first YF on fly on a blue and white streamer tied on a 4/0 MUSTAD circle hook. Thirty minutes later, we were making another drift near the rig and the BIG BOYS showed up in the chum. Insanity took over as we deployed flies to tuna pushing 150 pounds in over 2000 feet of water!! The clear blue water allowed us to see everything that was going on 20 feet below the surface. I am going to end my story here, so as not to steal Scott's thunder with his post. It was an exciting day of offshore flyfishing and the company couldn't have been better. I enjoyed sharing the trip and a pizza afterwards with Joe, Gary and Scott. Thanks to Capt. Scott Avanzino for a day I will LONG remember!!
Susan Gros	Offshore-Venice, LA.
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the Bite	02 January 2005
It on in Venice boys and girls..even though the Midnight Lump just turned on, I am planning a fun trip to go investigate a report from a rig about a pack of voracious bull dolphin this Wednesday..also may try to sink a fly for a wahoo at the places we caught them this week..Delrio's 2 pound wahoo is going to be tough to beat!
Scott Avanzino	Venice
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