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Congratulations, Pete!	24 August 2005
I think I speak on behalf of just about everyone who casts a fly rod on Louisiana waters when I say "Pete, you are truly deserving of such honor". You've been one of the great influences on fly fishing in this state, and without question the greatest influence on saltwater fly fishing. But your involvement with national publications over the years has made you our defacto ambassador of the sport. No matter where I go, people tell me, "yeah, I've read about Louisiana fishing from that guy Pete Cooper". Your book is the culmination of life's work, and something that no one planning a visit to the Louisiana coast should be without. While it hasn't made it to the Amazon Top 10 Bestseller List, or even the top 10,000 List as of yet, we know all it takes is for Oprah Winfrey to bless it and sales will go thru the roof! (Hint: send her a free copy).
Catch
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award	23 August 2005
Hey guys. I guess this is a legit report, since it does have something to do with fly fishing. Last Saturday "Fly Fishing the Louisiana Coast" was awarded second place in the book category of the 2005 Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association's Excellence in Craft contest. Any book published by a member during the past decade was eligible. It was hard for me to believe, considering it was a fly fishing book from a state where most folks are interested only in meat fishing, bass-busting, and bambi-blasting (Not to say there's a thing wrong with any of the above - it all just makes me that much happier!). And FYI, the river is clear, and the redfish are in it - NOW! Catch some of 'em! Best, Pete
pete cooper, jr.	buras, la
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Hot Time in the Marsh	21 August 2005
Got to the Hwy 1 put-in site about 5:30 am Sat. With a full moon, I had no problem rigging the kayak in the dark, and launched by 5:45, still in the dark. Went about 500 yards and I heard a splash. I put on a pink charlie and put it next to the bank where I thought the sound came from, and POW. They say that the first fish on the first cast means the last fish and you should go home. Since I was only planning to fish until the heat index reach 100, I decided to chance it. It was fantastic. Reds everywhere, plus flounder, black drum and sheepshead. Lots of big reds but was able to cull down a stringer of eating size reds. The tide was raising but still low, so the fish showed themselves. Around 11, the water covered the fish and the index hit 100. Time to go. On the way back, stopped at a shrimp stand in Leeville. Picked up some 16-20 count @ $3.00/lb. I am sure this ice cheat full of fish and shrimp will earn me another yard pass.
Mike LaFleur	Hwy 1
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No boat, no wading stuff, no problem!	20 August 2005
Arrived at the Grand Isle bridge around 1am this morning. Set out my light, and just like the last few night trips, the specks gathered like moths. However, this time they were very closed mouthed. Tried both flies and various commie jigs with little success. Of note... managed to hook up four big specks, but Mike Hess' "Law of Seatrout Lift" prevailed and only one was landed. The other fishermen who had lights also had fish but few takes. Full moon, perhaps? Stayed thru daylight waiting for the big spanish on the incoming tide. Meantime, I met another angler who told me he caught nearly his limit of specks last Saturday off the bridge. He wasn't lying. Around sunrise, schools of baitfish and shrimp began filtering thru the pass, and loads of ladyfish, spanish, and trout would tear into them. I've never seen so many ladyfish (there must've been a fin-shoe sale going on). Getting your clouser past them, and loads of undersized specks, to the keepers was a real chore. But it was fun just the same, total non-stop action. By 10am both the incoming tide and action had ceased, any semblence of a breeze had also disappeared, and it was a steambath! Bottom line: a couple of hundred fish caught, a nice mess of specks in the box, and didn't even have to launch the canoe.
Catch	The Bridge
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REALLY LONG REPORT	17 August 2005
I had a blast at Orange Beach, Al last week. Most notably, I was really pleasantly surprised by the quality of the fishery that the area possesses, as well as the quantity of different areas to fish and species to fish for. I fished with my 9wt using orvis sink-tip line all week.I was able to fish 4 times during my trip, and here are the details:#1- Went to the west jetty at Perdido Pass at daylight. Wind was negligible, and the water was like glass. Clarity was excellent too, I would guess that it was 10’+. The tide was incoming and about 2 hrs from cresting. There was not enough light to feel safe negotiating the large boulders yet, so I waded out parallel to the jetty about 15 feet as I could see large baitfish (looked like pogies) getting busted by something. I fired a #2 chart/wht clouser in to the mix, and was promptly dealt a really strong strike. As soon as I stopped the initial surge, a nice Spanish mackerel came leaping out of the surf to say good morning. I landed him and one more before the venturing onto the rocks. Once on the rocks, I caught 4 more Spanish from 8-14” in the next 30 minutes on the west side of the jetty. I caught these fish about halfway down the length of the jetty at a point where there was one large rock in the water on each side of the jetty. That spot on the west side was the most productive spot I fished all week other than the end of the jetty. As the bait-slingers began to file down the jetty about 7:30, I moved down to the very end. There was another large school of baitfish getting mauled by something, I fired my clouser into the again, and again I got nailed. Unfortunately, that’s all I got. This fish was heavy, fast, and popped/bit my 20’ flouro leader in no time. I hastily retied and fired another clouser into the mix, and got broken off again. A few minutes later one of the bait-slingers landed a large bonito, and I’m assuming that’s what it was. The rocks were getting really crowded then, so I headed to the surf. I should mention that I saw several small pompano working it the breakwaters just off the beach, but could not get one of the little suckers to bite. The beachhead and sandbars are in awful shape after all the storms, and the days of the long, gradually descending wade out are long gone for now. The first sandbar is 75 yds out at high tide, and the water is chest deep 20 feet from the beach. Hopefully it will repair itself in time. The good news is that the fish don’t seem to mind, and in my opinion the larger game fish seem to swim right up to the beach in the deeper water. This could make for some great winter fishing! I walked down the beach, right in front of the hotel, and then caught the 2 largest ladyfish I have ever caught (if you want to call that an accomplishment) right on the beach on pink/wht Lafluer’s Charlies.#2 Fished rocks at the same area as report number one the next morning. Almost identical conditions except a slight SW wind was blowing. I Started out with a sparse #2 chart/wht clouser and immediately landed a fat bluefish. The rascal really chewed up my fly, so I switched to a purple/chart clouser to save my last 2 chart/wht’s. Landed 3 more nice blues on the west side of the jetty before they moved off. I then began fishing the deeper water of the pass on the east side of the jetty, and caught a few small snapper-like critters. Called it a day about 9.#3 Windy conditions kept me off the jetty that afternoon, so I went looking for some backwater. A nice gentleman with the Hotel told me about a really nice public pier on Wolf Bay. The pier is brand new, lit up 24 hrs, has restrooms, and even has a large public park with lots of equipment to entertain the kids. Also, it lies on the southern shore of Wolf Bay, and is completely sheltered from the S or SW wind. (I can post directions if anyone needs them) I was told that the water around the pier is very wadable, but I didn’t want to try it at nite for the first time. The water was fairly clean, but unfortunately I got skunked. The area is worth remembering however, as my source told me that it produces lots of nice specks. To complete my skunking, I went to the parking lot beneath the Perdido Bridge, which is also completely lit up. The wind was just too much and I didn’t last long. This area looked great also. Lots of back casting room, tons of bait in the water (mostly mullet), a few other fisherman around for safety but not too many, and I was told that the area fishes well when conditions are better.#4 I wanted to devote my final outing to catching one of those sneaky pompano, so I spent the morning in the surf. I caught several ladyfish and one small Spanish. No pompano.I was really pleasantly surprised by this area and would recommend it to anyone. You could really do some damage with a yak, but there is lots of boat traffic to contend with. One of the anglers who answered my request for info on the area in the forums, sgalvis, noted that he regularly out fished the commie fisherman here. I agree 100%. Granted the commie fisherman I came in contact with weren’t very experienced, but I out-fished everyone around me…which is nice.In closing, I would advise anyone considering fishing the area to bring lots of flies and extra leaders (I went thru 20 flies and 2 leaders), and if you’re gonna brave the rocks, bring some shoes with good grip and don’t pop-a-top until you get back to the beach. All kidding aside, it’s a pretty perilous hike and you should be careful. Thanks to all those who posted such great info about the area.Beach for kids + outlet malls for wife + fly water for me = :} Tight Lines-Trout.
The Trout Whisperer	Orange Beach, Al Last Week
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Specks are outside	17 August 2005
I puddled near Sportsmans Paradise Monday morning before going with a friend in his boat. The water was murky from shrimping and trout weren't biting. A number of redfish were rising in a flat but couldn't get them to bite.Ran around in the bayous the rest of the day with little to show for it. We hit Barre Tuesday morning and found specks on reefs willing to play. Females were still full of roe.
jeff	Chauvin
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Saturday report	13 August 2005
Fished the beach at Grand Isle on Saturday. Started at day break near Caminada and didn't do anything, except some small ladyfish and jacks. Moved down to the State park later in the morning. After a bit of moving around, I found the sweet spot. Lots of schoolie trout with a few legal size fish mixed in. A sparsely tied (after falling apart from being hit) clouser was the ticket. The fish seemed to bite when there was a current. BTW, it was hot out there.
Jeaux	Grand Isle
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fish kill	12 August 2005
I went to Lecombe Thursday for the first time. They had a bad fish kill there (all shad) that had a pretty good stink going. I also saw a dead Tuna. Too decomposed to tell if it was yellowfin or black fin. I don't think it was part of the fish kill. I did not think tuna came inside. Anyway, caught lots of ladyfish and a few undersize trout.
Wally	Bayou Lecombe
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Trip report	08 August 2005
Took off to Lacombe Friday a week ago to see if the specks were biting. More ladyfish than specks but did manage to get a keeper. I put him on my stringer for a minute to see if his friends were around before wading back to my ice chest in the kayak. Looked down a couple of minutes later to see a shark slowly circling about 6 feet away. It was just a 2-3 foot sand shark and he bolted away when I motioned toward him but it definitely got my attention in the clear waist deep water. I repeated this same episode later and as I was walking in knee deep water fishless I spooked a third smaller shark. Ditto this past Firday, I saw a large reddish shadow cruising the top about 30 feet away and cast toward it thinking it might be a bull red. Later it cruised by close enough for me to see that it was a shark as well. These sharks do not seem aggresive but a fish-laden stringer tangled around the leg is very undesirable and a floating basket with a long cord is definitely the way to go even in Lake Pontchartrain.
JeffM	Lacombe
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Where's the fish?	07 August 2005
Friday night, Steve Lee and I took "The Device", our floating lights setup, over to Lacombe for it's second-ever field test. Along with us in my canoe, we were joined by Mike LaFleur in his kayak. Using the trolling motor, we pulled the device to a potential spot, anchored it off with PVC poles, then awaited 40 or so feet from one light, while Mike anchored off the same distance from the second light. We tried three different locations - shallow grass beds, mouth of Bayou Lacombe, deep water. None produced any baitfish, much less a single fish. Around 4am, we went back to the vehicles and rested until daylight. We then tried all different locations, and much like everyone else fishing out there, didn't do squat. Mike got "angler of the day" for two undersized specks. But that's not to say we didn't catch fish... if you count mullet as fish. The "Ponchartrain Bonefish" were out in huge rafts, and tossing a clouser into a school often resulted into a hookup... if you call "snagging" a hookup. After reading that Texas Fly Fishers are actually getting these things to eat flies, I was hopeful that one would take the clouser legitimately. Still, the big 'uns take you into your backing, and Steve had one that was a "triple jumper". As for The Device, we still think it has a great future ahead of it. We just need to bring it to a place that has fish (which is everywhere but Ponchy).
Catch	Lacombe
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Chicken dolphin on the fly!!	06 August 2005
Went about 65 miles offshore tuesday and found a some floating debris that had chicken dolphin all over it. I caught about 25 chicks on a white/pink clouser with a super fast retrieve. These fish are so awesome to catch on the fly!! Along with the chicks we had a limit of big snapper, limit of AJs, some big kings, and a few grouper on commie tackle and speargun.
Capt.Devin Palomino	Lake Charles
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Size Down in Grand Isle	05 August 2005
Until recently, I had never been to Grand Isle due to mixed reports of the area such as "good fishing but prohibitive length of drive, dirty" etc. Some family recently purchased a camp so we finally went down for the first time two weeks ago to find that the drive from covington was negligible, the area was very clean and amazingly beautiful, and, yes, the fishing was unbeatable. The pattern was tricky, though. We fished among bait fishers and conventional anglers alike at night under the lights with limited success. When we did catch fish, though, they all regurgitated small (half inch at most) cream colored anchovies. After the conventional anglers had given up, I tied on a #8 very sparsely dressed crazy charlie that I had originally tied for Belize. To make short of a long night of fishing, my brother-in-law and I caught numbers of trout very well into the triple digits in a few hours of tossing tiny flies on 5 to 8 weights. Next time there are trout in the aera and the action seems slow, try sizing way down... I'll be close by with my 3 weight.
Stu	Covington
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More insomnia insanity	01 August 2005
Saturday afternoon Jerome Hebert called, said he did great on specks at Grand Isle this week. That was all the excuse I needed. The temptation of night fishing was already too much. Besides, who needs sleep? Loaded my gear, and canoe, and drove to Grand Isle. Arrived at the north span around midnight, to a full house. Tide was coming in, and so were thousands of big crabs. Folks on the bridge were using cast nets and loading ice chests. Moved to the south span, where there were very few folks and few crabs in the water. I've never done well bridge fishing on Saturday nights, and this was no exception. Lots of specks under the light, just not biting. Managed 3 keepers. At first light, moved to the surf, where I caught more crabs than specks on fly rod. Then went to the north bridge. Near peak of the incoming tide, it meant the El Diablos should be in. Those who read my column in the August Sportsman know I'm talking about spanish. Sure enough, they were there, big ones too. Lots of strikes, and five hookups. The first four were lost, two took me into pilings and cut off the leader, the other two made a beeline for the Gulf and eventually cut through the bite tippet. The fifth did similar but was landed. Each time, these fish would rip off line and backing in no time flat. They were still biting when I left to go give the specks in Lake Laurier their opportunity to bend my rod. Other than a couple of reds on poppers in the surrounding marsh, nothing happened the first couple of hours. But as I was coming back in, I noticed an area on the north end of Lake Dosgris where gulls were diving. I paddled to the perimeter, and immediately began catching small specks on a clouser under vosi. Every now and then, they attacked the vosi, so I switched rods back to the popper. After the school disbanded, I continued to catch trout - some very nice ones, too - working the shoreline with the popper. On the way back, stopped at Ruddock off Highway 51 for an hour. Lots of duckweed and lots of small bream on popping bug. I noticed coming back to Hammond that the water looked much nicer, and less duckweed, north of Ruddock. The mind wanted to stop and try, but the body said "no".
Catch	Grand Isle
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Have rod, will travel	30 July 2005
Had to bring my wife and two of my kids down to NO airport this morning. After seeing them off on their flight, I pondered my next course of action: "Do I really have to go home?" Didn't have the Roaming Gnome with me, but he would've felt welcome. Stopped first at the Williams Blvd pier. Water too dirty and no bites, although a lady next to me caught a few small croakers on stink crickets. Next stop: City Park Lake. A few decent bream on olive fluff butt. Next stop: Ponchartrain near UNO along the beach/pier. Water quite clear. Using a Peterson style fluff butt tied on a 1/80 jighead, I managed to catch two ladyfish, two rat reds about 14", and snag a big mullet. The mullet took my 5 weight into the backing. Next stop: Sunset Pier in Mandeville. Caught two ladyfish here, but the big news is we spotted BIG jacks busting mullet. One swam by the pier, and I estimate him to be 20+ pounds! Suggest yakkers that if you hook one of these, you'll be boarding the "Ponchy train". Ha ha. Next stop: Bogue Falaya in Covington. Caught a dozen longears, aka redbellies, lost one bass, and snagged another mullet. Again, a couple of leaps and off to the backing. This mullet snagging is addictive! Will have to start tying flies on treble hooks.
Catch	Everywhere but home
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Irish Bayou Area	25 July 2005
I loaded up the pirogue and headed down to Irish Bayou on the SW side of Pontch on Sunday afternoon. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by a nasty storm that hung around until about 5:45. Once it calmed down, I launched at the NWR launch a few miles down the shell road from the Hwy 11 Bridge. This really looks like a great area. Lots of crabs and bait in the water, very protected area for puddlin' near the main lake, powerline running thru the area about 200 yds from shore, and lots of grass. Water clarity was really bad, but I would attribute that to the wind & torrential rain. I have never fished the area before, so I don't know what the typical clarity is. I put in and paddled the lee side of the pond, which was to the right as you put in or on the NW shoreline for you directionally-oriented folks. There were as many mullet in that pond as I have ever seen, lots of ladyfish too. I caught 1 rat red in a cut off to the right, and then spooked a bigger fish when I drilled his exposed back with my spoon fly. I saw one other keeper sized red just before I pulled out...but I couldn't close the deal with him either. All in all, I was pleased with my first trip to ponch....as I fully expected to get skunked. BTW-I saw one small shark, and one of the bank fisherman caught another small sandshark too. I would definetly recommend this area. I'll be heading back soon.
The Trout Whisperer	Hwy. 11 Bridge / Bayou Sauvage NWR
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Interesting trip across the lake	24 July 2005
Since I don't drive the Causeway on a daily basis like some folks do, I'm not sure if this is common or not. Jake and I were coming back from Uptown Angler, and we decided to take the long way home via the Causeway so as to checkout the lake, particularly the conditions around Mandeville for possible trip this week. The lake was as flat calm as I've ever seen it, and about 5 miles from the south shore we saw baitfish boiling on top the water, with something long and silver slashing at them underneath. Now I've caught a couple of spanish mackerel in the lake, but spanish are supposedly very rare in these brackish waters. But if I didn't know better, this had all the earmarks of schools of spanish busting pogies.
Catch	Causeway
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SAT.AM	18 July 2005
COULD NOT SLEEP DUE TO A CASE OF HIVES THAT I DEVELOPED ON SAT.(THAT IS ANOTHER STORY) SO I WENT TO THE BRIDGE AND STARTED FISHING AT 3:00. I COUGHT 9 KEEPERS 14"-18" AND LOST SEVERAL MORE TRYING TO GET THEM OVER THE RAIL. AFTER 3:00 COUGHT LOTS OF 10"-11.5" FISH. at day light i headed to galliano, started fishing at 7:30 with a light south breeze and less than one foot visibality water. worked the east shoreline and saw no reds.while moving to another area i spooked several reds out in the middle of the flats, i decided to move about 1/4 mile south and drift back and blind cast the middle (the wind was starting to pick up).as i started my drift i saw a shrimp skipping and made a quick cast to that spot where a 23" red nailed my spoon fly as soon as it hit the water. after landing him i noticed another shrinp trying to grow wings, i made a cast to that spot resulting in a 19" red.not being as dumb as i look i realized that i have found a pattern which resulted in two more reds, a 27" and a 22" before the wind picked up at 8:45 and i could no longer locate the fish and i got my flyline wraped around my troling moter prop (hint; always take a socket and wrench to remove your prop) and had to paddle out. the highlight was a red that was chasing shrimp 30 feet from the boat,after hooking him i fought him for over ten minutes, he took me to the backing three times, i got him to my leader 4 times but he was too big for my net, but every time i got him close he would make another long run anyway, on one pass much to my dismay i saw that i had him hooked deep so i backed off on my pressure but he finally broke off ( the line was freyed) on another long run, which was OK because i was going to release him but i wanted a photo of him first. he was aproximately 34"-36". so if you don't see the fish along the banks try the middle.
MIKE HESS	GRAND ISLE
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Grand Isle Weds nite/Thurs am report	14 July 2005
Arrived last night around 11pm at the bridge. Water was clear and wind was down. First hour was very good for nice specks, put 5 in the box, lost several BIG fish. Then storms moved in around, wind picked up to 15-20, and dirty water started coming in with the tide. Caught 1 more keeper speck the rest of the night, but probably a couple dozen rat reds about 12". Never seen anything like it... reds under a light. This morning the water was milky in the marsh, but clear enough to catch even more rat reds and a couple of flounder from the roadside. Storms kept me from launching The Red Sticker (canoe). I'm here in the library right now 'cause another one is brewing outside. Hope storms subside this afternoon, the surf is looking half-decent. If it calms a little more, will try. BTW, everything biting white/chartreuse clousers. Even had a sheepshead hit it, but lost him (cut my tippet with his teeth).
Catch	Grand Isle
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night tuna bite	10 July 2005
Tom Gilmore came down with 3 friends from the NE US to the Venice area to fish for the elusive yellowfin tuna on fly..Tom is writing a book on flyfishing for tuna and had yet to succeed with yellowfin..after 3 dissapointing trips to NC and our area he finally connected..I expected the same old love and lost routine but these guys got on a bite that was unreal..I expected the bite to be wide open but never the success we had on landing the larger fish..they hooked 12 fish collectively landing four by the book, a 25 pounder a 40 pounder and a 57 and 60 pounder using 12 and 14 wt rods..all but one of them got to land one fish except for one guy who broke off three du to knot failure and one to a rod failure..snap!!!..if that wasnt enough the reel came loose from the reel seat twice..the fish finally came off in the end and jugding by the fight time and bend in the pole..it was probably the best one of the trip..they were using large streamer type flies and 500 and 600 grain sinking line..we were working a chum slick of pogy and blackfin at the Nakika platform 52 miles SE of South Pass..they also released 75 blackfin..the largest fish came to the gaff in 5 minutes, the reast in 30-50 minutes..since they didnt break any world or state records, they wont be submitting any paperwork this time, but Tom was finally able to get a good story for his book!!Still looking for my glow in the dark squid flies!!!
Scott Avanzino	Na Kika Platform
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Just playing around with teeny trout in dried up pools	04 July 2005
Went to Arkansas to spend some time with relatives at a country home in the Mountains in NW Arkansas by the Oklahoma border. In the back yard they had a small creek with a waterfall in the back. Between sitting in the hot tub in the morning and night I played with the fish in the creek. One side had a deeper pool 3ft with bream piled up and the top side had very shallow water trickling thru it but the water was pretty cold. I investigated and it came from a lake up the Mountain which had serious brush around it, if someone could just cut thru the brush to get a canoe in their look out fish. I caught a bunch of teeny 3 to 6 inch trout (locals told me that is what they were0, small looking bass, and a good bit of small bream between sitting in the hot tub. The weather was really nice and cool except for this morining which it rained and I am glad due to the stream needed the water. My wife finally got to see the waterfall which my sister in law was braging about.
James	Mena, AR
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A Hard Night's Day	02 July 2005
Made a night-bridge/day-marsh trip Thursday night and Friday morning. I must've misread the weather report. It said 40% chance of rain. More like 140% chance. I arrived at the Caminada bridge just after midnight on the heels of one storm. Nobody at the north span, so I picked my favorite spot to setup my light. Didn't matter, the water was milky, visibility only a few inches (the storms maybe?). The specks came around the light, but were hard to catch because Cormier's 2nd Law was not in effect ("Clear water favors the flyfisher"). Daylight arrived with only 4 specks in the box. After daylight, with the peak high tide near, thought I'd try for spanish. Saw some busting baitfish, but again poor visibility diminished my chances for a hookup. Just as it appeared the water might be clearing up a bit, in came THE STORM. Four hours later, it was still raining. No, make that pouring. The only boat I saw at the first car bridge was loading up animals, two of a kind. Bear in mind, I'm very patient on my fishing, but even I was ready to pack it home. Suddenly, the clouds broke and rain ceased. Not willing to launch the canoe (still storms on the horizon) I did a little ditch fishing. It happens that Mike Causey, Dugan Sabins and I used to do quite well in the ditch on stormy summer days. Well, some things never change. Caught 2 flounders (one doormat, one released), several small rat reds, several croaker, and a keeper trout, all within a hundred yard stretch across from the Rabalais Hole. All were taken on a white/chartreuse clouser and roll casting... lots of roll casting. Incidently, for those going down to "Sweat and Eat", aka the Grand Isle Weekend later this month, and planning on bringing back some shrimp, the going price for 16-20 count shrimp is $3.50/lb. They even have some 6-10 count for $4.50. Not only cheaper than store-bought, but it helps support our Louisiana shrimpers!
Catch	Grand Isle
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sharks	30 June 2005
All right, guys, lets get some of this shark poop straight. Bull sharks are common along our coast, they are quite comfortable in shallow water, and you are most likely to get involved with one if (A)you are fishing in dirty water, (B) a lot of bait is around you, (C)you have some specks (not reds)on a stringer, and (D) you aren't paying attention to what's going on around you. Conversely, Blacktip sharks seldom reach six feet in length, and those that do are mostly found offshore. Incidentally, a 5 1/2-foot b-t will typically weigh about 70 pounds. Not much, huh? Yes, bull sharks are bad dudes, but I have been fishing in their house for over 40 years and have never - ever! - had a real problem with them. An encounter with one simply leads me to find another spot to fish. Incidentally, I once caught an oceanic white-tip in the Fourchon surf - think that got my attention?! Don't get hyped by all this press scoop, just be careful! Sharks are there. and hopefully they will be there for a long time to come. Again, just be careful. And I will file a disclaimer about all this with my lawyer tomorrow! Catch a bunch (Of specks, not sharks!) Pete
pete cooper, jr.	buras. la
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chandeleur sharks	28 June 2005
I personally believe that flyfishing in the surf ups your chances of shark run-ins. For trout three pounds and up it takes much longer time to land them than with conventional tackle. Whenever you've got a trout just walloping on the surface for long periods of time, the chances of a shark sensing that from a ways away are much higher.. I fish the gosiers and bretons often with my dad and he uses a baitcaster... it always seems to be me who has the problems with sharks. On one occasion I was amateurly playing a 4 pound trout about 7 yards from me when a 6 foot black tip appeared out of nowhere, sky-rocketed out of the water with trout clenched between teeth(the shark probably cleared 5 feet of water) in my direction and landed close enough for it to brush the side of my leg. It amazes me the number of guys I see out there still using stringers instead of the donut style fish keepers. Ive even had a nice sized shark mess with my donut full of fish, but it seemed to be confused and only nudged at it with his nose, he never grabbed it which tells me that they are much less turned on when the fish are behind a dark netting. I plan on getting back out to the islands soon, and will certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for those eery shadows.
justin
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sharks	27 June 2005
Hey Guys - I cry with the folks who lost a child or had one severely injured in the Florida surf the past couple of days, but... I explored the remnants of Grand Gosier today - nothing much above the surface, but shoals, bars, and guts that had promise. And I am certain that the "island" will rebuild. But there we were, out in the middle of the Gulf, in water ranging from calf to thigh-deep, and there were other creatures there too. We were playing - they were trying to make a living, and they, like us, must be forgiven if they make a mistake. I had a bull shark about 8 feet long suddenly appear within 10 yards of me, behind me and plainly visible, and feeling that descretion was the the better part of valor, and the fact that no self-respecting speck would be anywhere near the spot, I hauled butt! But, it was really his place, and I - and the girl - were infringing on it. In the surf we play in his house - and therefore we take our chances. Be careful, and don't cuss the shsrk. The sea belongs to him, not us. Again, though, be careful. Pete
pete cooper, jr.	buras, la
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Lacombe	27 June 2005
Plenty anglers and few fish, put 6 on stringer. Caught specks east of bayou, third cut past rig, on blue clousers. Was first trip in Pamlico 120. Great baot.
Josh
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Thanks, Justin	20 June 2005
For your suggestion. Actually I've used such nets many times before at Caminada and also off piers in Florida (you'd be amazed what I've caught off bridges with fly rod!). But for specks it's not worth it... I really don't want to land those big sows anyway because they're such prolific spawners (and besides they don't fry up as tasty). I figure them shaking off is God's way of keeping me a conservationist!
Catch
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nets for hoisting big trout up from bridges	19 June 2005
Mr. Catch, you may or may not be aware that there are is a type of net made to be lowered down as far as about 20 or 25 ft. down from bridges or rigs to safely hoist your fish up, instead of taking the risk of grabbing the leader or line. My father uses it when fishing on rigs for LARGE trout, and I am sure that there are some big sows at the bridges you are fishing. It just might save you when you hook that new world record sow under the bridge!
justin miramon	mandeville
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The Right Time for Night Time!	19 June 2005
Mike Hess had passed on a report about night fishing the Caminada Bridge, that some big specks were active under lights. That's all I needed to hear. Headed down Thursday night with light and battery (you'll need to bring your own, only a handful of lights on either section of bridge still work). From 11pm to 3am, there wasn't much activity, and only picked up 3 keepers. As the incoming tide slowed down around 3am, the specks started moving in solid. Picked up 15 fish during just those couple of hours, most 13"-16" with one 19". Lost two fish that were much bigger, possibly 4-5 lbs. Just couldn't lift them out the water without them plopping off. (Word of advise: do not lift these fish with fly rod! Instead grab the line and hoist up). Fly of choice was 1/50 oz white/chartreuse clouser. Came back to the bridge after breakfast. Near peak of high tide, the pass is full of big "El Diablos", aka spanish mackeral. Hooking one of these bad boys off the bridge is as much fun as it gets. I had several hit the clouser, then peel off line into the backing in no time flat, only to have them cut off the 40lb flouro double-line bite tippet, or just get off. Did managed to land a couple of "small" diablos around 20 inches. Ended the day very early, stopping on the way back at one of the shrimp stands where they had 15-20 count for $3 lb.
Catch	Grand Isle
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The slip	17 June 2005
Made a trip with Pete V. Cooper Jr. last week before the storm..our crew didnt show so we decided to leave for a late start and take advantage of the calm..pulled skirted ballyhoo on commie tackle nailing some dinner wahoo, well banquet sized fish to be exact..stopped twice to cast on a state record class bull dolphin..Pete got on the bow and I stayed in he cockpit..fish was not the least bit interested in any of our offerings..we chased him around for about 30 minutes slingin 10 and 12 wts at him..he also refused a whole ballyhoo skipped in front of him...also tried to cast on a few triple tail..could only get strikes from the bar jacks also hiding under the pallet..have been catching a whole host of big fish, tuna, wahoo and dolphin on heavy gear..sure my time will come for the big bull on fly..
Scott Avanzino	Venice offshore
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Nice morning on the Pushe'	12 June 2005
I was well rewarded for my 4:00am departure from BR this morning. I have wanted to fish the Pushe since I read a great article by Pete Cooper in the May/June 2003 issue of Louisiana Conservationist. I entered the river at the Hwy 21 bridge just south of Varnado. In 3 hrs of fishing I managed 3 fiesty KY spotted bass and as many bream as I could handle. Some of the perch were really nice. Bass were all near laydowns and shady eddies and the bream were under catalpa trees...and they were stuffed with worms. The creek was excellent downstream from the bridge, but upstream it was really silty with poor visiblilty. I will hit some of the other access points on my second trip. Mr. Cooper, if you read this, thanks for such a great aricle. I'm glad I hung onto it. Tight Lines- wrw
william woodard	Pushe' Creek
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Mama told me there'd be days like this	12 June 2005
My buddy Mike had been looking forward to yesterday and our first trip together this year. Nothing seemed to go right. First, Arlene cancelled our plans for the coast. Plan B was Concordia, far north from the incoming weather. I told Mike we had to get there early before the ski boats arrived. In our rush we forgot the trolling motor, and had to double back 30 miles to retrieve it. Then we stopped for ice, and noticed a flat tire. After having it fixed, we launched at Lakeview Lodge, and motored the canoe to some favorite bream beds a couple miles west. Just as we arrived, so did a barrage of ski boats, including the "Wild Boyz", seven guys sitting in the back of an oversized boat going just under planing speed so they could throw a tsunami-size wake, and running within spitting distance of the docks and cypress trees. Within an hour, there wasn't a single area of shoreline that wasn't dirty. By now the weather had gone down the toilet, and we were battling wind as well as waves. We started to head back, then the rains came. After sitting it out, the lake calmed down, so we decided to fish it out. Mike still wasn't getting any bites on commie tackle, and the jitterbee under a vosi was totally useless. I recalled an earlier trip where wind and waves had pushed the bream out to deeper water, so I switched to a 1/80 oz jighead jitterbee fished "straight" and began catching some decent bream (6"-7") off the bottom. Even so, my luck hadn't changed completely. I somehow managed to find creative ways to lose some big fish, including several catfish and a bass. My next trip will be to any spot where there are no fossil fuel boats.
Catch	Vidalia
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weather	11 June 2005
Hey guys. Looks like we skirted another one. At 2115 Saturday it's dead calm. Tide's a bit high, but that's it. Give a little prayer for those to the east of us - and to HIM who cut us all some slack this time. And now - GO FISHING! Pete
pete cooper, jr.	buras, la
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Belated Memorial Day Weekend Report	10 June 2005
I was fortunate enough to enjoy Memorial Day weekend at the camp on Bayou Penchant south of Gibson. The family and I enjoyed cooperative fishing between T-storms. I found cooperative sacalait and stocky little marsh bass in the Penchant between Superior Canal and Lake Penchant. They eagerly hit my white popper first in open pockets in the hydrilla and coontail (where the commie tackle is useless)and then later out on the outer perimeter of the beds. Caught several bream in Little Carrion Crow sunday morning on the same popper and then got into some HUGE goggleye along the rocks in Brady Canal on Sunday afternoon. Also got some good news...the salinity is apparently at the lowest its been in several years. Nobody seems to know why, but for some reason the salt water has moved out somewhat. That probably explains the super-sized goggleyes. Hopefully the summer storms this year won't push salinity back into this pristine fresh marsh. Tight Lines. wrw.
william woodard	Bayou Penchant
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yuk!!!	10 June 2005
Hey Guys - What a difference a day makes! Yesterday (Thursday) Capt. Scott Avanzino, his buddy Sonny, and I headed out toward SP 93 to get Sonny a marlin on whatevers and Scott and me a bull dolphin on fly. No marlin, though Sonny did get us a couple of fine wahoo for supper, and no bull dolphin on fly, though I had a chance at a strangely-behaving one. I'm proud to say I didn't get catapulted overboard off the bow in the process of trying to cast at it! Anyway, yesterday was fine weatherwise, today my backyard hackberries have been groaning in agony, and I sure hope those tournament-fishing king mackeral anglers now in Venice don't suffer more than they deserve. In other words, stay north until at least Monday! Pete
pete cooper, jr.	buras, la
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All fish, all waters	06 June 2005
That is the motto of the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF), and it well described my weekend trip to the Southeastern FFF Conclave. Left Fri 2am, made a very slight detour to Gulf Breeze. Arrived at 6am. Water in the sound was crystal clear and glass smooth. Either a gold or silver foil pencil popper delivered up about a dozen and a half specks, with many more strikes. Most specks were of good size, between 14 and 18, but there was one monster, weighed in 4.25 on the lip gripper! That's the biggest snaggletooth I've caught in several years, and that alone would've made my weekend. But as Jerry Reed sings, when you're hot you're hot. Just before leaving at 9am, got into a couple of schools of "plus sized" ladyfish that ripped line off and made acrobatic leaps high out the water. My guess is all that new underwater structure is what is attracing the big fish. I'm talking trees, posts, I even spotted a refrigerator! Courtesy of Ivan. At 9am, left Gulf Breeze for Pine Mountain and the FFF Conclave at Callaway Gardens. Spent a couple of hours "conclaving", then headed to Robin Lake. Started off wading the vast beach area, and sightcast a black/chartreuse fluff butt, size 12, to a large school of green sunfish, mostly 7-8 inches long, that kept my rod permanent bent. Dan Archibald of Lafayette was next to me, and he hooked up into a monster chickapin (redear) which doubled his rod. I was using a 5wt, and thought of going back to the Jeep to get my 2wt. Good thing I didn't. My next stop found a bed of "Jurassic Gobbules". Hardly able to contain my excitement over the size of these fish, I creeped up on all fours to the edge of the bank, then flipped the fluff butt out. Hooked up immediately. After a bitter struggle, the sunfish, bigger than a dinner plate, came to the bank. As soon as I released him, made another cast, and again the same results. Unfortunately that was it for the big uns. The rest of the evening was spent sightcasting to little guys - 10"-14" bass and 7"-9" bluegill. I never got a chance to fish Saturday, but one lady who took a guided trip that day on one of their many exclusive ponds caught a huge bass that towed her around in her float tube! Sounds like my kind of fun. Can't wait to go back.
Catch Cormier	Florida, Georgia
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Marsh reds and specks	04 June 2005
Last Friday the conditions in Golden Meadow were excellent- low, clear water, no wind, and reds, singles and pairs, were everywhere in the ponds. The morning started frustratingly as those little sheepshead demons were so spooky and would stir up the water and the reds before I had a good chance to get to them. The ones I did cast to seemed only mildly interested. I did manage one on a popper then decided to switch to a 4M , the fish turned on, and I had a limit in no time at all. The specks were nowhere to be found and I only managed a undersized couple on a clouser under a vosi. After looking at weather reports this Thursday it seemed once again that conditions would be ideal. I decided to try around Lake Laurier, but realized as I was putting in that the water level was very high and not very clear, and sightfishing for reds was pretty much out. I started piddling around, or is that puddling, looking for trout using my patented "blind hog finding an acorn" approach. This has worked well for me but managed only 1 keeper. I came up on a little pond that was literally choked with grass but could see fish playing inside. I put on a popper and got to cast to at least 10 reds in small clearings, the net results were not good as I only managed one violent strike which happened when I was looking somewhere else and 1 red that did a seal act with my popper actually nudging and bumping it with his nose for about 10 feet. I did manage 1 sheepshead on a small pink charlie. On the way back I started "chasing" specks again and at a canal outlet persistence paid off -for 30-45 minutes the specks began hammering my fly and I ended up with about 30, 7 of which were in the 14-16 inch range - a successful day for me along with the 15 count shrimp I bought for 3 bucks a pound in Leesville.
JeffM	Golden Meadow and Beyond
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Leeville	02 June 2005
Put in around Leeville Tuesday in my new Tarpon 140. I did not see a lot of backs, but blind casting Chartruse Charlies in the middle of the ponds produce four nice reds for some fun cajun sleigh ride.Could not find a speck anywhere.I tried the surf on the isle for four days with out a bite. Water was tore up by the many, many shrimp boats.
Wallace Hoover	Baton Rouge
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Saturday Marsh Fishing	30 May 2005
Met up with "Catch", LaFleur, and Steve Lee in the marsh along the Hwy-1 corridor on Saturday at 1st light - actually, we were "unleashing the hounds" (unloading the puddle-craft) before 1st light appeared. Practically no wind, rising to 10-12 MPH later, out of the SE, but still very fish-able. Gnats 'til the wind came up a bit. Lotsa' redfish in the marsh, but fairly high water and an incoming tide all a.m., so most of them weren't showing themselves unless you were able to stand. And they were NOT aggressively seeking flies - I tossed Charlies of every color, as well as a shrimp fly and an amber crease fly (popper) Nevetheless, everyone caught redfish. Others caught 'em on poppers early. In addition to the reds, Catch took many "schoolie specks", but none of the size he'd seen the previous week. LaFleur even hooked a little "flatty". Lagniappe was the 10-15 count shrimp on sale for $3/lb we picked up on the way back. What a great day to be on the water with the Ahabs!
Joe Kahler	The Office
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I don't understand fish at all	23 May 2005
Thought I did, maybe I don't. Saturday Meg D and I fished out of Basons for the Red Stick club's Catch and Eat. We saw lots of fish, but they had issues with our flies - all of them. Tried shrimp, crab patterns, spoon flies, poppers. We worked really hard and still only ended the day with 1 sheeps and 3 reds. Others in the club had similar experiences all along the Highway 1 corridor. We figured it was the full moon. Next morning was flat calm. Couldn't shy down from a such a popper-tunity, even if only a couple of bites. By 2pm the canoe was back on the Jeep, but this time it was complete carnage: 7 reds, 1 drum, and Lord-only-knows-how-many speckled trout, 10-20". Released the reds and drum, kept a "Cormier limit" of specks. One red even attacked my popper sitting in the water a few feet from the boat while I was stringing up a second rod. Such 180 degree change in behaviour - I'm so confused!
Catch	Highway 1 corridor
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Christmas in May	16 May 2005
To followup on Dugan's report I would like to add the following. I launched at about 3pm and was soon getting ample hits both on top and below. I had a 3wt LL tied up with a popper and a parachute adams trailing and a 2wt lined with a vosi and jitterbee. I also would periodically switch from one to the other. I saw a boat slowly pulling up and I at first thought it was just a curious bass fisherman. I was delighted to find out it was instead the BREAM AUTHORITY and the jitterbee originator. They were very gracious and I immediately began asking them a hundred questions and it was worth the trip just to finally meet them. Soon afterwards I found a little cove and the bream must have satrted thinking about bedding because I was getting vicious topwater hits every cast . I probably caught 50-60 in an hour with many being doubles. It was a hoot. About this time another boat pulls up and two older gentleman start engaging me in conversation and then I realize they also are fly fishermen. I asked them if they had run into or knew Dugans and Randy, to which they replied no. They were from the Gonzales area and flyfished around there for bass mainly. They proceeded to show me some of the flies they tied- one made poppers from flip flop rubber and the other from cork along with assorted deer hair and subsurface flies for both bream and bass, all were of professional "accardo" quality. Then they started giving me some samples and before I knew it my pockets were full. So I finished the day keeping just 5-6 bream to fry and about 40 flies. Not a bad day on the bayou and a day that I saw perhaps the best aspect of flyfishing- the people..
JeffM	bayou corne
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Getting in on that good bream fishing	15 May 2005
Randy Leonpacher and I though we would get out of the office Friday and get in some close in bream fishing before all the hoopla starts on the coast. Since the weather had been heating up lately we left earlier than our trip two weeks ago and hit the fishing holes around 9AM instead of 11AM. It paid off as we started catching some nice bluegill on poppers right off. Randy called Catch soon after with the news and we were jinxed for the next hour but finally got back into the fish. We fish two homemade flies tied by Randy. The venerable jitterbee and the John Grantham foam popper a.k.a. flop flop popper or my name-"sponge bob popper"! It was small and colorful with just the right amount of legs. The bream attacked it all day. We kept swithing back and forth trying each as we went. Sometimes they were a little deeper and were more aggressive on the jitterbee and other time seem to want to rise to the top. Whatever their mood we were ready. Caught a steady number of mostly bluegill with a lesser mix of redear, bluespotted and longear. We even added two 11 inch caught and released bass. Randy caught some of the bull sized bluegills and I caught one of those whopper redears. Hit only one spot that we could call a bed but the males were only "squeeze ripe" which is fishery biology speak for not quite ready to spawn. When the males are "run ripe" then you have a real spawning event. So there is still more bream fishing to come when the big bluegills get into the shallows in full spawning dress. None the less we finished the day with 28 keepers and fifty or so caught and released. On our way back, we saw a flyfishing puddler and it turned out to be Jeff Machen who I had exchange email info on Bayou Corne with last year. He has been fishing Corne since and was pleased he said. He also met Catch down on LA 1 a while back and got some tips on coastal puddling. So Jeff is intersted in joining the club full time he said since he lives in BR. It looks like the website and on the water meetings have joined Jeff with the club. Randy and I talked a while with him and invited him to the next meeting and the June 18 Fly Fishing 101 even though he is not at the beginning stage. He said he would like to meet the club members in a teaching environment on the water. Dugan
Dugan	Bayou Corne/Texaco Canals
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Rust Never Sleeps	11 May 2005
Finally! The weatherman got it right - an absolutely gorgeous day on the water. Warm day, blue skies, light wind. Only drawback was very high and milky water. And the fact that Jake and I hadn't been in the salt in over three months - an eternity for us. As Neil Young put it, "rust never sleeps", and both of us were a bit rusty at first. Launched at first car bridge, headed north and west to Lake Palourde, hitting a few ponds along the way. The first back we spotted, Jake put three casts behind the fish and lined him on the fourth. Then we spotted the first of three pods we'd see that morning. Jake put the bendback in the right spot, and hooked up instantly. It took me a couple of casts before I landed my fly in the pod. The red took off like a jet and broke off because my line was wrapped around my foot. Again, a "rust" mistake. We continued our way, hit another pond and another pod. These reds were a bit larger, and by now the rust was gone as we both landed 24" fish, (after I got some neat video of them tailing) one on POT and another on spoon fly. We followed that up with trout in the lake. Although action was slow, the specks were good size, most running 14"-17" on clouser below vosi. We followed that up with poling for reds on the eastern shore of Palourde, when Jake noticed the last pod near a cove of submerged grass. He scrambled a cast and hooked up on spoon fly. For awhile the fish seemed to be content fighting us near the grass, but then he headed out into the lake and gave our canoe a tow. Neither of us thought the fish was big at first. But some 15 minutes into the battle, Jake was wondering if some major league ball player had dumped his bottle of steroids into the lake. When it finally came to the boat, and Jake put Elvis to the Lip Gripper, he weighed in at 12.0 pounds! Knowing he was just one of at least a dozen fish that size, we tried in vain to find his mates. We ended the day just around 2pm after hitting a big school of undersize specks back in the bayou. Jake and I won't be waiting months, not even weeks, to our next trip. "When it gets hot, we live saltwater fishing".
Catch	Fourchon
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new puddling spots	07 May 2005
Hey guys! With the opening of the shrimp season on our doorstep - and the onset of associated grungy water, you might be looking for some puddling spots that will not be so affected. One such area is off the Magnolia Canal. Once past West Pointe a la Hache, note when the highway makes a slight rise. A short distance further south you will see a road of sorts crossing the levee. Park here and paddle down the canal to a large opening on the right. Once into this opening, notice a small bayou leading off to the left. Follow that some 200 yards, and it opens into some fine ponds. Continuing to drive on past the Diamond pumping station, notice another road leading across the levee (This one has a stop sign by it). Follow this past a canal coming in from the left to an obvious spot to launch your boat, again on the left. Although both spots are presently grassed-up a bit, shrimpers will have fits trying to get into them. I'd suggest waiting to try them until June, though, since the area is presently loaded up with spawning gar. Also, though the water is plenty clear enough for good sight-fishing, once the syphons are shut down that clarity should get even better. Bon chance!
pete cooper, jr.	buras, la.
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