When you think about destination fisheries for flyfishing you may think of Big sky country in Montana, the flats of Belize or the great rivers and streams of Alaska, or Chile or Argentia, and for many anglers it is my home state of florida where the angling opportunities are endless.
All of these are amazing places to cast the fly or light tackle in pursuit of gamefish. But for me it has long been the Loisiana marsh. Having been a professional fly fishing guide for over 15 years guiding in tBristol Bay alaska, and my home waters, on the mosquito lagoon and indian river near oak hill. florida.
pf course I’d seen the photos of all the pioneers in the region such as gregg arnold, greg moon and many others, and had heard of 500 lB days on the skiff, but have never had the importunity until recently a friend of mine suggested we haul three skiffs from Charleston to the Hopedale, and Reggio areas of Louisisna.
To say I was excited is an understatement I began envisioning 30 lb redfish eating topweater fies or inhaling big swim baits, along with black drum the size of small cars tailing in the flats. so it was set, we would fish the last week in Jaunary for a 7 day trip. I began re-reading all of the information about the fishery and the area to prepare, soaking up all I could to be ready. I had also called a long-time clinet and friend to join me on this adventure.
It seems crazy for somebody who travels to remote locations in float planes for a living over one hundred days a year in places like Moraine creek, the Kvicahk River, and Lower Talarik in Alaska to catch wild alaskan trout in the 15 lb class to get excited about a “little old road trip” to Loisiana, a mere thousand miles away from my home in charleston. But ti be honest, I was Ecstatic !! The chance to catch big redfish in Loisisian was almost to much to stand..
when we first arrived in Hopdale, i immediately drew comparisons to remote fishing villages in bristol bay such as King Salmon, Naknek, and Egegik. There were shrimp boats, crab trips, oyster boats, processing tables, freezers and the like. As is the case in Alaska, it was clear the folks of this area were hard working, resilient and for generations have made their living working the seas. Survivivng multiple hurricanes and horrible storms only to endure and carry on family fishing traditions. The scars can still be seen in the form of foundations with no homes, areas devoid of trees, and storm thrown vessels relocated to the middle of a field sometimes miles from water.
The plan was simple…three boats would divide and conquer, each fishing a different location and reporting results back that night over fresh oysters and beers. Day one started off a bit rough as there was a negative tide, 35F and blowing 15-20. But we were here and lots of the winter fish photos that we often drooled over showed fisherman wearing all types of layers from Patagonia, Simms, with beenie caps and gloves..So off we went. The first day resulted in very few fish but considering the conditions we were pretty proud of ourselves. The biggest pumpkin of the day was a nice fat 32 incher. respectable yes, but not our main objective, which was of course a monster fish over 40inches.
DAY TWO started off with a very NON cooperative school of fish, all of which were slot fish. A few hours of frustration and they finally fell off a deeper shelf, we moved onto another spot where we caught a half a dozen one handers under20 inches. Day two and still no skunk, pretty happy I tell myself..The ride back to the lodge gives me a glimpse as to the vastness of the marsh as we have seen no humans, only wildlife on an epic scale, so many birds inhabit this area, its hard to describe to someone who has not seen this place.
Back to the lodge for some tasty grilled rib eyes and a few beers and libations. We draw a new plan to run farther the next morning and fish back with the tide..
DAY 3 Our run was about 45 minutes, did I mention it was BRISK?
As we poll into our first location, we sight casted a fish that we guessed was approximately 34- 36 inches and after a brief run or two spit the hook boat side. Disappointing yes but we had only been there five minutes. Another negative tide and The wind was still blowing 15-20, and it was 40F. After that we noticed several schools pushing the opposite shore of the bay. The water was gin clear in this particular little pocket and there were easily several hundred fish cursing up and down the same shoreline in three to four different schools. After many, many, did I say many? shots with a multitude of offerings not one fish would commit!! Negative tide, plummeting barometer, high sun, clear water, UGH! I felt like the spooky hyper selective mosquito lagoon tiger shoals fish had followed me to the marsh and everyone of them had LOCKJAW. We completed day three with one decent fish about 34 inches sight casted on the same bank we started off on.
DAY FOUR was a blowout, 45F with winds that topped 25mph and the whole system was a chocolate colored mess. I think we made about ten casts that day and called it early as the better weather was forecasted for the nedt few days..
DAY five we decided to go back to the uncooperative fish from the other day, when we arrived we fished for about twenty minutes and caught a decent fish 34”, but the schools had moved on, perhaps because there was more water available elsewhere, we boated several more single fish, all in the 29-32” range to finish the day. We even managed a few sheepshead for the grille that night. Salt pepper fire, and some hot sauce with rice and beans..
DAY 6 The skies cleared, the wind stopped, 65F, the tide was favorable and the fish were hungry, we spent the morning catching fish up to 34”. they were all big fat pumpkins. Each area we fished that we saw fish, we caught fish. It was a very rewarding day after the tough winds and cold temperatures from days prior. Although we started to see a few more of the beasts over 40” we did not get shots at all. They would push off creating a small wave in their departure very similar to the dolphin that strand feed in and around Charleston, SC. Amazing stuff to watch! We treated ourselves to a meal and a few libations that evening in New Orleans. A food stop NEVER to missed in this area. We stuffed our bellies and made our way back to camp.
DAY 7 We decided to go to some remote islands where we had wanted go go early in the week, but could not due to winds. We were fishing in my Hell’s Bay Boatworks Guide 18 and were quite comfortable crossing the open water. 70F, light breeze, bluebird skies. Today was the day I thought..The first bank we poled about half way down, I can hear the waves on the islands opposite side and then we spot a tailer. “looks like a big fish I say”. One excellent shot 60 ft and WHAM the fight is on! I can tell this fish is bigger than the ones early in the week by the size of the boil and the wake created as he headed for deeper water. After 10-15 minutes we landed a beauty of a fish Just over 40”, a personal best for my friend! We caught just three that day afterwards, a couple 38 inters and a decent 30 inch fish to finish the week.
