My friend Don P. came down from Connecticut for a few days of fishing. This trip was planned for a while. It was to be a weather or not trip. He was coming here to fish. Inshore, nearshore, or offshore. What ever we could do. A few weeks before me friend Tony Nelson from Arkansas called and asked about a trip so I set up these two guys. I knew they would fish good together. This was planned as a 3 day fishing adventure.

The first day we had high winds and had no choice but to fish inshore and tuck back into the canes to get some protection. At my first location we found some good reds. It was difficult as the fish were pushed into the canes and the only ones we found were right up tight to the canes. Don was the first to hook up. This was his first ever redfish. A nice way to start off. It was 33 inches.




We let this guy free to fight another day and maybe breed again. There was dirty water moving in and the bite was very slow. With the wind gusting well over 25 I just kept in my comfortable small pond. It was a while before we had another fish on the line. Once again Don had the hot hand. This one tapped out at 22 inches. It swallowed the hook son we put it in the fishbox as it was bleeding very bad before I even attempted to remove the hook.



It was a tough day but we were getting a few anyway. Don was the only person getting any action. After what seemed like an hour Don once again has a bent rod with a drag screaming and a smile on his face. All 3 of these fish were 32 to 33 inches. We also let this lucky guy or gal, I did not check, get a free pass for a better life.



We hit this place very hard but eventually I decided to make a move around the corner just out of the pond. As I turned the corner I decided against it due to the waves and wind direction. I decided to another place far from where I was. Part way to where I wanted to go I decided to go to the west instead. I went up the river and across to the west. Once there it was the first time we saw any other inshore boats. We picked away the rest of the day ending up with 8 fish in the box. Could have limited out if we kept the other 2. The rest of our fish were like this colorful beauty.



Day 2 it was still windy and rough but we made an attempt to go long. We decided to abandon our tuna search and trolled for Wahoo. After a few rigs we decided to tuck into East bay and look for a mix of nearshore fish. We made a trip out of it catching well over a hundred fish. The action was too hectic for a bunch of pictures. We got a limit of red snapper, some nice Mangrove snapper, and a bunch of silver sea trout for the box. We threw back a bunch of red snapper both under and over size. They were in shallow enough water so they were not hurt. The trigger fish had to go back because the feds have a closed the season for the entire year. Thanks NMFS! We are in La. not Fla.



Day 3 we sat at the marina and had breakfast while waiting for the fog to lift a bit. My radar was acting up so I followed Mike Jeffcoat out. The radar would only work at 1/8 range which is too close for safety running the river. Once out of the pass Mike followed me around a sand bar just outside as he did not have a track around it. Once in the clear of any hidden dangers I let Mike go ahead as I could run in the open that way. My GPS tracks and his radar combo worked very well.

Out at the tuna grounds it was not long before Tony has his reel screaming and the battle is on. This fish ran up high as many big ones do. Late in the fight tony had to tap out because of a muscle in his left arm that was operated on. I knew something was wrong because I could see his arm twitching just before he passed the rod to Don. What a way to start our day.



Unfortunately That was all we were able to manage. The rest of the day we got bit off by kings and landed a bonito. This picture says it all. Thank you lord for this one!



From there we made a quick stop for a limit of red snapper. I never tied up. I just held in front and they dropped down and caught 4 good ones. As I was getting ready to roll Mike came by. He followed me around the sand bar into the pass then he went ahead. For those knowing this area new were not any where near the usual rigs or passes the offshore boats use or many other boats either. At the dock I was thankful for the fish we ended up with.



The following morning the winds came up again. We went for breakfast and let Jo Ann rest. Once sending Tony on his was Don and I hooked up the bay boat and launched at Delta Marina. There was a strong North East wind and he had to catch a 5:45 flight so we only had a short time to play. Did I mention I hate the strong winds? I went to some of my close by places but only found one rat red.



Everything was muddy. I was lucky to just get that one. I went to places I have never been before. I found a pipeline canal and started exploring. There were a few small ponds off the canal but with oysters out of the water due to low water conditions I was not exploring them. As we were fishing a point we notice a good redfish feeding or looking for food around the oysters along the bank. We watched the fish work our way. I figured it was only a matter of time before the victim would fall prey to a Cajun Pepper Vu Du shrimp. All Don had to do was present the bait and get the fishes attention. The thrill of watching this 23 incher work the bank then attacking the bait was the climax of an exciting 4 days.



Life is Good!

Good stuff! This winter sucks, lots of snow and not much ice for this half the state. Nice to get away, nice trips gents.

Good read, gets the blood flowing in an offshore night afternoon. Gonna be near 60 on Sunday, will be working on the boat!

Trip was no where near as good as I wanted.

I know how good it can be.