It was a very special trip for Ron Burnside, Trevor Covich and me joining Captain Marty Authement to hunt in the remote Louisiana Marshes as we closed out the Fall campaign for exceptional migratory fish. We had unseasonably warm weather (temps in the high 70’s) with light winds and no rain for all 4 days, which enabled us to sight fish for huge Redfish, Black Drum, Sea Trout and Sheep Head.
Ron summed it up best when he commented on his first trip to fish in the bayou… Continue reading
The final day hunting in the remote marshes of Louisiana produced some spectacular sight fishing for Red and Black Drum. With cobalt blues skies and tea colored water I managed to put 10 Reds and 7 Blacks between 15 and 34 Lbs. into Captain Marty’s net. Several of the fish that were 40+ inches in length had extraordinary girth due to their “holiday season” gorging prior to the colder winter months. Continue reading
The final day of the 2015 Fall Field Campaign ended well with 6 impressive fish from the Bayou Marshes of LA. We started out the day with 40 degree temps and 20 MPH winds which made the wind chill be in the high 20’s. We were each wearing 7 layers of clothing and we couldn’t help but notice that we were the only game fisherman in the entire Marsh. Bunch of whimps! Continue reading
It was a fast and furious day in the Bayou with Captain Marty as we dodged multiple showers and thunderstorms. All things considered, we had a great day before being driven off the water by lightning strikes just after noon. We landed 7 fish between 10 and 30 Lbs. with the fish of the day being a monster Black Drum that actually chased down Billy’s Purple raider fly – TWICE before being hooked.
We caught multiple fish on every technique today (Fly, Jig, and Crab). What we’ve been able to conclude thus far about the redfish in LA is that their behavior is radically different than those landed in Mosquito Lagoon. The fish between 15 and 30 pounds here are as aggressive as Continue reading
The first day of the LA Fall Field Campaign was challenging but still rewarding for Captain Billy and I as we landed 7 very respectable fish with Captain Marty.
The weather was in the mid 60’s with Cobalt Blue Skies and light winds out of the Northeast. The highlight of the day for me Continue reading
While sight fishing for big bull Reds, I managed to have an Epic battle with an Alligator Gar that was a first for the seasoned Cajun – Captain Marty. As I was fighting this prehistoric beast, I asked Marty… How do we get this monster in the boat? He says… “I have no idea, I’m making this up on the fly. We’ve never landed one before that wasn’t shot – let alone on a fly.”
After about 30 minutes and maybe a dozen attempts to get it alongside the boat, we ultimately secured a tail rope around the back end, managed to secure the business end of the fish in the net and hauled it into the boat. Once in the boat, Continue reading
The sun came out brilliantly on our last day hunting Big Drum in the remote marshes of LA. With the sun also came the opportunity to sight cast for the largest of the resident monsters. Katie’s first big Black Drum on a fly was actually hooked in the early AM when we were socked in with thick cloud cover. With the water being significantly off color, we were able to sight fish – not because we could see the fish cruising the bottom… we were able to spot them because the fishes upper back was actually out of the water!
Whereas big Redfish may run like a “Muscle car,” the Black are more like fighting a Tractor. Katie’s fish was around 33 Lbs. and on an 8 Wt. rod, it provided an arm blaster workout.
We also landed several big Reds in the 20 and 30+ Lb category as the day progressed on. I must admit that the remote fly fishing for these magnificent fish (with no other fisherman within miles) is truly a special treat. Continue reading
It was a Cajun day deep in the Louisiana Marsh with Captain Marty as we hunted monster Redfish and Black Drum.
We finally figured out the pattern late in the afternoon and located several large fish in a deep channel off the point of a shallow Bar.
We were surprised to catch so many big Redfish at this time of year (all over 25 Lbs.). Katie and I landed 6 excellent drum each with Katie’s largest three being 38, 37 and 31 pounds.
We have one more day tomorrow to hunt for the elusive 50 pounder.
More to follow.
T.O.
PS Plan your trips!
