Great Time, Great Friend, Awesome Red Fishing!

Today was a special day. I had the opportunity to take my longtime baseball coach Mr. Dixon red fishing out on the marsh today. We reminisced about old times and how things have changed since I was a youngster playing baseball. If we wouldn’t have caught a fish I that would have been fine with me because I had great company, the fishing made it even better. The red fish were thick!

Sight fishing Reds with Light Tackle Spin Gear

Went out yesterday with some pretty good spin casters. We sight fished some really nice reds in the 10-15 pound range. The reds were pushing bait down the shorelines making them an easy yet fun target on  spin gear. Its unbelievable the amount of fish and bait we are seeing in the marsh right now. Tight Lines!

August Red Fishing!

Out in the marsh for the past three days. Fishing is awesome right now, redfish pounding shrimp and small baitfish on the shore line, fish tailing in the grass and still getting a few shots at some monster drum. I love the sequence in these photos with the fish pushing down the shoreline and the eat right at the boat. Tight lines!

THE CAST

THE EAT

THE RESULT

Back in Louisiana after a Great Tarpon Season!

After a great tarpon season on the west coast of Florida and in the Panhandle it is great to be back in New Orleans and back out on the marsh. A few weeks ago Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries opened almost all state waters to recreational and sport fishing and commercial fishing zones are slowly starting to re open. This is great news for all the fishing guides because with no hesitations now we can start filling up our calendars with trips for the upcoming fall/winter redfish season. I have been out on the marsh for the past 4 days and have gone 20-25 miles out where I do all my winter time red fishing and I have to say the marsh is as beautiful as ever and there is NO OIL to be seen. The people who are out there everyday cleaning up our shorelines have done an incredible job and we appreciate their hard work. Baring any huge storm that blows what is left of the oil that is out there into the marsh, things should be great. There are tons of fish out there along with all the pogies, shrimp and crabs that they feed on. The marsh is as alive as it has ever been and the fishing will be incredible this upcoming fall. I hope that for all that were effected by this disaster we can move on and look forward to a positive future and watch the gulf coast thrive like it always has. Tight Lines!

Past few Weeks On the Louisiana Marsh and West Coast of Florida

I have been splitting my time in the marsh and florida the past two weeks. With everyone still waiting to see what the extent of the oil disaster, all the local fly fishing guides including myself have still been putting hours on the water taking trips and putting some beautiful redfish in the boat. The redfish are in there summer patters and are all in the thick grass, tailing and crushing shrimp down the shorelines making it a ton of fun on fly rod. I have also been taking trips for Tarpon on the west coast of florida and the fish have been poring through. We have been getting tons of shots and jumping a few every day on fly. Heading to the panhandle tomorrow for the next 60 days to take tarpon trips there, very excited and looking forward to tarpon that will chase a fly down. Tight Lines!

Spring Is Here!

We are in a transition period from winter to spring. The weather is starting to warm and the fish are on a serious feed. The redfish are schooling up by the hundreds making them an easy target for fly an spin anglers. We have had a few 50+ fish days over the past few weeks and the fishing is only going to get better. There are still a few big fish around including some monster black drum. We have had some fun with these redfish as they are starting to take popper flies and top water plugs making for a great bite. Tight Lines.

Hopefully this was the last cold front of the year!

We had another front come through this past week which brought strong winds and some pretty nasty weather. This didn’t stop the redfish from getting on the flats and crawling around looking for food. The fish are starting to go into their spring pattern and gorging on the small mullet that are all over the marsh. Bait Fish flies have been working really good and is super exciting to watch a big redfish come behind a 4 inch mullet fly and come out of the water to eat it. Tight lines!

Big Fish are still in!

We have finally received some good weather from the man upstairs and the fishing is starting to stabilize. We are still getting consistent shots at big redfish and black drum and the 5-15 pound fish are everywhere. I am very excited to get into the spring pattern and the fishing will be incredible. Tight Lines!

Had good friend Mark B. Hatter in town

I had good friend and angler Mark B. Hatter in town the past couple days. Mark writes and takes great photography for many publications including Fly Fishing in Salt Waters Magazine.  We had two good days of fishing, had shots at a few big fish over 20 pounds and landed tons of fish in the 10-20 pound range. Mark was able to land his personal best red fish on 4 lb. tippet, a nice 25 pounder. Its always a blast to have Mark in town because I get the chance to get some bow time as he has no problem polling me around a bit. Tight Lines!

Great fishing and good company

We had a great group of anglers in for three days this past weekend. There were 6 guys from all around the country who are part of fishing club called Spring Valley Anglers. These guys were a blast to have in town, were great company on the boat and they all were accomplished fly fisherman. We had ok weather one day and tough conditions the other two but that didn’t stop us from catching a lot of fish and a few big fish at that. We landed a 27 pound redfish and a 33 pound redfish on fly one day, landed 12 redfish in the 7-15 pound range the other day and had shots at some more monster redfish and black drum on the third day. The big reds and black drum are still in the marsh and will continue to be here until our cold fronts stop coming through. Tight Lines!