Have you ever sat at the terminal, waiting for your flight to board when they announce "our flight is overbooked and we're looking for volunteers to take a later flight and receive a travel voucher"? Well, last year I "rose to the fly" so to speak, with the thought of free travel to a place I've never fished before, New Orleans! With pictures of Katrina still in many peoples heads, New Orleans doesn't usually come to the flyfishing forefront but I recently found out why the state's car license plate slogan reads "sportsman's paradise".
There are a number of guides that flyfish for redfish in the vast Mississippi River Delta south of New Orleans. Quite a few use "flats boats" complete with poling platforms to push through the shallows, sight-fishing in less than twelve inches of water. (Think Elkhorn Slough going on forever with the same birds, the occasional dolphin and an every changing mosaic of clear-water flats rising and falling with the tide) There are also a handful of GREAT guides who have the knowledge, skills, ability and work ethic to put you on some REALLY BIG FISH (Now imagine that small refrigerator or truck tire you clearly saw in Elkhorn Slough being a twenty to forty pound redfish). Rich Waldner is one of those guides and I had the pleasure to fish with him for three days this December.
My first day was a 20-plus fish day with fish to thirteen pounds. It took a little time for me to "dial-in" fishing from a casting platform, sighting the fish, line management and making the proper presentation but by mid-morning I had the groove going. The redfish is shaped much like a striped bass and has the same big grab and strong fight. I also saw black drum which are shorter, stockier and don't come as readily to the fly. The added thrill is seeing their gills flare and white mouth open as they suck in one of Rich's beautiful spoon flies or crab patterns. I was using a fast 8 weight rod with a 9 weight bonefish line and at the end of the day I asked Rich to chop off the front six feet of the taper for a better load and quicker presentation as you really want to limit the number of false casts. An 8 weight rod was perfect for the most prevalent red that averaged 8 to 10 pounds.
The second day was an honest 40-plus fish day, again all sight-fishing with fish to ten pounds and casts to a number of "bull redfish" (fish over twenty pounds) that wouldn't eat. The last day was overcast with some light morning rain which made sight fishing more difficult so we tried to focus on the "bulls" as they're easier to see.
As we poled into the first flat I saw the outline of a large black tail about a foot off of the bank. I made the cast and the fish took the crab pattern. About fifteen minutes later we had a thirty-one pound black drum in the boat and I started thinking about the 10 weight rod that I left at home.
Within the hour I cast to two "bull reds" that wouldn't eat before we saw a "bow wake" angling slowly toward the boat. I cast about five feet long and three feet in front of the rose colored shape. As I angled the crab away the line stopped, a strong strip strike followed and I cleared line as the fish made its first strong run toward deeper water. Again the 8 weight was maxed but, by fighting the fish from the butt section of the rod and working the angles we landed a beautiful twenty six pound bull redfish.
I hooked and lost another fifteen to twenty pound red, cast to more bulls and caught eight to ten pound "crawlers" before we had to leave the flats to get in before dark (In bad light you pole through flats 4-6 inches deep sighting fish with their backs and tail exposed as they root through the mud for crabs, hence the name crawlers).
I stayed at a historical location called the Woodland Plantation (if you ever saw a bottle of Southern Comfort whiskey, it's the same place that's on their label). The owner, Foster Creppel is a wonderful host; the rates are reasonable, the food is great and a perfect location fifteen minutes from the launch site. One night while I sat at the bar, Foster shucked fresh oyster as his staff brought out perfect bites of fresh speckled trout and jumbo shrimp. We laughed until we cried as a neighbor told stories with true Cajun style. Dinner started with seafood gumbo and a salad followed by fresh softshell crab over a redfish fillet with potatoes and pan fried brussel sprouts. I think you can see why this trip is definitely high on my "do again" list!