Make memories last, take a rookie fishing

 

 

This month there are a lot of things happening that will change what you are doing and chasing on the water.  The trout are slowly moving further inshore, the waters are clearing up in areas enticing some good sight fishing for reds, teal season is on the brink of beginning, and hurricane season is in full swing.  And with everything changing and transitioning around us, there is no better time to introduce the sport of kayak fishing or just fishing to a beginner.  You can usually do some searching around within known speckled trout hide a ways or travel routes to help fill your ice bag, or you can tuck into a pond or two with clear water, to hide from the late summer winds and easily pick up a limit of redfish.  

Recently, I received a phone call from two guys I work with, one of them intrigued by inshore fishing, and the other intrigued by the idea of fishing from a kayak.  It didn’t take long for us all to get our schedules cleared and lined up for a trip of new beginnings.  Being our trip was being planned around work schedules and family weekends; we had chosen a date that worked for us, not necessarily for Mother Nature. 

As the day arrived, there was a storm brewing south of the Gulf, rain chances were 70%, and winds were predicted at 25mph, and while the conditions weren’t ideal for fishing, they couldn’t have been worse for kayak fishing.  With that in mind, I made a change of plans from our Grand Isle destination, to Delacroix, an area that I knew, no matter what Mother Nature threw at us, we would be able to hide from her wrath and still be able to fish.  Dale, from Kentucky, would be classified as a beginner in both the kayak and fishing world, while Scott, from north Louisiana, falls into the, “That’s what we’re fishing from?” category, but they were both excited to be away in an unknown destination.

We started our day with safety first, PFDs, netting a fish, how to anchor, what to look for, how to flip the bail on the reel, and don’t feed the alligators.  As we made our way down a narrow canal, opening into larger marsh ponds, the east winds were blowing hard.  From this location I usually like to head north, but today I had decided to take a southern path so we could stop and anchor near every inlet that had water being blown through it, and following this strategy, it didn’t take us long to start filling the bag full of reds.  The first cut we came to had 5 redfish moving slowly throughout the opening feeding on anything coming through it.  I got Dale anchored up and in line

to catch his first Louisiana redfish.  Well, this is where I learned Dale was new to casting in unopened water.  The first cast landed in my kayak, I was anchored side by side to Dale, the second flew over my head and to my left, but the fish were in front of us, the third cast resulted in a close call followed by a lesson.  Without a fish landed, we pulled anchor and began to drift with the wind and talk about casting, the angles, the line flow, the weight of the lure, and the wind.  Within minutes, Dale had gone from a 0 on the 10 scale to a solid 5 to 7.  He was now throwing his Seein Spots Inline spinner and Vortex Shad along every grass bed and shoreline we drifted across with near precision.  Now it was time to focus and fish.

We pedaled our Hobie Outback’s upwind around some islands and then proceeded to let the wind drift us through them and within minutes we were landing fish.  As Dale landed his first red fish ever, he was almost speechless.  It was a gorgeous, bright copper colored, 25” beauty, and he fought it like it was going to be his last meal.   I kept telling him, let it run, take your time, enjoy the ride, but he was in tuna mode.  He would rare back on it and reel in the slack, rare and reel, rare and reel, it didn’t matter how much drag she pulled, he was going to get that fish in the net in record time, and he did.  The next one he hooked, he did the same thing and halfway to the yak, while trying to reel in the slack, the fish came off.  I explained to him that this isn’t like offshore fishing, you don’t rare and reel, let the rod do the work, keep the rod tip to the sky, and don’t ever let the line get slack in it, because when you do, bad things happen.  He learned quickly as the next red came to the yak worn out with the hook deeply set in the corner of its jaw.  As Dale finally calmed his excitement and admired his catch, he looked at me and said, “this is the biggest fish I have ever caught inshore, my kids are gonna freak out.” 

As the morning moved on, we continued to fill our limits when Scott finally called, he had been delayed and was coming in late.  We then turned around and headed back to the truck to unload the third kayak and get Scott some experience in his first yak.  Remember, Scott is no beginner, he knows what he’s doing in the world of baitcasters and bass fishing, BUT as most of you know, red fishing isn’t bass fishing.  This time we chose to head due east and then let the wind blow us back through a different part of the marsh than what Dale and I had been fishing earlier.  Scott was excited, but playing it cool the entire trip.  He was casting like a pro, asking technical questions about structure, patterns, and presentation.  I was impressed with his line of questioning, at least until he hooked up.  Scott went from Snoopy’s, Joe Cool, to Tommy Boy in his first sales call, when he caught the model car on fire.  I am pretty sure the people in Reggio new that he was hooked up, he was yelling and cheering and screaming like someone just dropped fire ants in his pants.  This red was pulling him everywhere, he was going between islands, then left and then right, and after nearly a hundred yard drag he landed the fish.  I was expecting it to be a 30 plus inch red with all the shenanigans going on, but it turned out to be a solid table fare 18 inch red, with the will and strength of a sea monster. 

As lunch time was approaching, and three limits of reds and a handful of bass were landed and iced, we made our way to the only place I know to bring out of town guest for some of the best poboys and mac & cheese around, Rocky & Carlos Restraunt and Bar.  After getting sun burned by a sun that never shined, and wind burned by east winds that never let up, it was nice to just sit back in a crowded restaurant and enjoy some cool air, a hot fried shrimp po-boy covered in roast beef debri, and a Barq’s root beer with friends. 

This trip is one that will go down in the books, I got to experience  a native of Louisiana lose his Rico Suaveness for a moment, and a Kentucky Wildcat sit speechless after he landed the largest inshore fish of his dreams.  Moments like this is what makes fishing what it is, figuring out where to fish, what to fish for and how to catch fish is a challenge and an accomplishment we all get to enjoy, but living and experiencing the excitement of someone new to the sport is what last for a lifetime.  So next time you are looking to fill a void, or just fill your weekend, pick up the phone and call someone that’s never fished before, whether you catch anything or not, I can promise you there will be at least one story made, that you can tell for years to come.

 

Until next time,

Stay Safe & Catch 1

 

All fish were caught on Seein Spots Inline Spinners, with Vortex Shad plastics, flukes, and Live Target topwaters, winds were 15-25, water was clear, temps were HOT, grass was matted and everywhere.