The easiest way to break habits

If you're tired of the same old routine, fishing the same area time and time again, throwing the same lures day in and day out, then it's time for you to get out of your routine and change some habits, and hopefully in the process, you might just pick up some good ones. 
And when it comes to fishing, there is no better way to break a habit, than to get on a boat with a Louisiana Charter Captain.  So, when I received an invite to head down to Hopedale and fish with the crew of Bayou Charters and stay at the Silver Side Lodge, I immediately dropped everything and packed a bag.
When I showed up, I was greeted with smiles and handshakes from some of the greats in the Louisiana outdoors fishing industry, to say I felt a little under qualified to be in their presence is an understatement.  But, as Captain Charlie Thomason showed up, all worry went out the window; it was as if we had been friends for years.  Capt. Charlie has an ambiance about him that makes everyone around him feel welcomed.

With introductions covered, we all headed to the boats, some with Capt. Charlie, some with Capt. Greg Boudreaux, and me and, Mainstream Marketing rep, Drew Davis, jumped in Captain Joe Vinson's boat. 

As we cruised through the Hopedale waterways, Capt. Joe filled us in on what's been hot and what's not lately.  And given the transition period the fish were in at the time, we were planning to target redfish.  I was in complete agreement as to our target of choice, but at the same time I was little taken back by the arsenal that was tied to the rods we were using.  Every rod had a MirrOlure "Top Dog'', a Paul Brown "fat boy", or a MirrOlure "lil john".  Now, I consider myself a fairly decent angler, and while I'm never afraid of fishing with MirrOlure lures, I usually reserve them for trout.  Well, the first learning lesson was just a few gallons of fuel away.

The sky was overcast, and in areas the water was crystal clear, and within minutes of the motor turning off, we eased up to a point with a current line running around it, and within a couple of cast Capt. Joe was hooked up, and from that point on, it seemed like every point we hit, there was a redfish coming over the gunnel.  We caught them on Top Dogs, Fat boys, and the lil John, it didn't seem to matter what we were throwing, as long as it had the words MirrOlure on the package. 

Now, when I target reds in the mid-evening, I am an inline spinner, spoon, and jig man, but after this trip, my arsenal now has no boundaries.  I think we finished the evening with well over our limits caught and released as the sun began to fall below the levee in the distance.
As we made it back to the lodge, we all sat around to the Cajun smells of fresh boiled seafood while we told stories about the day.  Sitting at a table and listening to Capt. Charlie talk about the history of the area, from canals that have been relocated, bays that used to be marshes, islands that have disappeared, and stories around how all the bayous earned their names, I was amazed at the wealth of knowledge the Louisiana native displayed.  Not only can this man and his crew catch fish, but he could teach a history class with the best of them.
The next morning was a welcomed awakening, hot coffee and fresh biscuits, it was like I was staying at my grandparents for the holiday season, and at this point, I was pretty sure I never wanted to leave. 

We all loaded up and headed across the street to the where the fleet of Triton Bay boats were resting in their hoist.  Today I got to spend the morning with Michael from MirrOlure, and Capt. Greg Boudreaux.
The morning run lasted about 20 minutes until we came off plane south of Point A la Hache, best I could tell.  The wind was minimal, the sky had cleared up, and it was topwater time.  In true Bayou Charters fashion, I grabbed the closest rod I could with a topwater on the end.  It didn't take any time at all for the explosions to start, within minutes we were on the fish.  Capt. Greg laid us smack down in the middle of a "Cajun Slam" wonderland.  We were catching reds and trout cast after cast, and before we knew it, there were even a few flounder coming over the sides of the boat.
Lesson number two learned, flounder LOVE a Paul Brown lure.  I have caught flounder on topwater, jigs, spinners, and spoons, but I have never seen them repeatedly attack a lure like they did the Paul Brown.  I sometimes fish tournaments where a flounder is all it takes to complete your bag, and I always find myself struggling to get them to chase something consistently, and after this trip, you can bet I will have a Paul Brown Corky or Fat Boy loop knotted to the end of my rod for the next event.

The mornings trip ended around 10 am with more fish than any of us needed, and that was a good thing being we chose to release them all, well almost all of them, we did keep a few flounder. 

I know a lot of people that own boats, and I know a lot of people that catch fish often, and some that catch fish rarely, but no matter what category you fall in to, taking a trip with a professional can elevate your game, increase your knowledge of new areas, learn about new and improved equipment and techniques, and more than anything, allow you to have a stress free day and almost always guarantee you're going to come home with a box full of fish.

Spending the evening and days on the water with Capt. Charlee and his crew is more than just catching fish; it's an educational experience that you can refer back to in the future time and time again.  Capt. Charlee has fished competitively in some of the industries top competitions, and not only competed, but won. His level of knowledge and willingness to share is second to none, and his personable demeanor makes him easy to talk to at any level.

So, if you're looking to up your game, learn new tactics, or just take the family for a weekend getaway, I would suggest reaching out to Captain Charlie with Bayou Charters, I promise, you won't be disappointed.  

 

Until next time,

Stay Safe & Catch1

Coming together to give something back to the sport of kayaking

Today, two outstanding organizations came together to bring awareness and education to the sport of kayaking and kayak fishing.  Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club partnered up with Cabela's, the World's Foremost Outfitter to help introduce the public to the world of kayaks.
In an intimate setting, nestled upstairs in a private classroom of Cabela's, in Gonzales, La, around 30 people joined together to learn about different aspects of kayaking and kayak fishing in Louisiana. 
The classroom setting was led by Bayou Coast very own, Todd Lewis, also known as Yak a lou, a retired enforcement agent of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.  Todd started the presentation with the importance of safety and went on to cover different regulations set by the state, and recommendations to follow based on his own experiences and knowledge from years on the water, both in a kayak and during his enforcement days. 
Todd covered things such as flotation, proper clothing for summer and winter days,  safety gear such as lighting, whistles, flares, and first aid,  and he also disputed the myth of drowning while in waders.
From safety, the class was led in many different directions, from landing fish the proper way, the different types of fishing line and when to use them, categories of rods and reels, and then finally closed off the morning session with a little paddle talk.
After lunch we all arrived back to class to watch a few video clips of some big fish being landed from a kayak and then ventured in to knot tying.  Several within the group shared the most common knots used, from simple palomar knots to the improved Albright knot used to mesh braided line to fluorocarbon line.  Everyone in the class had two different colored, climbing style ropes to practice their knot tying, which came in handy to help distinguish between the knots used to tie braid to flouro.
From the classroom setting, we made our way to the Cabela's lake.  There we had different stations that slowly became hindered by the onslaught of rain.  Within the stations, the class was broken up into several groups and each group made their way through the stations learning different casting techniques, actions of certain lures, entry and exit into a kayak, and of course the class favorite, falling out of a kayak and practicing re-entry.
After an hour or so, the rain began to come down harder and the class slowly began to dissipate, some of us brought our rods and tackle to try our hand at a little bass fishing before we headed home.   Thankfully it wasn't a tournament, because Sherman Walker would have been taking home all of the money as he was quick to find the sweet spot of the lake.
Over all this was an excellent workshop for both the beginner and the intermediate kayaker, and for anyone that has any interest in getting involved in the fastest growing sport to hit the water.
A special thanks for Cabela's and Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club for putting this together and having a great group of leaders that were willing to give up their Saturday to introduce a classroom full of strangers to the world of kayaks.  A special thanks to Todd Lewis, Craig Brown, Sherman and Norman Walker, Daniel Biggs, Elliot 5" fishfinder Stevens, Josh Thompson, Jorge "Bigredbobber", knot tying guru Mike LaFluer, and especially Melanie Boone, of Cabela's, for orchestrating a well oiled workshop.  

Until next time,

Stay Safe & Catch1

My first Mothership Yak Trip

 

This past week I had an invitation to go on my first mother ship trip.  Mother shipping is when you load your kayak onto a larger, engine powered, vessel and then make a run to your fishing location, unload and fish waters in a kayak that you normally wouldn't have paddled too.
The invitation came from a local charter captain favorite, Rory Rorison of United Charters. Rory is one of those charter captains that is always looking to get into something new, and loading up his 24' Blazer Bay with some bright colored plastics kayaks is likely something he never envisioned years ago when he started his guiding service.  Rory is one of those guys that caters to whatever it is you need, if you need shrimp, he's on it, if the fish aren't biting enough, he will move till he finds them, if your thirsty, he's got something to quench your thirst.  Heck, I was just happy to go fish an area I could never reach by kayak, I never expected the royalty treatment, but with Rory.......royalty is what you get. Along with me on this trip was local icon, Ty Hibbs.  If you are from South La and have any sort of means to social media with a mix of fishing, you will come across Ty.  Ty is a college student headed for a degree in wildlife biology, he is a major player in the TAG Louisiana fish tagging program, and if he isn't sleeping or in school, he has a rod in hand.
We hit the water a little before 7a.m. and headed south and after a little more than 20 miles, we had reached our destination.  We were surrounded by open water, rocks, and marsh galore, it was a taste of heaven to experience being this far south in a kayak. 
As we unloaded the yaks into the drink, we knew our time was limited as a large front was supposed to push through the area around mid morning.  As I hit the water and began peddling it didn't take long for the action to begin.  I was throwing a skitterwalk, and within 3 cast, and several tail swats, the rapala was finally engulfed by the first speckled trout of the day. It didn't take long for Ty to catch up to me and start chunking some plugs, we threw every topwater we had with us, but the bite slowed quickly. 
We eventually made the move to "ole Trusty" a 3/8 ounce jig head and a matrix shad.  Before you knew it, we were battling each other on which one of us would put the next trout in the boat, and one after another the specs were coming in.
As we were focused on the fish, we failed to keep attentive to the environment around us, and the front snuck up on us.  You could feel the pressure drop and the air went up in temperature and then immediately dropped.   It was finally here, and it was here to stay, the wind got so strong at times, we couldn't paddle against it even with the current on our side.  After almost 30 minutes of a world ending downpour, we decided it was time to put the yaks in the boat and head for cover.
Well, at least we thought about that, as soon as we got the yaks in the boat, we looked at the anchor line, looked at each other, and then grabbed our rods.  We continued to fish through the front and the rain and wind, Captain Rory had us right were we needed to be.  Ty and I were landing trout with every color Matrix Shad and Vortex Shad made, it didn't matter, if we put it in the right spot, and held our line tight, the trout were smacking it, apparently it was raining under water, and the fish weren't looking for cover, they were hungry.
As the rain subsided and the front passed, the skies opened up, and Captain Rory pulled out some warm jackets, we bundled up, and prepared for the journey home.
As we arrived at the dock, Captain Rory again took over, he pulled the fish out, added more ice, unloaded everything, and then began cleaning.  This pile of fish would have taken me at least a 6 pack or two drinks to get through, but the Captain on the other hand had them all cleaned and bagged up for us, before Ty and I could even get all of our gear loaded in our trucks.
This was hands down a great trip for me, I got to fish waters I haven't fished in years, waters I have never kayaked in, I got to experience mother nature at her best, and I got to catch a lot of fish.  If you are ever considering a guided trip, or if you ever want to fish true south Louisiana waters from a kayak but don't want to paddle 20 plus miles one way, you have got to get in touch with Captain Rory at United Charters.
You know, I never asked Captain Rory how he came up with the name of his Charter company, but when you look up United in the dictionary, it says.... joined together for a common purpose or by common feelings.  Well I gotta tell ya, when your with Captain Rory, united is what you get, its clear that he is there for the same purpose you are, and his passion for fishing and creating smiles is something so special I can't even put it into words.


Stay Safe
and
Catch1