Just Another Day on the Water in Delcroix, La

December to Remember

 

While fall fishing took a little longer than usual to kick in this year, the recent string of cold fronts have definitely had the trout on the move and their transition into our interior marshes is now in full force.  While they have been showing up in low numbers in their usual winter spots, the fall areas have been on fire throughout the gulf areas of the state, it seems every person I talk to is slinging limits of yellow mouths over the gunnels every day.

This month I had the opportunity to get on the water with some local superstars, in their own minds of course, and pick their brains about different topics that they are passionate about.  As I arrived at Rigolets Marina an hour before the sun was set to rise, I was met by Ranger Pro and local guide of In & Out Charters, Capt. Bubby Lamy, and General Manager, third generation owner of Double D Meat Co, Josh Stogner.   These are two individuals that want nothing more than to succeed in everything they do, whether it’s putting fish over the rail for clients, or making sure that your family is getting the best country smoked sausage there is, these guys are not only good at what they do, but they are proud of it.

Capt. Bubby is a native of south Louisiana, a family man, a father of three, an inspiration to many, and a captain that strives to make sure you’re smiling the entire day on the water.  With over 30 years of experience fishing the waters of Louisiana mixed with a personality so entertaining it’s contagious, you can’t help but have a good time.

Josh is also a native a south Louisiana, a family man, a father of two, and a provider to many of us throughout the country when it comes to the best smoked sausage around.  With more years of experience in the processing industry than he wants to admit, being the third generation of the family owned Double D Meat Co., Josh has worked long and hard to perfect their meats and grow their business into a national sensation to taste buds, all while carrying on the family traditions and values that his previous generations started nearly 50 years ago.

With the sky still black and the wind beginning to blow, Capt. Bubby pointed the bow of his Ranger Bay 2510 south and let loose on the 300 Yamaha horses and we were on our way.  The throttle stayed steady until we made it to our first destination, “the wall”.  As we arrived at the large locks, it was a sunrise of great proportions, the sun was shining on the tugs pushing the barges along the ICW, the tips of the Paris Rd Bridge or “green monster” were shining, and for a minute it seemed that everything stood still.  But just as I was attempting to take a few pictures I was reminded by the comical captain that it’s now fishing time.  We made our way to the back corner section south of the gates and nosed our way slowly closer to the wall, Bubby and I were jigging Matrix shad in Lemon Head and Limbo Slice, while Josh was Carolina rigging live shrimp.  Within minutes Josh was hooked up and it didn’t take us long to figure out it wasn’t a trout as the drag was screaming off the reel.  Josh hooked into a gorgeous redfish that did everything he could in his attempt to elude the net, he made runs around several crab pot buoys, of which we had to unwrap by hand while Josh continued to fight the beast, and after what seemed like 10 minutes, we finally had the first fish in the boat.  During this time a couple other boats had pulled up and started working the back corner of the area.  As we high fived and took a few pictures, we were quick to get back to the task at hand.  Within minutes there were trout flying into the boat from every direction.  After 10 or 15 yellow mouths in the box, Capt Bubby decided to make a move, his sights weren’t set on just catching trout, he wanted to catch big trout, and so with that in mind, we cranked up and moved to another section of the wall about a mile or two away.

As we arrived at location number two, there wasn’t a boat in sight. Bubby positioned the boat along the wall in an effort to set us all up working a small ledge in 27 feet of water, and as expected, the trout began flooding the floor of the Ranger Bay.   These trout were all keepers and a little bigger, but still not what Bubby was looking for.  After about 30 minutes and another 20 trout bubby decided it was time to move again, but this time he gave us options.  Bubby looked at Josh and asked him if he had ever sight fished reds, and with as straight a face as one can have, Josh simply said. “Nope, but I’m open for anything.”

That’s all it took, you could see the excitement on Bubby’s face, he was like a kid on Christmas morning, and I just knew what lied ahead for Josh was going to be an experience he would never forget. 

As we arrived in the middle of nowhere, all you could see was crystal clear water and marsh grass for miles.  Bubby and Josh got in the front of the boat and I climbed up the T top and was perched like a bald eagle searching for his next meal.  Bubby knew these waters well and was able to almost point out the fish before we could even see them.  With matrix shad hooked up to spinner blades, the flash and thump was too much for these reds to resist.  First it was one red here and one red there, and then it was schools of reds cornered in the back of ponds.  Once Josh got his bearings and understood what to look for and where in the column the reds were swimming, it didn’t take him long to get in on the action landing his first sight fished redfish.  Within a couple of hours there were three limits of quality redfish on ice and I’m pretty sure some of the stories throughout the day will be recalled and shared for years to come.

Running a business is never easy and running a family business can have added consequences and pressures being you’re becoming part of something that is bigger than you, and the last person you ever want to let down is your own family.  So with that in mind, I asked Josh how he became involved in the family run Double D Meat Co, when did he know he wanted to continue the family tradition, and what keeps him motivated? Without hesitation, Josh quickly responded, “As a teenager I worked at the plant during my summer and Christmas breaks from school, so I knew at that time I wanted to stay in the family business when I graduated. I’ve learned a lot from my Dad Mike and Uncle Tillman, two of the greatest all around men I know, who trust me to run the family business just as Grandpa Dutch trusted them. We strive every day to continue to produce a high quality product that our loyal customers love and we continue to treat our customers as friends. Whether we are called D&D, Two D’s or Double D it gives us a sense of pride when we hear customers say they grew up eating our sausage and in their eyes there is no other. We’ve been blessed and try to help the community whenever we are able.”

Double D has been serving our community for 48 years strong and has always had a family atmosphere over the last 30 plus years I’ve been going there.  They can ship to anywhere in the U.S. by request and can be found at all of your local and major food chains.  As for their processing operations of wild game, I don’t drop my deer of anywhere except DD in Bogalusa, and now when you drop off your venison you can even enter your deer by weight into their big buck competition to win a wide array of high end prizes.

I did an article earlier this year on Double D Meat Co and the myth of whether or not you get your own meat back after you drop it off.  Well we already dispelled that myth, and getting to know Josh and seeing who he is as a person says a lot about the family touch that is put into their products, and based on the success of their company, the quality of their meat, taste of their meat, and the instilled family values that Josh portrays, there is no question why they have they have been dubbed, “Home of Country Smoked Sausage.” 

Quotes

Josh, what did you think about the trip? “It was a great day of fishing; Sight fishing from an elevated position was a 1st for me but won’t be the last. Any day on the water fishing with good people is a good day but putting fish in the boat makes it a great day. “

Capt Bubby, what did know about DD Meats? “Double D is my favorite smoke sausage, I’ve tried the rest now I eat the best, Double D Smoked Sausage.”

Capt Bubby, what is it that draws you to chartering and to fishing in general? “Although fishing is about catching fish for most people, it’s not everything. It’s the friendships and the enjoyment you have trying to catch them that’s everything.”

 

 

When plagued with rain, wind, and muddy waters, open up the history book

 Fishing in south Louisiana is well known for the phrase that lines most of our local license plates, "Sportsman's Paradise", due to the many species that lie within our coast lines, from quail to deer, Tarpon to Tuna and Speckled Trout to Largemouth Bass, there is an abundance of game that people travel thousands of miles to experience.  But recently, we have been under an aerial attack of constant rainfall mixed with high winds and muddy water. And while many parts of the Louisiana coast have continued to produce great numbers of specs and reds both inshore and off, you have to really pick your days wisely and most of all safely. 
Over the past several weeks I have been following schools of redfish throughout the marshes of Delacroix, La.  And while it usually seems easy to just launch your boat or kayak and begin catching reds within minutes, this past weekend was a completely different story. 
Most recently, I have spent my time within a 10 mile radius of my launch location, and every day I ventured out I was able to quickly get on some good action.  Clear and shallow water site fishing around vegetation that was matted up on the surface, like a field of 3 day old cut hay, seemed to be the ticket.  The thick grass was keeping the water filtered and it was almost like fishing in an aquarium.  There were many times where the fish weren't tailing above the water, but with the clarity being what it was, we could see the fish in pods up to 50 to 70 yards away glowing in the sunlight.  It was weeks of nonstop action, and easy numbers for clients.  Sometimes we would go just half a day and easily see over 100 redfish.
And then just when you began thinking you hung the moon, a 25 mph south east wind blows in and shakes it all up.  On one day the water levels were normal and the next they were two feet higher, all the grass matts were now below the waters surface, the 12 inches of water we were catching them in was now 3 feet deep, and what seemed like an army of redfish the day before, quickly turned into a popular hunting ground that was cleaned out by a forest fire.  There wasn't a redfish to be found for miles. 
After about 5 stops in the normal hot spots and only landing a few specs and bass where the reds were supposed to be.  We finally decided to make a move to deeper water.  It wasn't deep to most, but when you have been fishing 10 inches to 3 feet all day, moving into a fast moving canal with a point on it and a drop off from 3 feet to 11 feet, that's what we consider deep.  We ended what started out as an extremely slow and frustrating day with a box full of redfish in less than an hour.  Now, the question is why?  Why did these fish move out of the shallows?  All of the bait in the world had been blown up and into where the fish were the day before, but on this day with water levels were two feet higher and they were all gone.
What was it that made them move and congregate into deeper water, and were we catching them coming back into the shallows, or were we catching them congregated in the deep? It's a little bit of that "chicken and the egg" question.
Now, it's never uncommon for fish to move on a daily basis, and staying ahead of that pattern is what really separates the consistent anglers from the not so consistent ones.  We have all fished with people that swear by an area, because last time they fished it they caught a million fish, but when you show up with them you catch nothing, and they give that dumbfounded face followed by, "I don't know what happened, they were here last time???"
This is a great opportunity for a teaching lesson, nothing major, just the simple things like: what time of year was it, what were the conditions, falling tide or rising tide, south wind or north wind, before a front or after a front?  These are just some simple questions that you need to ask yourself before venturing off to ones honey hole, or better yet your own honey hole.  Get a journal(or what I refer to as "the history book"), record the same information time and time again, and within a year, you will already have a good idea of what to expect next year.
Redfish and trout, along with hundreds of other species,  can be very predictable if you understand and follow the patterns.  Keep an eye out on the forums and local fishing magazines, document where the reports are coming from and pin them on a map.  Over time, you will notice that year in and year out the same patterns and transitions begin to arise.  Sometimes they may be a week or three ahead of or behind schedule, while other times they may be spot on.  If you take the time to read books, like Trout Masters for example, you can learn a lot about the habits of fish, and more important than learning their habits, is learning what causes those habits.  Knowing this will keep you ahead of the fish and following their transition before they even make it, like spawning salinity, when do they spawn, where do they spawn, where do they hold before a spawn, the forage hatch, is it shrimp or pogies this month, big shrimp or small shrimp, what does a north or south wind do to certain areas in terms of clarity, salinity, and temperature.  It may take a little homework, but if you document it as you live it, you will always have it as a quick reference, and the next time your buddy says, "lets go hit my honey hole," you can quickly respond with a few questions or possible suggestions that could make your day on the water a lot more enjoyable.


Until Next Time,

Stay Safe & Catch1

December....A Month to Remember

 Let me first start out by saying that the month of December has been one of the most diverse fishing experiences I have endured in years.  I have taken hundreds of photos, logged a pile of different data, learned new locations, and best of all, made some new friends. 
Over this past month I have been able to entertain 13 different people on the water, from 5 different states and 2 different countries.  I have helped experienced anglers journey into the land of new techniques, and new anglers journey into the land of kayak fishing all together. 
This month I have fished, Hopedale, Delacroix, Port Sulphur, Buras, Venice, Point A La Hache, Reggio, and Myrtle grove. I have logged more miles on the water than I ever imagined doing in a month.  And most of this was done in an effort to help others in their quest of chasing La saltwater fish from a kayak.  I was also fortunate enough to compete in the final AOY event of Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club, of which I finished 5th, and I helped a film Crew for a couple of days on the water land enough redfish and bass to make several episodes of TV ready action, that will hopefully begin airing in April of 2015 on NBC.
To say it again, December, has been a month to remember.
The temperatures this month have ranged from the 30s into the 80s, the water temps have ranged from the high 50s to the mid to upper 60s.  The red fishing has been remarkable and the size of the upper slot reds have been extremely heavy.  The water has been clean up in the marsh ponds, the grass has died off in most areas I ventured, while in some areas, the slime has begun to implant itself along the muddy bottoms.  
The trout fishing has also been phenomenal.  One day in Hopedale lagoon, I was able to land a limit of trout by 730 am, while another day, I fished until 2 and only took home 17.  The trout in the goon are getting better in size, and a lot less throw backs than month ago.  I think we still need a couple more cold fronts before they get really heavy and schooled up in the area.
My best spec fishing has been in the hour before the big boats show up, it's almost as if the fish knew they were coming, from 6 am until 715 it was strike after strike, and after about the third boat showed up, it all slowed down.  I haven't been able to find good schools of fish in their normal winter holding areas yet, but they are scattered throughout.  One day, I caught most of them trolling, while two other days, I caught them all jigging, and working hard suspending lures early.  Jigging for specs during the winter bite is an art, it's that time of year where light jig heads, 1/8th to 1/4 oz heads work best.  The fish are beginning to get lethargic as the water temps continue to drop and their attack on lures is very subtle.  When I mean subtle I mean they just tap it with ease, and if you don't set it, they spit it.  Now is the time for line watching, at the first sign of your line making the slightest out of sync jump, set the hook.  If you use braid and the sun is high, line watching can be tough due to the small diameter of the line, this is where a quality fishing rod comes into play, I use 13 Fishing rods in M and MH, which I have found transmit that subtle bite extremely well. 
The Feel: If you were to set your lure on the ground, let your line out for about 20 yards, and have a friend walk up and just tap your line, that is what the trout bite has felt like lately.  It's very subtle, soft, and quick, and the faster you learn what it feels like, the better off you will be.
Reds on the other hand have been aggressive to a degree.  In deeper water they have been attacking the lure hard and then turning immediately and running with it.  In the shallows, they have been attacking it, but then sitting down on it, and not usually turning and running.  99% of my redfish have been caught on the Seein Spots Inline with Kamikaze Vortex Shad or the Black and Chartreus Vortex Shad.  In most cases I am site fishing and watching the fish inhale the lure and then stop.  They aren't turning, or running, in several instances, I watched them just grab the tail and hold it.  Watching and learning this has caused my hook rates to increase dramatically.  As they grab the lure I immediately stop my retrieve and give them a second or 4 to actually turn with the lure in their mouth, its very similar to fishing a fluke or a topwater frog, don't set the hook until you feel resistance after the red has attacked the lure.  I watched several people over the month set their hooks immediately to only have the lure come flying out of the water with the Chartreuse tail missing off the back end of their plastic.
The bass in the brackish waters have also been a little odd.  I have found that the Berkly Powerbait swimbait in Fire Tiger has been the best approach when you know where they are sitting.  But if your throwing a spoon, a little cleo specifically, they are attacking it throughout the marsh.  If I am in Delacroix or Reggio and am beating the banks for reds and bass, I will throw the little cleo all day.  If I am specifically targeting bass on stumps, pilons, and docks, I have bee throwing the Fire Tiger with the best success.  I have landed a few large mouths on the inline
spinner too, but the spoon and swim bait have been dominant when making a conscious effort to catch bass. 
Overall, December has been a blast.  I apologize for not being specific to all locations and all trips, I have been too busy with work travels to stop and put everything down for a trip by trip break down, so for the first time ever, I have included an overall monthly breakdown from what I picked up throughout the month. 
If you're looking to get out on the water for some fun, now is the time.  Winter fishing is hands down one of my favorite times of the year.  The topwater bite isn't always the best, but when you find the fish and figure out what and how they want it, you can fill the bag easily in under an hour with nonstop action.  Not to mention, the fish are close to home, being able to make the short drive the Shell Beach or the Delacroix/Hopedale area is always icing on the cake.
I'd like to give a special thanks to those that helped in my experiences this month, so



Rick, Nick, Gary, Jorge, Chad, Ken, Jason, Hans, Tommy, Daniel, Charlie, Craig, and Mr. Terry........THANK YOU.

Until Next time,

Stay Safe & Catch1