Man the fishing has been great around the islands since the weather has warmed back up. There have been plenty of Redfish caught any day that the water is moving. The trout had slowed but are increasing every day that the temps stay up. The reds have been hitting everything from plastics to minnows both around the islands and in the canals.
Offshore, what can I say, the tuna are there you just have to be able to get to them. It is a situation where you book your trip and hope that the weather cooperates so that you get it run. We stayed off the water this past weekend doing maintenance but everything is ready to go now.
Now that the holidays are over with, it is time to start thinking about the trips again. We have both inshore and offshore boats open for this Sunday and I may have one offshore boat open for Saturday, if the weather works out.
225-937-6288 / 225-261-4162
We had a Tuna trip scheduled for Saturday but the crew was worried about the weather and did not want to take the chance of getting caught up in the cold front.
They had driven all the way from Hattisburg, MS. and they were going to see water if I had anything to do with it.
We went to plan 'B' and put the bay boat in the water. The 1st three stops were not that great and the fish were starting to get me worried. I knew that I had a lot of options once the tide started rising but was worried how long that would take.
About 11:30 with only 3 fish in the boat, the falling tide started slacking off. Off to honey hole #1. Not much there but a few reds and some sheepheads. Watched a boat work over honey hole #2 but they were not doing it right. As soon as they left, we took our place in the hole with fingers crossed behind my back.
Third cast brought a 16 inch speck to the boat. Next cast produced the twin sister to the 1st one. It was on then. A large school of minnows came through the canal we were fishing and thousands of specks were busting the top of the water chasing them. I have never seen this in January before. A quick change to popping corks and a variety of plastics kept the specks busy all afternoon.
Final count was 96 specks, 3 reds and a few sheepshead. We left them biting with a cold front bearing down on us.
Reel Screamers Guide Service
WWW.Reelscreamers.com
225-937-6288
We made it back out to the lump Saturday with a great group from the New Iberia area.
These boys had worked hard all year long and now they were in a lull after the cane harvest and wanted to blow some steam. They arrived Saturday morning looking a little rough after having some of Kentucky's finest. The buoys seemed to suggest that the front was hung up offshore with calm seas on the back side and 13.5 foot seas on the south side of the front.
We decided to let the boys have a power nap and we looked at it again at 9am. The call was made to take the shot.
We arrived at the lump to find 12 to 15 foot rollers. It looked like the intro into the old Hawaii Five-O TV show. The seas were actually fun to fish in until the Kentucky Burbon started to take it's revenge. It was a tough day with a bunch of great guys. Three nice tuna ended up hitting the dock at the end of the day, the largest going just at 100lbs.
We ran out at 9:45am, made it to the lump before noon with no fog. Left the lump just at dusk with fog on the lump. It cleared up about 5 miles off the lump and with the exception of an area of about 5 miles of open water fog, we had unlimited visibility all the way to Grand Isle.
We have several scattered days open if anyone wants to try their hand at the big boys.
Reel Screamers Guide Service
Grand Isle, LA.
225-937-6288
A late word and a way to morn.......
Ladies and gentleman, any of you who have been around the boating business for any length of time may remember a fine gentleman by the name of Richard 'Dick' Bond. I am sorry to inform any that did not know that Mr. Dick passed away Tuesday Morning after fighting the onset of the dreaded Alztimers (sp) and a battle with Pnuemonia. We laid Mr. Dick to rest this evening under a big Gum tree in Greenoaks Cemetary in Baton Rouge.
Mr. Dick worked in the boating industry for years with my fondest memories of him being a field tester for Stratos Bass Boats and running the parts department and selling boats at Martrain Marine in Baton Rouge. Words cannot describe what I learned from this man and how he knew the spillway like the back of his hand.
We had a memoriable service today with several family and friends and members of the Air Force Honor Guard.
There are a lot of Bass and Sac-a-lait that are breathing easier today with the passing of Mr. Dick but they should beware, he was buried with everything that he needed to do damage above, including a pocket full of izzy-bees, the spinner bait that he developed and sold from his kitchen.
Rest easy my old friend, until we meet again.
Daryl
This past week we had Kevin and his two sons from Iowa. They drove all the way down to try the fishing that they had heard so much about.
Once at Grand Isle, they fished Friday with Gary Harp since we had a break down on the little boat. They managed some nice reds with a speck here and there and a few flounder to top off the box.
Saturday they found themselves on the Hydra Sport, watching a beautiful sunrise over the Gulf. Mangroves were hte beast of the day. These guys echoed the sentiments of many when they proclaimed just how hard these fish fight for their size. We managed to put together a nice box of fish between watching the Manta Rays play and feeding the Hammerhead sharks.
BIG NEWS >>>>>>> I had saved the opening Sunday of snapper season for the family at mama's request. We found out that she is going to have to work. The opening Sunday of snapper season is now open if a group wants to fill the date. If no groups, we will entertain filling the day with walk-ons.
If you are interested .................. Reel Screamers Guide Service Grand Isle, LA. 225-937-6288
I would like to say thanks to everyone that has called since the storm. We are alive and at least one of us is well in Baton Rouge.
I have not heard from Capt. JW Berry in several days now. Those of you that do not know, "J" is also employed as a fireman in Jefferson Parish. He has been working without a break since Sunday evening. The last that I heard from him, he was tired and wanting a few days off to get his head right. I will not go into details but the stuff that he is seeing and dealing with could have effects for years to come. I worry for his safety and ask for your thoughts. "J", if you get computer access, call me........
We lost our place on Grand Isle but the rental camp made it with only a few scratches. The bridge onto Grand Isle is messed up so the island will be out of service for a while.
We were able to get all of the important stuff out before the storm and we are working on arrangments for a temporary dock in the area so that we will be ready as soon as we are able to get a steady supply of bait and ice.
I want to complain as I continue to listen to the generators hum out the back door but I know that there are several out there that have lost everything. We pray that these people will find easier days to come and that they will quickly be able to put their lives back together.
God Bless
Daryl
Yes, Salvaging the season!!!!!!!!! I have all the respect in the world for Capt. Chris and any like he and I that are willing to Salvage the season and move toward that goal.
Let's look at a few things. Katrina blew through here and struck a devastating blow to the Gulf Coast. The storm inflicted great pain, human and property losses to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. I personally have donated time, money and my house in Baton Rouge to people that were effected by this storm. As I type this, I am tracking a trailer that contains about 200 cases of water and about half as much soda and other supplies that is headed this way as part of the releif effort. Supplies that I will say I am connected to. Capt. JW Berry has worked 24 hours a day since the Sunday before the storm arrived. He has fought house fires, recovered bodies and helped people escape the madness of a flooded city, a hell of a lot more then most of us have done...........
I feel great pain for the people that have lost items and lives in the course of this storm. I have lost material things in this storm just like Capt Chris and many others. Myself and my family are healthy and I am greatful for that.
With that said, LIFE GOES ON. I have bills to pay and commitments to honor. My main focus right now is to get my business up and running. I would be fishing tomorrow if I could find bait, ice and fuel to run my boat.
I had this same conversation with a LDWF officer the other day as we were among the first to survey the damage to Grand Isle. The talk turned to where we were going to move as a temporary dock, until Grand Isle could be rebuilt. The agent responded with this look that demanded a response.
My response to him was that he was working, most likely making good overtime, working a roadblock on LA. 1. There is no shame in that, someone had to be there working that roadblock. But at the same time, he was wearing a clean uniform, driving a state owned and fueled truck and he knew that Friday evening his paycheck was going to hit the bank. What, pray tell was wrong with me worrying about the same thing!!!!!!!!!! Where was my next check going to come from?, What was I going to use to pay my boat note? What funds was I going to use to rebuild my place????
There are scores of people that will need to rely on FEMA and insurance to make it through the rest of the year. There is no shame in that either. However there are people like myself, Capt Moran and others who were lucky enough to have saved what we need to be back in business. So tell me why should we not be back in business????
Many of our customers are local and will not be able to return for a while due to the effects of this storm but many of our customers are from other parts of the country. They have scheduled vacation, gathered groups and gone to great lengths to take a trip that will cost them their hard earned money. Should those of us in Louisiana lay down and play dead............. personally I do not think so. I believe those of us that can, should get our businesses rolling, bring in the tourist and the tax base that our industry counts on.
I usually do not get involved in these littel internet tiffs but this one hits home for me. I too have spoken with Frank Hardison and it looks like I will be running from his dock for now. With any luck, we will be up and running in the next 10 days or so. We will be doing our best to put smiles on peoples faces, fish on the table and people back into the equation of Lafourche and Jefferson Parish.
I have to extend a great thanks to people like Frankie Hardison and Chris Moran for delivering pride and professionalism to the life that we all love so much.
Katrina has kicked us in the teeth and it hurt. While we are down, we are a long way from out. We will be back on the water in the next week or so. To those of you considering a fishing trip in your future, please keep south Louisiana in your thoughts.
You all can debate this all you want, we will have to agree to disagree if necessary......... I have said what I have to say.
God Bless all .......... be safe
It appeared to me that BOUDREAUX'S MOTEL made it through the storm without much damage, now I need to know how to get in touch with them, I seem to be having problems finding a number. We have crews coming in from Texas this weekend that are looking for a place to stay in the Leeville area. We are going FISHING........
Anybody that has rooms for rent, please post here for all to see.
After nearly two weeks of being off the water, it was nice to get back into things. Certainly things are not normal but with a few little concessions we are running and catching fish. We have lost some trips because the customers were directly affected by the storm and fishing is taking a back seat to getting life back together.
We got back on the water for the first time since the storm this Saturday. After a two week absence from the sport that we love, it was sweet to be back on the water. The absence and the destruction that caused it, made me appreciate what we have, like never before.
We left the dock late, after the customers were delayed by a major auto accident. We took our time leaving Belle Pass as there was some trash being moved about by the tide. These customers wanted this to be a Snapper and Amberjack trip so we struck out for the Snapper holes that had been so hot before the storm. We arrived at the first stop to find the water a dirty green and the current ripping so fast that it was almost impossible to fish. We headed for the next stop and found that the water had changed to a dirty blue with little current.
This storm seems to have scattered the snapper. What was a guaranteed thing before the storm, was found to be spotty with a lot of smaller fish. We placed a few snapper in the box then concentrated on making bait for an amberjack run.
As we ran into the canyon we found the water had turned to a beautiful blue and the wind that had been blowing the seas earlier had calmed to nothing. The boat ride was magnificent.
As we neared what was to be the first of our AJ stops, we noticed a lot of surface action with frigate birds circling overhead. As we got closer we could see hundreds of blackfin and an occasional yellowfin clearing the surface of the ocean like they were preparing for a trip to the moon. The boat came to a stop and we quickly outfitted every spin cast rod on the boat with poppers.
While we were rigging the rods for battle I looked over the bow of the boat and saw a very large bill slashing about in the school of tuna. I gave the customers the option of dragging baits for the bill fish but explained that if he came to the boat healthy he most likely would be released. The snapper had been so slow during the morning they opted to go with the tuna.
We eased the boat to within casting distance of the mayhem and that is when the beauty of nature took hold. All of the excitement was centered around a large group of whale sharks. There were at least 5 and maybe 7 whale sharks, playing and feeding in the area.
To see these mammoths go almost vertical in the water and open there large mouths to filter the water, then just graciously start rolling and playing in the water, was simply amazing. Staying there and watching this until the sun went down would have been plenty for me but I had to get to work.
We started putting blackfin in the boat with several break offs when the tuna would run the line across the whale sharks. We stayed with the whale sharks until we had to shut it down to perform minor surgery after one of the guest hooked his buddy with three hooks with a well placed cast from a popper.
The guys decided that they wanted to try for more snapper so we headed for shallower water. On the way in we discovered that all of the trash from the storm had gathered on a beautiful blue green rip with a trash line that had to be 100 yards wide. We cruised this rip for a little ways, spotting an occasional, large dolphin. The customers however decided that they did not want anything but more snapper.
We headed for the WD field where we found nasty green water with a nasty 4 foot sea and a ripping current. Too much current and too much weight made it tough for these guys to feel the bite.
We ended the day with a mixed box of snapper and blackfin and one lone Atlantic Sharpnose.
While in the gulf, I found platforms mostly in tack from West Delta to South Timberlier. All of them seemed to have some minor damage with handrails, microwave dishes and scaffolding dangling free. There was one rig in the WD area where the entire platform was listing to the north at about a 35 degree angle. This was in the WD70 area. I did not get the rig number as the Navy had fully armed cruisers in the area as part of the detachment to protect the president and they did not like company in the area.
The customers took the pictures and if they forward them to me, I will post here.
We now have plenty of open dates from cancellations forced by Hurricane Katrina. If fishing is in your plans, give us a call. Frankie Hardison tells us that they should have electricity by mid week and within days he will be up and running with full supplies and rooms to rent.
Reel Screamers Guide Service
Grand Isle / Fourchon
225-937-6288
