Devin
Forum Replies Created
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“a smallish white trout caught 20-ft. down with a chartreuse Sparkle Beetle on the drop shot rig, all by himself”
That’s brilliant! And, coincidentally, what I do. Just find a bunch of easy fish and let them have fun. It’s just a different fishing trip when kids come, and that’s just fine. No pressure.
I’ll also take my boys on long scouting trips, strictly to acclimate them to the environment and being on the water. They might poo-poo on it at first, but eventually love it. If it’s calm I’ll let them drive the boat in the lake.
Those spots you fished are gonna turn on even more with this cold front. The best days I’ve had in Geoghegan were the days water was freezing on the fishing line as it was reeled up.
Great report, thanks for posting!
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Did you ever edit anything?
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I also want to mention that we did not fish deep holes at all. We just never got around to it. There may be something to it, I just don’t know. When Ben told me he corked ’em yesterday that was enough for me to know what to try today. If there’s not a deep water game, that would surprise me. However, this cold that’s coming ought to send everything running deep.
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What area are you comfortable fishing? Where do you feel most confident?
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You crazy bastards hit Lery?!? That’s a helluva move.
I’m guessing Wreck Bay was too much river water, which is too bad. It looks like y’all terminated your effort south of where I wanted to go in Grand Point Bay, low end of Baker’s, and Francis Martin Bayou. Can’t really tell.
I’m guessing Battleground Bay is swallowed in river water.
Either way, this cold front is surely going to send fish deep, so anything learned today is off the table until it warms up again.
Hopefully the river stays in the single digits.
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I split this as a separate report so it’s not lost in the comments of Shooter’s report.
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We kept fish today and this is the closest thing I have to a dockshot. I just assumed everybody would whack the fish. Also, it’s that time of year the pelicans are starving. We had one snatch an entire trout off the table. lol
0:20
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“You were washing the boat and he was cleaning fish.”
I know my place. lol Yeah, that’s Ben. He bent my rod. lol I’ve known Ben since high school and we’ve fished together since we were kids.
Also, this post confirms my new reality: I must assume I am under observation at all times. I don’t recall a bay boat passing the dock. lol Gotta pull my head out of my ass.
“I think we should do this again sometime. Take an area we know holds fish, hit it from different angles, and compare notes.”
Yes, indeed.
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I think you can make do with either choice. Biloxi Marsh was doable when I fished there on the 30th, just lots of throwbacks and more boats than what I cared for.
Whatever you do, just make a planning post so I can help you on where to go and what to do. Wherever you’re going, I’ve probably been there before and can give pointers.
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Oh, and that feeling was correct. You picked out a lot of the same stuff I did. It was eerie seeing that. LOL You will see when that video goes live on February 10th.
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I think we can all agree that this last cold front moved the fish around. Maybe I’m just hard headed, but they have to be somewhere down there near the river water. If I get time I’ll look, but (if I do launch the boat anytime soon) it will be down off LA-1 somewhere.
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“but the mental game is more interesting to me”
That is “the way”. Everything is mental. The effort in inshore fishing reveals that.
Story time: long ago I was a RIP Instructor, and it was my job to screen, train and select Marines who wanted to get into Recon. The main thing we are looking for is mental strength. I know when everyone thinks of this kind of job they think of big, jacked dudes like John Cena who play the role on the silver screen, but that’s not real life.
What’s real life is not quitting.
Just to get into Recon Indoctrination Platoon, Marines would have to pass a rather basic screening, part of which involves a 25 meter underwater crossover. They must complete it on one breath in clothes. Wearing clothes makes it way more difficult due to the drag. Try it sometime in a pool.
One day I was the safety swimmer and as I was following a kid on his crossover I could hear him making those “umph” sounds just before he blacked out. I pulled him out of the pool, the corpsman resuscitated him and, when he woke up, he asked if he made it. We told him “no” but passed him anyway because he didn’t quit. He was going to die before he failed. We like that. It’s not his fault he’s not Michael Phelps, we can teach him to swim better. He went on to eventually graduate Amphibious Reconnaissance School and became a combat diver.
We would also psyche out Marines on ruck runs. The first one was three miles, and we built up to fiven, seven, ten, twelve and eventually fifteen miles. That’s miles and miles of running with a 50lb ruck, deuce gear and a rifle. But on the fifteen-miler we didn’t run 15 miles. We just let them believe that. And as the ruck run began, the fear/anxiety would set in and all of a sudden Marines are dropping out left and right. The ruck run was only about a half mile, but the quitters didn’t know that. They just selected themselves out.
We would also make a point to always end the ruck run at the same spot. Then one day the “rabbit” that the students have to keep up with just blasts through the end-point and the ruck run keeps going. For how long, they have no idea. Marines dropped like flies. It was a great trick. Anyone who didn’t keep up with the rabbit got kicked out and sent back to the fleet.
One of the reasons I love fishing is that this relentless kind of mind-f*ck is administered by the conditions and the fish.
Just let it roll off your back and keep going. The journey will reward you.
“I was getting my ass kicked and walked away with a limit of reds.”
Agreed, you did great. Definitely record those details for your personal report. Your future self will thank you.
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I know no one wants my suggestions right now, but I bet the south side of the Rock Dam is gonna be awesome. You’ll definitely be protected. If I were you I’d go straight there. I do think St. Malo is a good idea, too. You can do both. But if I had to do one I’d do the south side of the Rock Dam. Given the weather you will most likely have it all to yourself.
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Okay, I see.
Well, I’m with ya. For years during the Freshening the usual milk run I’d make in Biloxi Marsh dried up. That began in about 2015. It was just a suck festival. Hardly any fish. But one place that was banging that entire time was Delacroix. I think it just has more bait and that’s where fish in Pointe a la Hache/Buras go once the river rises. I could be wrong.
Those years I’d watch Jack Payne and others post incredible dockshots (100+ trout) and I caught jack. lol I’m still figuring it out, but this year was far more productive, finally catching that learning curve. I don’t think the bottom structure/composition of Delacroix is any different from that of Hopedale or even Biloxi Marsh, though Katrina definitely scraped the marsh away in a lot of areas. Fortunately we have older imagery to tell the tale.
The coming cold weather is going to make finding fish a lot easier. I’m sure trout are going to pile up, but they may not bite if it gets cold enough. Then it will be a redfish game.
I really want to get out there for it, but there’s so much maintenance and LAFB-work to do that I’m going to sit it out and get the fireplace and something warm to drink. lol
Just remember that inshore fishing is a journey, not a destination.
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LOL
Well, I appreciate that, but my big fat F is coming. Remember, I got creamed in Lake Pontchartrain on the 30th when everyone else crushed them. Tough trips are just part of the game.
With the coming cold I think it will become much easier to locate fish.
