Key West Fly Fishing

Still in Mississippi, finding it difficult to leave these redfish.

Yesterday the wind kicked up a little bit so my cousin Micheal and I drove the extra 45 miles to Hopedale to keep from rattling our teeth out crossing Lake Bourne. Around 9:30 we pulled up to the first spot and poled into a shallow lake with creeks on each end, one flowing into the gulf the other into a larger lake. The entrance into redfishville was stacked with fish around 10-15 lbs. Micheal, being a fish friendly caster, with little time on the bow of a skiff and equally limited time sight casting to tailing reds, was not much of a threat to the school. It was still really cool watching the fish hold in the current, waving their tails slowly. The blue sky made the visibility flawless and we could see the bluish outline on the tips of their tails as they slowly waved in the incoming tide. It was even cool seeing the explosion of mud as the school fled for their lives as Mike cast a Randy Johnson fastball into the middle of them on his third or fourth attempt. We poled around the mouth of the lake but it was too shallow to get inside very far. We managed to hook a few and land one or two before we poled out and drove around to the other end of the lake where we had almost the same scenario as on the first end.  We found fish at every spot we stopped, all new spots that I had never fished. The highlight of the day was a cove we found with a deep depression running up the middle. All of the fish we saw in the cove were huge. I’d be lying if I said how big they were. All I have to go on is the 3 we landed weighed around 20 lbs and I saw some in there that looked like they could have eaten the ones we landed.

Heading back in the morning with two friends from Memphis, Mike Smith and John Barb. Our game plan is to get one over 30lbs. I’ll keep y’all posted.

Jacob

John and I recently had the opportunity to chase the big redfish that call the marsh of Mississippi and Louisiana home. We flew into New Orleans on the evening of the 16th and met Jacob for a three day fishing free for all. The first night we spent in Hattiesburg, MS seeing some of the “institutions” that we have all heard about for the past seven years. We got to bed a little after midnight on the 17th, only to be roused by my alarm going off at 4:30 am. We hooked up the boat and headed to the coast.

We arrived at the ramp at Bayou Caddy, just west of Bay Saint Louis, a little after dawn. We were greeted by a cold breeze and cloudy conditions as we bundled up and headed across Lake Borgne to the eastern margins of the Biloxi Marsh. After a relatively pleasant run, we began checking the satellite chart for likely looking edges and ponds. The persistent cloud cover made the fishing difficult despite the low water of the early incoming tide. Hoping to see pushes and tails in the flat light proved fruitless as the fish were just not active. As we approached the noon hour the sun finally broke through and we were greeted by reds as we worked our way through numerous ponds. Although the big reds alluded us, we managed to connect on several fish in the 10-15 lb range. The window of light proved to be finite and the last couple of hours were spent poling good looking water to no avail. The three of us also failed to realize that the wind had slowly gained steam and the run back to the ramp was uncomfortably memorable. The trip across Lake Borgne in a steep chop convinced us that fishing out of Hopedale, LA might be a smarter option for friday the 18th.

Despite a weather forecast calling for increasing winds and heavy cloud cover, we awoke early Friday morning and left the hotel just east of New Orleans in the predawn darkness. After a breakfast to go at a McDonald’s in Chalmette that redefined the term “fast food”, we headed down the road to Hopedale. As we made the run toward the edges of the marsh adjacent to the Gulf, the sun began to break through the soup and our spirits were lifted by the prospect of getting some light. Our first stop provided us with a number of shots at fish cruising and laid up. The fish were active and greedily pounced on the flies. We caught several nice fish, but the big ones still proved elusive. We fished the edges of the marsh and open ponds in hopes that we might find the bigger fish that we desperately desired. Around noon the wind picked up to an honest 25 knots, but the sun continued to shine. We found a clean edge adjacent to deeper water where Jacob spotted a nice red laying in a couple of feet of water. His cast landed right and the fish grabbed the fly. The fish, around 20lbs, headed up wind. As John futilely tried to chase, he spotted another fish even bigger up wind. I stripped some line off and made a couple of casts not getting the fly in the zone and the fish slid out of view. We landed Jacob’s fish, the biggest of the trip, just as the clouds rolled in, it was the last time that we would see the sun. After trying edges in hopes that the sun would reappear we gave up the ghost and headed for the ramp feeling satisfied and proud of ourselves at the good fishing we had.

Saturday morning came with high winds, rain storms and temperatures hovering around 40 degrees. We sat in the hotel room hoping the weather would break, but it was not to be. Saturday would not be spent fishing, instead we headed to New Orleans grabbed some sandwiches at Johnny’s Po-Boys and spent what seemed like hours at Louis Armstrong airport not looking forward to returning to Miami and leaving a place that we are all beginning to love.

Despite our inexperience in the area we managed to find a good number of fish, catch some and learn a lot about navigating what to us looks like a foreign landscape. We caught a decent number of fish ranging from 10-20 lbs, at one point having a triple header. The Mississippi River Delta is one of the most amazing fisheries in the country - the amount of bird life, the beauty of the marsh and the abundance of redfish and black drum makes it an uncomparable place. John and I are counting the days until we can return.

Drew

It has been a slow few weeks for business here in the Lower Keys.  The perfect excuse to get out of town.  However, before I managed to escape, I spent a great day on the water with client Ryan Equale and his father-in-law to be Doug.  We had a very pleasent day on the water.  Cloudless skies and easy fishing, the fish found us all day.  We fished only three flats all day and were lucky enough to catch two permit.  No complaints here.

The next morning, my wife, daughter and I left for a week in New Orleans.  While this was supposed to be a family vacation, I still managed to sneak away for a single day of fishing in the Louisiana marsh.  It may have been only one day, but it was one I will never forget.  I met Capt Gjuro Bruer (www.shallowwaterexpeditions.com) at 7am on a very cold morning.  Light winds and blue skies made me forget about the cold air, long run, and frozen fingers. 

Within minutes of shuting down, somewhere in the marsh, I really have no idea where, I was hooked up to my first redfish.  Gjuro laughed at how small it was.  I didn’t.  The fish, around 13-14lbs, was the biggest red I have ever caught.  Hell, I have only ever seen a few bigger than that in the Glades.  And things only got better from there.  We were surrounded by fish all day.  Whether it was the shoals of sheepshead, Black Drum up to 50lb or the ominpresent reds, there was always something to throw at.  The fishing was so good, we would try to get any small red (i.e. under 20) to chase the fly, open its mouth, and then pull it away. 

Alternating time on the bow, we caught two black drum over 40lbs, reds up to 25lbs, and had shots at some redfish that were pushing 60lbs.  I know, I can here the cries of bullshit from here, but I’m not lying.  We found two reds of such immense proportions you could have told me they were 80lbs and I would have believed it.  Yes, in case you were wondering I farmed both the shots.  Even so, the day was spectacular.

Do youself a favor, plan a trip to Louisiana, give Gjuro or his partner Dave Mangum a try.  They are both fishhawks who roam the entire Gulf Coast, from LA to the Marquesas in search of fish. Their level of expertise is unrivaled.

I’m not kidding, don’t wait.  Get down to LA

Now if only I can find a way back.

John