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 Louisiana Fly Fishing: Mardi Gras Redfish, Excess In Every Direction
Posted by will-benson on February 20, 2008
(2867 reads)
12hrs. That's how long it takes to drive from New Orleans to Naples towing
a flats skiff; and it's not nearly enough time to remember all the great
fish we caught in the marsh. Dave and I laughed and theorized about setting
the hook, what color they liked best, where the next coolest spot is, and
how awful the drive was at the end of the day back to Luling... Find that
on the map. Travis, god bless him, has a reason to live an hour an a half
from the dock. It's because any number of docks can be reached within that
drive. No shit! And being on the redfish tour means you have to know
everything there is to know about Southern Louisiana from Slidell to Morgan
City. I have to admit, the drive absolutely killed me but I learned more
about fishing and where the next level is in the last month than I have in
the last 2 years of guiding. In only a Cajun view of the world it all makes
sense. And that's the point I'm trying to get at. Louisiana is just
different. It's still a part of the United States as we depend on it
heavily for oil, seafood and other goods, but the mindset is 1/2 American
1/2 French 1/2 Black and 1/2 Southern. Everything is on a different clock
down here. You really have to let go in order to get by. And that's
typically un-American. Everywhere you look you see the absurd. Mardi Gras
is the epitome of this. It's the party to end all parties, and no one can
escape it-- excess in every direction. And we were all about it!
Especially the
freakishly enormous redfish that inhale Mardi Gras colored
flies. I believe it's one of the coolest things in saltwater fly fishing.
I tell people, " if you want to experience what fishing would have been like
200 years ago, this is it." It's simply ridiculous! Only years ago the
redfish in this part of the world were almost wiped out by chef Paul
Prudhomme's blackened redfish recipe and today they are thriving. There are
many theories about this fishery but from what I have seen over the years of
fishing here and talking to the commercial fisherman and other local anglers
is that what we're witnessing may be the cataclysmic collapse of the fishery
as the marsh washes into the Gulf. It's really scary to think that it took
6,000 years to build the Louisiana peninsula and it's taken 60 to destroy
it. After Katrina there are places like Port Sulfur and Empire that have
been simply wiped off the map. The captains there are starting to see a
decline in the fishing as the habitat disappears. There just aren't as many
places to fish as there used to be. So we know it's coming. It's just
matter of time. For that reason I feel really lucky to have the opportunity
to experience the marsh. It's a wild and beautiful place. And as far as
sight fishing with a fly rod...when the conditions line up, there's nothing
that beats it. We will be making an appearance for the second half of the
Fly Fishing Film Tour with brand new footage from our trip. So check out
dates at www.aegmedia.com and enjoy the show. - Will Benson
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Re: Louisiana: Mardi Gras Redfish, Excess In Every Direction
by jeremy on February 20, 2008 http://www.fliesandfins.com | will and dave,
WOW! Seriously, when dave told me you guys were towing the flats boats from florida to louisiana, i was kinda like "why? just for some redfish? you could catch redfish in the everglades?" .. Well, now I know why. The "freakish sizes" of the redfish are amazing. I have only caught 2 redfish in my life (ps. I am very proud of those 2:) .. Anyway, I kinda thought I knew what "big" meant in terms of redfish .. but, I guess "big" is all relative to where you are fishing .. I honestly had no idea Redfish got that big, so consistently. Ya, I probably knew they get caught .. but it seems that those monsters were plentiful and the "small" ones were few and far between. Equally as much, I enjoyed how you guys caputured the essence of the experience. Love the shot of the crabs in the cooker. Sweet! Great story telling too, you really captured the totality of "the experience" via film and writing in a very cool way. It came across on film that you guys were just enjoying yourselves, having fun and learning about the fishery and the culture. That is what I like most. Fun and always learning and appreaciting the vast amount of fly rod culture opportunities worldwide .. great job .. thanks for helping me to see how special Lousiana is in terms of the fly fishing and people culture. |
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Re: Louisiana: Mardi Gras Redfish, Excess In Every Direction
by joey on February 20, 2008 http://www.fliesandfins.com | | Great piece boys, Those Reds are crazy big. I liked how you had to roll over into the boat to get them in. Excess in every direction couldn't be any more accurate. I was there in college and I was in toxic shock for a week after I left. |
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Re: Louisiana: Mardi Gras Redfish, Excess In Every Direction
by NiC on February 21, 2008 http://www.fly-only.dk | Thats what I love about flyfishing.. you'll learn something new every day.
I have heard about Redfish flyfishing, but I never thought it would / could be fish of those dimensions.
Now I have to add a new place on my 'Must visit'- list when I, in the future, go to USA for fishing...
- Nice video ... really nice ... |
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Re: Louisiana: Mardi Gras Redfish, Excess In Every Direction
by Austin on February 21, 2008 | | Wow! some truly amazing filming. It is so cool to see you guys post tailing permit from florida, and now giant redfish in louisiana. You guys keep opening up my eyes for fly fishing opportunites, and it looks like the 14 hour drive was worth it....looking forward to seeing your what your next adventure will bring... |
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Re: Louisiana: Mardi Gras Redfish, Excess In Every Direction
by AvidDavid on February 24, 2008 | | I've fished from boats smaller than that fish! |
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