Oct 13 Scout Trip
Rocky and I had a decent weather day off and decided to make a run and see what we find. 120 miles later we had few shots but did manage to get this 47.5 lb black drum and 22 lb Red. Not bad but was hoping to see more.
Safety Men Throw Caution Into The Wind…by Captain Lucas Bissett
Took out Dr. Dave and Seth today and we were met by a stiff ENE wind. The weather man told a fishing story again today by forecasting diminishing winds. The only thing that diminished was the sun behind the partly cloudy skies. All that being said, my guys looked past all that and managed some nice fish on the fly rod. With lowered visibility due to the wind and lack of sun we saw most of our redfish close to the boat so it was hand to fin combat the whole day. Way to get up close and personal and hand feed some flies! Had a great day today guys the only thing that needed to be careful was the fish!
Great fishing = Guide Party
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Both these days we were fortunate to have perfect weather with mostly clear skies and 0 winds at times. Although the first day it took us a few hrs to find them once we did we were all over them. Needless to say we headed to the same spot the following morning. As the day went on we were joined by both Gregg Arnold and Greg Dini. Because the fishing was so good everyone was happy to fish next one another. All boats did very well.
Dirty Water Bull Reds
My friend Nick was nice enough to join for a scout day today. I told him off the bat it will be a lot of looking with very little fishing. He agreed. Like I said we did a lot of looking. Traveling almost 100 miles finding only one group of fish. But they were good ones. Here are the two we landed.
Captain Miles LaRose
Captain Miles LaRose
Born and raised in the great state of Louisiana, Captain LaRose grew up on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, only 25 miles outside of New Orleans. With access to freshwater fish in the river and coastal fishing in the lake, he has longtime life experience catching fish.
Take a look at the video below to get a full rundown of the boat and some of the custom features!
Center Console Fury Heading to LA from East Cape on Vimeo.
Captain Rocky Thickstun
Captain Rocky Thickstun
Captain Thicksun grew up in a family passionate about hunting and fishing. He has fished all over the world, and after realizing that Louisiana bountiful amounts of redfish, today he helps other people to experience his passion for catching fish.
Captain Greg Dini
I was born in Orlando, Florida and began fishing at a very young age. I graduated to the saltwater environment at the age of 10, when our family bought a condo on the east coast of Florida. I mastered my home waters of Mosquito Lagoon while in high school and made trips every other weekend to the west coast of Florida to fish the Charlotte Harbor area. I was fortunate enough to play sports as a young man and received a scholarship to play division one baseball at the University of Miami. This is where my addiction began as I got hooked on the three biggest saltwater flats species (Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit). Going to class was extremely hard when you live in an area that has incredible fishing opportunities, as South Florida did.
After my sophomore year at UM, I transferred to play baseball at Tulane University which is located in Uptown, New Orleans. I didn’t realize how good of a fishery that I had moved into and was out on the water in no time, learning the area that is considered to be the best red fishery in the world. Putting in thousands of hours on the marsh and polling around in technical skiffs has made me realize how incredible and resourceful the Louisiana marsh really is.
Whether you are interested in marsh fishing in Louisiana or searching for the silver kings on the coast of Florida, I invite you to come share in my addiction..
As a former customer of guides all over the world, I know how it can be to get yelled at and put in your place when you don’t make the perfect cast, or can’t see the fish right away. For this reason, I will never put my anglers down when they are on the bow of my boat. I strive to make my trips as enjoyable and comfortable for my clients, with trips consisting of instruction, encouragement, and tons of laughter. Creating friendships and memorable experiences is my vision for Fly Water Expeditions and I can’t wait to hear from you.
Capt. Greg Dini Jr.
Visit my site at Flywater Expeditions
Season On The Edge
I have spent the last 3 out of 4 days being a chase boat for Capt Greg Dini while he was filming an episode of Season On The Edge. The mistake the host Ken made was telling Dini he wanted him to fish (big mistake).
This picture is a great example of how our days went. Notice the host and the camera crew in the background.
Spent the first two days fighting the wind but still catching fish. The last day was perfect weather and the wind dropped to nothing, and at the last hour of the last day the host Ken catches this stud on topwater, it was a great finish.
Overcast Skies, High Winds, and Bull Redfish
Yesterday we fished and caught plenty of small fish but no big fish. Although we saw and presented flies perfectly to them we had no strikes at all. So after a little tweaking of my fly patterns we started day two. All weather forecast we saw were wrong. We had little to no sun all day and a pretty steady wind, but we knew where the fish were and we now had the flies to catch them.
So here are the big boys….
22lb
32lb
Last but not least the 37lb
Oct 6-7
Day one started off with a bang with the first cast catching this 20 lb stud.
After this start it was tough to beat. We managed to catch plenty of fish but none this big. Due to the wind we did have to break out the spin gear but we did keep it interesting by throwing this massive tuna popper. It was pretty sweet to watch a red take that thing down.
The second day was even more interesting with the winds blowing 25-30 mph. We fished close to the launch just to keep it safe and sure enough we found fish. I knew it was going to be good when we pull up and immediately see three tournament boats fishing the same area. With the winds so bad we actually spent most of our day just staked out in one area, but it was all we needed. We had fish busting around us constantly and when the sun actually came out it was almost a sure thing you were going to get a shot. Here is one of the many fish we caught.
Whacking the reds
Mr. Larry whacking the reds, catching lots of fish, but not catching lots of big fish. Water clarity being the key and it hasn’t been the best, some clean some not. Good enough to really pound these voracious eaters with double digit numbers of fish caught each trip! This time of year we need tide and sunshine. We will have a great trip…..
Double Digit Redfish – Louisiana
Mr. Bob of Michigan giving the reds a lot of trouble, lots of fish caught and beautiful weather. Temps in the upper 70’s FANTASTIC weather ! water clarity coming around a little, for sure good enough for a day of sight fishing catching double digit red fish and having some real good shots at large black. Great trip and a great sportsman….. not a bad caster either
Report Submitted by Captain Rocky Thickstun
Captain Greg Moon
Captain Greg Moon
Captain Moon was raised on the beaches of California. He has been catching fish his entire life. He graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy from the University of Santa Barbara, and he moved to New Orleans over four years ago.
Captain Lucas Bissett
Of my thirty-one years on this earth I have been fishing twenty-six. I learned from an extremely young age just how addicting fishing truly could be. I started my fishing tenure chasing large mouth bass in the back waters of Southern Louisiana.
I knew from those first topwater blow-ups that fishing had to be a major part of my life. After getting my first fly-rod at 12, I discovered there was a whole new obsession out there and it was far stronger than I ever knew. Over the years I have lived in a few different states, but what has always remained the same was my passion for fishing and the relentless pursuit I put into catching the next fish. Going to college in Florida exposed me to the world of saltwater fishing where I got my first taste of an array of new species that all seemed to be hard fighting aggressive eating machines. After that first trip, I made it my goal to bring the excitement I experienced to others who weren’t able to experience it on their own. After college, I moved back to my true home and picked up where I had left off. The only difference this time was that I had a fly rod in my hand and I was ready to prowl the marshes of our coast in search of the fishing fix I was in desperate need off. Fly Fishing has brought me a level of excitement I can’t put into words, the only way to truly experience it is to come down here and do it!
Sunday Sept.18
David and Kevin of baton rouge giving it their best, as was I , rough water, dirty water, 50% clouds, approaching front, 20mph ESE winds with gust, fish would not go out of their way for the fly’s and shots at VISIBLE fish where few. These guys fished hard! Had some shots at 30lb. jacks but the wind and visibility made for tough casting conditions and we didn’t connect, we are still fishing……………………………………………………………
The Wood Women
With blue bird skies and just a slight breeze I figure I could take my girlfriend Lauren and her mother Lele out to do some easy sight fishing for some hungry redfish. Well the water was not as clear as i wanted but still we were able to see. The problem was there was no tide and no fish actively feeding. We managed to get a hand full of shots and Lele even capitalized on one. Lauren did have a shot on about a 40lb+ Black drum but he wasn’t having anything to do with her fly.
Venice in August
I fished the IFA redfish tour Louisiana division this weekend out of Grand Isle and finished 9th. It was a good finish overall and I can always be happy with a top ten finish. Although due to a miserable boat ride from Venice to Grand Isle then back to Venice then back to Grand Isle I refused to go back toVenice by boat. I felt bad for ditching my partner but riding with no console in front of you is totally different then riding with one in front of you.
After spending the end of last week scouting for this tournament in Venice I have located some interesting and fishy areas.
So I convinced Moon to fish Venice the following morning because not only was the fishing good but i could get a ride back to my car and boat. Well the fishing didn’t disappoint. The giant gar were not there like they were friday but the redfish and sheepshead were easily seen in the gin clear water we were fishing.
8/18 Fly Fishing Early Morning Redfish
Fly fishing guru Damon Newpher’s of Pennsylvanian fly.( www.pa-flyfishing.com). We had another early start of a day, lots of happy reds early and Damon took full advantage. Whacking a red about every five minutes or so, I think he might be mad at our Louisiana redfish!! Don’t know how many we whacked but whack’em he did. Still average redfish for this time of year all between 5-9lbs. had a little bonus fish ol’wiley and tougher to hook the sheepshead or convict as we call them
Back at the ramp by 9:30am, sweet trip good job Damon hope to see you back.
8/21 Tailing Summer Redfish
Fished with Mr. Ewald and Ms. Kelly from www.grabherflyfishing.com. Conditions weren’t the best in the marsh today but skilled casters on the boat made the best of it. Neither Kelly nor Ewald had ever caught a redfish before and Kelly was looking to land her first saltwater fish on the fly. Ewald was able to achieve his goal by placing precise shots in difficult spots capitalizing on the few opportunities he was offered. Kelly was able to achieve both her goals in one well placed cast and did it in grand fashion casting to, and catching, a tailing red! All in all a fun day of firsts, thanks guys for sharing your experiences with me.
Capt Rocky
8/20 Big Nasty Summertime Redfish
I had Ted & Kim of www.fishermensspot.com today on board, going for the GIANTS! rolled out at 4:00am to catch a perfect condition for some trophy class redfish. Our early arrival to THE SPOT really paid off, the bigguns where already there waiting for a crab fly breakfast and I had the anglers on board to serve it up!! Teds first red ever to cast too was a 27lb big nasty. Hard to top huh? Continued floating around, almost tarpon style for these fish, 20 minutes later ted strips down on another big nasty and he came off,5 minutes later Ted serves up another tasty crab fly and that fish pulled! Not good, quick change of the fly, back on watch one more school and…….. 32lb.BIG NASTY! Congratulations TED for a real trophy class Louisiana redfish.
Capt Rocky
8/19 Duck Pond Redfish
Had Jeff & Tony from Colorado today chasing redfish back in the duck ponds, little or no tide made it a tough day on the water. Fish would eat the shrimp pattern flies the best today but were kind of picky! Really wanted perfect fly placement. Great casters on the skiff makes a bad day look good. Thanks guys for making the shots…… we where rewarded!!!
Capt Rocky
8/20 Quad Slam
Rocky and I picked up our guys today at 4:00am and headed SSW to a super secret honey hole Captain Lucas turned us on to. Right off the bat we new we weren’t in Delacroix anymore due to the shark fins breaking the surface at the first spot we stopped at. As the day progressed it was unlike any other I have had. It began by walking in ankle deep water stalking small drum with their backs out of the water. After catching one we decided to go after our targeted species big redfish! We see our first school and blow our shot but on the next school we hook up and of course its the smallest fish in the school but still a good 10-12 lbs. We continue seeing fish, have a few hook ups and land one more before we decide to focus our attention on the sharks we keep seeing cruising the flats. We rig up the 12 weight with some heavy leader and a monster fly and go after them. We get a few big boys to nose it but never got a take on a big one, we did catch a little two footer black tip though. Finishing the day and our quad slam we throw a shrimp pattern in a deeper hole on the flats and catch a trout just to say we did. Rocky had a pretty incredible day as well. His report is coming soon….
Capt Miles
985-264-7556
8/18-8/19 Redfish Tells
Both days have been extremely hot with the heat index reaching 110+ but when it is this hot it means there is no wind. Is the heat miserable? Yes. Is the fishing good enough to make you forget about the heat? Yes. When there is no wind it allows you to spot a redfish’s tell or movement from a far distance away. Whether its a fish busting on a bank, finning on the surface, tailing looking for food, or just straight cruising with his huge triangle head wake, the lack of wind makes redfishing a more visual game then it already is. Both days we saw all of these examples and multiple times at that. We caught plenty of fish and never really noticed the bite shut down. The bite did slow down but never stopped all together. At one point we saw so many fish actively feeding in a pocket we threw on a topwater and stuck one and missed another. This was late morning too which is somewhat unusual.
Capt Miles
985-264-7556
8/17 Deja Vu
I had Riaz back on the boat for a second day of tremendous fly fishing action. We decided to try our hand at catching reds on top-water. I tied on a redfish popper and Riaz did the rest, laying down shot after shot with surgical precision. As a guide it is always a treat to have a great caster on the boat and the last two days I have been treated. Riaz picked off red after red like a sniper taking out the enemy. We finished the day with fish over 8 pounds and a boat load of memories.
Capt Rocky
MAILING ADDRESS
Shallow South
5348 Bellaire Drive
New Orleans, LA 70124
NOAA Weather
Boothville-Venice
Last Updated on Dec 2 2019, 10:51 am CST
Weather by NOAA
Current Conditions: Fair
Temp: 52°F
Wind: North at 16mph
Humidity: 49%
Windchill: 47°F