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Typical fall and early winter fly fishing in Louisiana

Overall our fall and early winter was decent. Luckily the weather was actually pretty good so we were able to fish a good bit of days. Unfortunately we had to deal with dirtier then normal water due to the Mississippi River pumping more fresh water into our system then it normally does. Hopefully it’ll be good for our long term… with the fresh water I am seeing a lot more grass in areas that I typically don’t see much grass, which gets me excited for spring fishing.

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Fall Fly Fishing and Weather Expectations

The weather this past fall never seemed to clear up with what seemed like never ending cloudy days. When that happens you need to adjust your expectations… cherish the calm days and try to make every shot count. This fall was full of less then desirable forecasts that we had to make the best out of. Although I did reschedule many days because the forecast was so dismal. We ended up fishing some days that didn’t have great forecasts and the fishing was still good, we also had some days that had great forecasts and ended up having terrible weather. The old saying is true that “you don’t know unless you go.” Reality is sometimes you do know and sometimes it’s a tough call, but if you go out with the right expectations you will always have a good time.

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Summer and Early Fall fly fishing in Louisiana

Jack fishing really turned on in August and stayed very consistent until we were hit with an early cold front around mid September.  This slowed it down big time. Luckily the interior marsh fishing really turned on at this point.  The reds were about as thick as I’ve seen them. Singles and doubles everywhere with random meatballs of 10-20 fish here and there. Solid fish size too averaging 8-12 lbs.   The best part about it is they were very willing to eat a popper.   I continually checked on the jacks here and there through early October and had some decent fishing but decided to switch gears to big redfish fishing the second week of October.  Just after Hurricane Nate rolled through there seemed to be big fish everywhere, but as quickly as they showed up they seemed to disappear. I was lucky enough to find them good offshore last week which was short lived due to the winds picking up.   Hopefully the recent cold front will inspire some fish to move in.

  

  
  
  
  

  

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Back to normal in November…

After a warm October it was nice to have some solid cold fronts come through and push some big fish into their normal fall/winter spots.  Cooler temps also brings some warm lunches for some of my foodie anglers…



  
  

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October Struggle

As many of you know I’m not big on miss leading people into booking with me. I’m all about being as truthful as possible in order to manage expectations. With that being said… This October was by far the worst October I have  ever experienced. It wasn’t a shock considering the water temp pretty much stayed in the mid to high 70s all month.  The big fish do not want to get shallow in those temps so most big fish were happy to just stay offshore. That mixed with almost constant 15-20 mph winds made targeting the offshore fish impossible.   Now we did have a handful of calm wind days which made for good fishing but overall October was a let down.  The only silver lining was with the higher water temps the Jacks stuck around later then usual.


  
  
  

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The most wonderful time of the year… Sheepy season!

Starting in mid November and going through mid March is what I consider Sheepshead season.  Not to say there are not sheepies here through the year it’s just easiest to fish for them during these times. This is due to the fact the water in the oyster ponds tend to get very clear during this time. With the water being so clear, this usually affords you the opportunity to get good distance shots on the sheepies. Distance is important for two reasons. First they are spooky and will feel the boat even if it just slightly moves during your cast. Further away you are, less chance of them feeling the boat.  Secondly the distance gives you time to entice the fish to eat. Most of the time a sheepshead will not just swim up to the fly and eat, you really have to sell them the fly. 


  

 

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Winter fly fishing action

Although we have had a mild winter, we are still seeing a healthy amount of wintering redfish in the marsh.

  
  

   

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Fly fishing for jumbo Louisiana Redfish

There are six classifications of redfish size on my boat and they are …

Little fish – 8 lbs or less

Big little fish – 9-12 lbs

Teener/little big fish – 13-19 lbs

Big fish – 20-25 lbs

Big big fish – 26-29 lbs

JUMBO – 30+ lbs

Jumbos are not easy to come by, but a couple times a year the stars align and and we get a few jumbos in the boat.  Here are some from recent trips…


  

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Fly fishing for Different Fall Species

Although most of our customers come down in the fall to target redfish there are many other opportunities on fly… Foster has caught many big redfish on fly so he wanted to do something different. I was all about it…  We started in redfish areas passing on “most” redfish to target alligator gar and drum. It didn’t take long to get the drum and after a few missed hooks we got the gar.  The next day was shark day. After passing on a school of about 200-300 reds we found where the Sharks were holding. It didn’t take long to get one on the hook.

  
  

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Big redfish season is here…

September is when we start getting very busy. Although the big fish have not moved into the shallows we are still able to target them in open water with the weather permitting(reasonable winds and sunlight)… This will continue usually through mid October when a good cold front pushes the bigger fish shallow. Although we have had some smaller cold fronts this October the majority of the bigger fish have not moved in yet.  This mixed with some serious winds have made fishing this month no easy task… Don’t get me wrong, we have had a couple days with great weather that we have had great fishing but over all it’s been tough.  We have had to grind it out, luckily we have a very healthy fishery and we can usually fall back inside and chase some smaller fish in protected waters.


  
  
  
  
  
  

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Trophy Sheepshead

In November the Louisiana Marsh is known for having big red fish. But Mile Haines couldn’t pass up the opportunity and made a great cast on this trophy sheepshead while it was tailing for crabs.

– Captain Jim Dietz

 

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December Fly Fishing Highlights

Starting from the top… Cindy came down and for the 3rd year in a row, nailed some great fishing.  This time was especially good timing because we were fishing the redbone, which is a non profit tournament held to raise money for cystic fibrosis.   Well we got the big one!  34 lb 46 in red which is actually the biggest redfish ever to be caught in this tournament to date.  We were both very excited about it.  Next is Christian’s 37 lber which took the title as the heaviest fish caught on fly on my boat during 2014.  Good work Christian!  The next pictures are of some very happy redfish just being hungry in the marshes of Louisiana.

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Cold Weather, Hot Fishing

Jim came down from Alabama to get his first crack at some big redfish. What a heck of a guy and a pretty darn good fisherman as well. It’s been cold but the fishing has been hot.

– Capt. Paul Lappin

 

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Mid-December Fun Fishing

Had a day off, so what did I do? Went fishing, of course.
And man it was cold. Captain Ryan Frederick and I managed to put a few in the boat before heading back to the warmth of the truck. Fun day!!

– Capt. Paul Lappin

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Tournament Fishing

Had a chance to fish with Gary Ellis and Brower Moffitt for the Redbone Tournament benefiting cystic fibrosis. What a great cause and what a fun day on the water with these two characters.

– Capt. Paul Lappin

 

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November Redfish

Great 3 days of fishing with Kevin George. These guys had plenty of shots on big fish and plenty of funny stories to fill me in on. Great times and great guys.  See you in key west fellas!!!

– Capt. Paul Lappin

 

 

 

 

 

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Early October Fly Fishing Report

Although we were still dealing with some water clarity issues, we were able to make it to the cleaner outside areas on most days.  There we found large singles, schools of spawners (15-20lbers), and even the occasional Jack.  On the windy days we stayed inside chasing tailers in the shallows and even got this nice flounder on a blind retrieve.

 

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September fly fishing to Remember

Early this September was probably some of the best fishing I have had in a while.  It was by far the best September fishing I have ever experienced.  This was immediately followed by some of the worse weather which in turn made for some very difficult fishing.  Here are some fish we put in the boat this month.  This includes my first 40 lb red on the boat and the biggest gar I have ever had on the boat.  It has been a pretty inedible month so far.

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Cold Winter Redfishing is Heating Up

This winter season has been pretty good, to say the least…  We have had great shots on singles, doubles and sometimes even groups of 10 or more 20+lb Red Fish.  This makes the double possibility jump way up.  I even got to get in the game and hook up with this 35 lber with one of my single customers.

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Kevin and Tejal

Although this is a late report, I had to let people know about what kind of luck you can have as long as you keep booking…  Kevin and Tejal started coming down to fish in Louisiana about 3 Years ago and although we had some semi-productive days, we still had to work hard for them.  2 Years ago, Kevin and Tejal came down here and again, it was tough weather and few fish.  But last year they nailed it! 2 perfect days and the fish were floating.  I think we caught 3-4 30 lbers and plenty of 20 lbers.  This year during early December they pretty much nailed it again!!!  Although the weather wasn’t perfect, the fish were thick and in the mood to float…

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End of Fall

Here are some good ones from November and early December… I have to say congrats to Mike Birge on not only catching a 32 on a popper but more importantly getting on the Sheepy board!!! No easy task… I also have to mention Jeff Stang”s personal best 38 lb red which is also still standing as my biggest on the boat this season.  Good work Jeff!  I would also like to welcome Mike Howard and Mark Ozong into the Dirty Thirty club…

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Big Fish Season is in Full Swing

As long as the weather allows us to get out on the water the big fish have been waiting.  We have seen big fish floating, pushing, and even tailing, which is somewhat rare for us.  It has been very windy recently but as long as you get the fly in their face they usually eat it.

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The Fishing is Good

The fishing has been good!  The big fish have moved in and even on cloudy days we have been sticking some really good fish.  As long as the weather is somewhat consistent the fish have been very happy… Here are some pics to prove it…

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