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Summer fly fishing options in Louisiana

This past summer started off strong with some jacks moving in relatively early and backing fish in ankle deep water(when the tide was right). But as soon as the jacks appeared they seemed to disappear and I was forced to fish in other areas. This paid off. What I found in these “other areas” were first of all more jacks, which was great, but also some very large redfish and plenty of sharks. I also did a nearshore trip on one of those perfect weather late summer days and it payed off with a plethora of species. I continued to occasionally try my typical Jack areas and although it was less action as I would of liked we had some jaction, caught some fish and I loved every second of it. Now I’m just looking forward to next summer and the endless fly fishing opportunities Louisiana has to offer. Above photo courtesy of Sam Collett @collettjsam on Instagram.

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Spring fly fishing New Orleans’ backyard

I am loving this spring. Overall we have had more sunny days then cloudy days and the fish are exactly where they are suppose to be.   Average fish size has varied depending on what region of the marsh you are fishing but overall I’d say we have had about a 8-9 lb average.  We have had many 10+ fish days and actually a good number of 20+ fish days(I think 4-5 days but I’m not sure and you can’t come down here expecting to catch 20+ fish on fly in 1 day).  All you can do is book your days and hope for good weather. Because as usual in Louisiana with good weather brings good fishing. It’s hard to beat a 70 degree spring day with blue bird skies and floating redfish in gin clear ponds…

P.s As per usual the topwater trout bite has been pretty good in the clouds. It’s a very nice fall back plan if you lose your vis.




  


  
  
  

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January and February Report

This past January proved to be one of the best Months of the season. Although we only had one hard front during this month we had very good pre front and post front fishing. February was warmer then usually which forced me into the interior marsh to target spring time fish that payed off with many fish in the 6-12 lb range and a couple bass as well. We also boated the largest black drum ever on my boat mid February.


   
  
  
  
  

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Teaming up with Yellow Dog to Bring You Louisiana Redfish School!!!

We are excited to announce that we will be teaming up with Yellow Dog to bring you the first annual Louisiana redfish school!!!

Click the link below for more info…

http://www.yellowdogflyfishing.com/blog/announcing-louisiana-redfish-school

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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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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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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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The Spring Thing!

Although the big fish are still around they are few and far between.  Because of this I like to turn my attention to some other species this time of year.  When weather permits we are able to run out to the beaches.   This sometimes gives us opportunities at Jacks and big reds.  If it’s a little too windy for the beach, we fall back into the interior ponds and focus on 8-12 lb fish, large gar, and the sheeps are also still around.  Regardless we will have some targets for you.

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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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Early Fall Action

It is that time of the year when the shrimp boats are holding massive black fin and yellowfin tuna. We didn’t hook a yellowfin on the fly on this day, but a 20+ lb blackfin was certainly a battle on the 12wt.

The redfish have been schooling in certain areas. The schools mostly consist of males between 10-15lbs. Although there are a few 30+lb females around, the smaller males usually hit the fly first. It should be any day now that the majority of the big 25+lb fish will be transitioning to the interior marsh.

Obviously there has been some Black drum and Jacks around too…

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Late Spring/ Early Summer

It has been a pretty good spring and not a bad start to the summer.  The fish have started grouping up and we have had plenty of clean water to work with.  The gator population is certainly not hurting as well. It seems like they have a gator on every turn.  The Sheepsheads have also been real active.  We recently just upped my boats personal best sheepshead day from 4 fish to 6 fish which I was pretty pumped about.

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Late Winter Sheepshead Madness

Sheepshead aka Marsh Permit aka Convicts aka my new obsession.  This past winter, we constantly saw these big heads tailing and cruising all over the place.  Unlike some guides out there, I encouraged my clients to cast at them.  Most of the time they would spook before you could get the fly to them or they would follow it all the way to the boat without even a peck. But sometimes the stars would align and they would eat almost anything presented.  I had a couple of days when we focused only on Sheepsheads, throwing small crab patterns on lightweight rods with lightweight line.  It’s totally different then trying to feed a Red.  We had some success: a couple of 3-4 fish days with an average weight of 7 lbs.  If you’re looking for a challenge on the fly, come down to the Louisiana marshes in late winter and try to stick one of these bastards!

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