Sight fishing Cocodrie, LA Nov 29-Dec 4, 2012

[eddiejoe]

Just returned from a week sight fishing for reds with cousin in law way down in the LA marsh. Weather good except for rain yesterday, and a persistent SE 10-15 k wind. Cuz Martin has a tunnel hull 17' Maverick that will go very skinny, and has shown me the ropes on casting lures to big reds in the marsh. This is more like hunting than fishing, and something my personal boat could never do. This is my third week long trip, and I am finally able to land the Johnson spoon on a reds nose and use a casting rod to do it. It's really fun and different fishing. First time we have gone this late in the year and the fishing was good every day but not spectacular as as it often is in summer and fall.
Even so, we caught over 25 legal fish every day, with Martin landing three to one on me. I did shatter the trip big red boat record again with a 20 lb and 16 lb fish the same day so if size matters I did well now and then. LA has a five fish red limit with one over the slot, plus a 25 fish trout limit. We had two person red limits every day but the last short stormy one when we boxed five, plus trout when we felt like a lot of cleaning. Also caught some honking big black drum to release. We only kept reds in the 4-6 lb range as the bigger ones are like cleaning an armored dinosaur.

Lots of vacuum packed fillets in the freezer tonight and clean up tomorrow.

EJ

[plumbbob]

So, that's where you've been. Sounds like a lot of fun.

[Familyfisher]

Nice trip for sure.

[Old Dog]

Reads like a good time. Any residual effects from the BP thing? I've had some good trips to the Port Sulphur area but have been staying away since BP. Might be time to go back down for a look-see.
OD

[trout069]

still aint sure about eating anything from around there OD,but the fishing is great.I have not been ,but several friends have and they say fishing as good as ever.Even after storm was good,go to you tube put GREG DINI in search and watch that video.

[eddiejoe]

Reads like a good time. Any residual effects from the BP thing? I've had some good trips to the Port Sulphur area but have been staying away since BP. Might be time to go back down for a look-see.
OD

No effect ever around Cocodrie, which is pretty far from the spill impact. Even farther east, near Dellacroix, where I have also fished, oil wasn't everywhere during the actual time of discharge and I never saw any evidence of harm or any oil in the marsh. There were some outer islands that got hit and they were being monitored, then. As far as I know the Feds and states were conservative about testing fish and shellfish and didn't allow harvest if contamination showed in flesh tests. All this was a while ago. IMO, the very worst impacts occurred in deeper waters and a lot of the oil and dispersants might still be in sediments farther out.
Again IMO, BP was a bad actor but drilling and extraction at those depths is at the edge of technological limits for safety and NO real methods exist to control oil once it is released offshore. Likewise, the Feds have not required the oil companies to document resources at risk even after BP. I personally think spills are inevitable, no matter what they say.

Lots of reds to catch. Go.

[Old Dog]

Thanks. I have never been a big fan of the redfish, but I do like their trout fishery. But as much as I have fished down there I have never done as well there on trout as I have done in our own waters. Heading back to Apalachicola in the morning for a few days to try to follow up on the great fishing we had there through the month of November.
OD