Empire (the back yard)

[capt hoop]

No trips,no deckhand job, my yard and the neighbors lawn mowed, and this sitting looking at me.



What to do?



Truck was very willing to make the connection

Launched just after noon. Forgot to take shrimp out of the bait freezer so I rolled with plastics. Not a problem. I also forgot to take the camera. That is a problem. Slight chop and dirty water to start with. Decided to look for redfish first. At the first spot on about the 10th cast I hook up to a good sized redfish. Drag set right and reel screaming. Fish boiling every time he turns in the shallows. After a few minutes I loose him. Was a classic redfish fight and it got my adrenalin going. Must have had it hooked in the wrong spot because the hook straightened. My jigs have the heavier black nickle hooks only. From there on the day went down hill. I worked the area more and found nothing else. This area is in the middle of oyster leases and just a bunch of small grass islands and cuts. Usually holds a ton of redfish. Started to think my last trip was good and this will be my bad trip. Can't have every day fishing be good or they would call it catching.

Decided to run to the jetties. There was no way I was going to run to the rigs for some red snapper and cobia. I had the stuff but the chop would have been uncomfortable. Not safe running 8 miles out alone in that slop. Besides I am on the water "A LOT!" and by this time I was already disgusted. Worked the inside and scofield area. Tide running out but water dirty. Moved to the Buras area with no signs of birds. Only birds were on the shrimp boats. Got so desperate I thought of throwing a line behind the shrimp boat like we do offshore for tuna. Almost 4:00 and nothing in the boat. Even my honey hole is not giving up any redfish. Before leaving that area I get out Old Faithfull. The baitcaster with the gold weedless. BINGO! A 23 inch redfish comes aboard after another epic battle. Gotta love the determination of a redfish. Unlike the stripers up north these guys never stop fighting. A few more casts with no other takers.

With the tide still going out but almost at it's end I made one more move before throwing in the towel. As I was going to another favorite spot I see a little drain that looks promising. I motor up and pole down. Never suspecting trout and making sure I would not get too close to spook the reds and flounder that I might find there. Water was still dirty but the drain seemed a little cleaner not by much though. Tossed gulp shrimp under a cork with no takers. Got out the bait caster and threw the bling out. No redfish around but a few slight taps from some small fish that I could not hook. Then it dawned on me TROUT. What do they want? I have 5 different plastics set up and ready to throw. Bait of choice turned out to be Deadly Dudly "terror tail" opening night with chartruse tail. It was 1-1 short to keeper with several gafftop catfish feeding also. 4 hours before getting into any action at all.



The fishbox still had some ice in it and was now getting something worthwhile in it. I stayed there for about an hour savoring the moment. Once the bite came to an end I pulled up the pole and noticed the wind moving the boat straight down the canal so I adjusted the motor never starting it and conitnued to fish. I picked up another trout and 3 gafftops. As my drift started pushing me nearer the other bank of the canal I switched my cast to the other side of the boat. Hit and miss then another and one more. 3 strikes on one cast indicates a school of trout. Pole down again. Several shorts and only one keeper but 15 minutes of hot, every cast, action.

Got off the water about 6:00 and went home for a photo opp and fish cleaning.




What should I do today?

Life is Good!
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM

[Slidellkid]

Good story Capt!

[shellman]

Nice capt....

[DUCKGOGETTER]

NICE!!!!

[I make oil]

Glad to see you stuck it out.

[capt hoop]

Went back to the same place today. Did not make any detours. Had Bobby with me. The total run to the trout and back was less than 1 gallon of gas. The drain I fished 2 days ago did not look right so after a few casts I moved across the canal and found another area draining out.



This area looked productive and it was. We fished on the up courant side. It was still a 1-1 keeper to throwback but for Bobby it was a lot more frustrating than that.




I had 10 in the box before he put one in. I also threw back that many shorts. First off he was not getting the bites I was and after a while I looked at his jig and he had it set up a little different than I did. I made a change and he started getting a better bite. Now he starts loosing keeper fish at the boat. We are not useing a net just lifting them on the boat. After his 3rd loss I notice what he is doing wrong. He is releasing the fish just before he lifts it by dropping the tip of the rod. This is a common mistake made by many people. When lifting the fish in the boat just sweep it up and in. Dropping the rod tip will give the line just enough slack and enable the jig to fall out of the hole in the fishes mouth. Sometimes a customer will do that just before I net a fish. Some times I am quick enough and the fish is slow enough, not realising it is free, that I can get a net under it.



This area showed no birds but was loaded with bait. The trout were just to the right of the courant line as indicated by the bait. This canal is loaded with small trout and are fun to catch. We ended up with about 20 keepers that Bobby and his wife split with Toni and her boyfriend.

Life is Good!
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM