A cold day on Bayou Cook 12-29-09

[coachlaw]

Meaux Fishing showed at my parent's house in Harahan at 7:30 all the way from Lafayette. We took off with my dad's little boat and headed down to Empire. We first stopped at Captain Larry's for a Po-Boy to take on the water with us. I held off buying bait there as I prefer to buy from Frelich's down in Empire. At Frelich's I was sad to find that they didn't have any fresh shrimp, but they did have the flash frozen stuff. I was leary about it, but it turned out just fine.

We launched on a low, low tide at the Delta Marina. It was cold, but not terribly so and the wind direction made it an easy ride across Bay Adams into Bayou Cook. We first hit a spot that has been good to me no matter the season. I threw to all my favorite spots there with no results. The water was low and Meaux knew what to do. He tossed a bit further away from the marsh and BAM, got him a nice redfish. We boxed 4 keeper reds, 2 drum, and s nice sheepie that was gut hooked so we figured we had to keep him. The action was so constant I barely had time to drink any beer at all. One of the reds I caught was a real beauty. Bob guessed him to be a 27-28 incher. I returned him to the water to make more babies. We stayed there for a couple hours or so with steady red and drum action. When the action tailed off, I thought I'd try some good winter spots. The tide was now really moving in, and it seemed that as it grew stonger the bite continued to die.

We first went to the spot where my old camp used to be and I paid homage to all the great times I had there for 27 years of my life. It's still tough for me to see the bare pilings there and not get emotional. From there we went down the Bayou to some pilings I have found to be money during the winter. Not a single bump. So we went back to the marsh and tried some deep holes, and other good spots. Bob hung onto a nice drum we both elected to be a bit too big for eating, so he returned him to the water unharmed.

So we headed to a great spot across the Bayou that has been awesome for the last 5 years, only to find that it simply no longer exists. The marsh is all gone, and with it more memories become part of the distant past. I had wanted to hit a shell reef in Bay Bastian, but an oyster boat was working the reef hard and I didn't want to risk getting in their way. With the water moving in so hard, I ruled out several other spots and decided to head back to where we started. I reckoned with the water back up, the reds would be back near the grass, and with the topography of that area, we'd be protected a bit from the strong tide.

Turns out I was right, boxing another red. We had fun afterwards reeling in several beautiful little rat reds. One had the bluest tail I had ever seen. It was now when Bob began his path toward bagging what I call a trashcan slam. LOL! It is rare in the wintertime to catch a hardhead, but Bob successfully accomplished this feat. He then bagged a large stingray. I was laughing so hard. I just couldn't believe his luck. All he lacked for a trashcan slam was an eel. Luckily he avoided this. . He was a very good sport about it all and even posed for pictures with his prized catches.

We continued to catch rats and left them biting at 3:30. I just didn't want to leave, but I knew the ride back in would be a little rough and a lot cold. Contrary to the weather report, the wind had continued to build throughout the day. So I said my goodbyes silently, both to Bayou Cook, and the old camp. I usually do this out loud, but I didn't want Bob to think I was mental. Dad's little AlumaWeld did it's job and got us back in good time. We were a bit frozen, but not shaken. Back at the Delta we put the fish out for pics, packed everything and headed home. Certainly not a bad day at all. The weather was beautiful, if a bit chilly and I wonder if we would have scratched out a limit if we had just stayed put in the original spot.

I reckoned with our timing we would hit some bad traffic on the way back to Harahan, so I thought we'd stop at the Kajun Kitchen on the way for a bite to eat. As before, the sign said OPEN, but the place was empty. If anyone knows what's going on with the place, let me know.

We did hit the big Becnel's for some boiled peanuts and some rather bland boudin. Luckily the ride home was uneventful and smooth.

I'd like to thank Bob for coming all the way from Lafayette for this trip. I really had a good time with him and I recommend him to anyone needing a fishin' buddy. He's a first class deck hand and good company to boot.

Goodbye Bayou Cook, I'll see you in the Summer. I just hope you're still there. - Sandy