Devin
Forum Replies Created
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Absolute thermonuclear blast of a first post. lol
Well, I think it’s a great idea and that you should do it. Of course, there’s enough logistics and considerations to make for a day fishing trip, even more if you’re camping out there.
Here are some thoughts:
- there’s no cell service out there (not that I’ve seen)
- a Starlink Mini would fix that
- Garmin inReach would work
- bring a weedwhacker
- extra ice in coolers
- be super disciplined with that tent
- take extra care hauling that many people in a 22′ boat
- bring a gat
- extra gas?
If an emergency happened, having some way to get a call out would be needed. I guess a radio to the Coast Guard would suffice, but running a Mini would certainly be slick. I’m not sure what your options are.
I have visited or ran past some of the WMA camping sites, and sometimes they are mowed, sometimes they are not (see attached pic of Pass Loomis Campground). So I’d consider a primary camping site and a secondary in case the primary is so overgrown is a no-go. Bringing a heavy duty weedwhacker could be good, but I understand that’s taking up space in a boat that will already have a lot of equipment in it.
Next, having also done the tent thing a few times, you are going to want to make sure your kids are super disciplined with zipping that tent back up in order to keep bugs out of it. Those mosquitoes are mean and I wouldn’t want to sleep with them.
I’d also bring a gat just in case. There could be an overzealous critter in need of a dirt nap.
How experienced are you with camping? I’m no expert, but if you wanted to post a gear list here we can spitball it. Or maybe someone else here is an expert camper.
As for the fishing, you are hitting it at a good time. The river is low and dropping. You will have options and the wind will probably play nice.
How much experience do you have fishing Venice? Do you have safe routes (primary and alternate)? We can get you squared away with some .kml files based on your answers.
South Pass, Southwest Pass, East Bay and Blind Bay can all deliver. I’m sure that by then you can jig redfish in the river itself at First Spillway and just downstream of it on the rocks. The weirs in SW Pass will be worth hitting as well for redfish, drum and maybe even some early trout. Triple tail in East Bay are a possibility.
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As for business: there have always been ups and downs. It’s just part of the game. Do this long enough, whether that’s operating a marina, selling bait, selling knowledge (what I do), marine assistance (SeaTow), fishing lures (Matrix Shad), guiding, etc. and you will eventually have highs and lows. It just is what it is.
LAFB has been here for them and I’m proud to say that it has successfully weathered them. We’ll see what the future holds.
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Man, great post. I’ve got some thoughts on this because I’ve been thinking about the same thing.
“the shrimp guy was complaining”
Sounds about right. lol When they stop, something’s wrong. lol
But seriously. Yeah, sales were up across the board inside the realm of Louisiana inshore fishing during COVID. Remember, the governor famously said that everyone could go fishing as an acceptable COVID-safe pastime. The masses of people are generally too afraid and stupid to make any decisions for themselves, so when he said that, they took that as his blessing and ran with it.
Well, now COVID is over and people can go back to whatever they did before.
But there’s more, we also got slammed by a major hurricane (Ida) and the economy took a downturn at about the same time. Oh and WW3 was kicking off. People just don’t have spending money like they used to (though I do think that is changing, as consumer confidence has risen). Things could be recovering, but even as people get their spending money back, they may not go fishing.
Fishing is an expensive, giant pain in the ass. Think of all the things you’ve got to have just to hit the water and even then it’s no guarantee you’re going to catch fish. You really have to be cut from a different cloth to love fishing.
You can have all the right equipment and make all the best decisions on a day with the best conditions and still get your ass kicked. That doesn’t happen in other pastimes. People want something a little more predictable and within their control. I don’t blame them, and most people are better off golfing, bowling, or whatever.
Now, I could be wrong, but I’m willing to bet the economy in Louisiana lags behind everyone else. Louisiana isn’t exactly a bustling metropolis where people are knocking kids out of the way to live and work here. Even California people avoided Louisiana in their exodus. LOL
But there’s more: I’ve talked to others within the inshore industry here, and we all agree that since the last few years there has been a decline in business due to more people fishing less, or getting out of the game altogether.
There are better economic opportunities elsewhere, and that draws Louisianans out as well. With an aging population, inshore anglers are growing old and getting out of the game.
This is bad for inshore business, but the bright side is that it could be good for the fish. The fish are the rockstars in this. Without the fish none of this is worthy. So maybe with less fishing pressure we will see the fish get space to breathe, breed, make more, and arrive to their former glory.
You hit it on the head: is this the end of the Armada?
Well, there will always be the Armada because there has always been one. But it will be less mighty. You will still get pestered at community holes, just not as much as before.
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I saw this again in the Slidell Independent, the locks/sills/whatever proposed being put in at Rigolets and Chef Passes.
Man, that’s really gonna F up the shrimp migrations in and out of the lake.
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Depending on how they construct it, they could very well accidentally build a couple new community holes. Or a new place for fish kills if deep water cannot flow. It just depends.
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Right now would be a good time to learn/study. It’s the tail end of summer and while the fishing isn’t the toughest (like it can be in February/March) it is not the best. Fall will bring better fishing and that’s not the time you want to be learning the hard way.
Otherwise, it sounds like you had a good day exploring.
Yeah, blindcasting is productive. It works. I’d just rather sight them.
Inside 101 and Sight Fishing Mastery there are videos detailing what to look for in satellite imagery to find good grassy ponds. Don’t rush through that content. Take time to pay attention and learn it the easy way now before the fishing gets good.
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Hey Ricky, welcome to the forum. It’s that time of year when things are a little slower being the tail end of summer and all. But there are fish out there. It will get better with fall and something is telling me with the river coming down that it’s gonna be a dynamite fall. Can’t wait to see what’s out there.
Thanks for posting an intro!
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Those are great questions for which I do not have great answers. I’ve always done it myself and have never had to dispose of a boat. Is the trailer worth anything? You can probably haul the boat to a landfill and dump it off for a $100 or so.
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I’d delete LAFB if it meant bringing the fishing back. Louisiana’s fish are more important to me than a revenue.
If I figured out how to make a living teaching people how to fish on the Internet, then I can figure something else out all over again. No problem there. Just rip the bandaid off.
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“You need resilience to know the thing you love is almost entirely influenced by factors out of your control.”
Absolutely. Spot on.
“It’s the shifting baseline theory that Ty Hibbs proposed”
Louisiana is so lucky to have that man. He’s smart, willing to stand behind his own ideas and, of course, just has great ideas. Shifting Baseline Theory is so dead on. I’m glad that people are happy to catch less, what really matters is just being happy to begin with. But the decline is there and is happening and it’s hard for me to ignore it. If things keep trending that way, then what will be left? That alarms me.
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“I’m wondering if age is a major factor here. Maybe as the older generation gives up fishing for health or other reasons, the drop-off from the COVID-era fishermen is happening at the same time, making it more noticeable.”
That’s brilliant, and I 100% think that’s happening.
As for age data, I do not collect that. The level of data-gathering that most apps and websites do, LAFB does not do. All I really have is name and email, and that info stays with LAFB and is never shared anywhere else.
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I really haven’t heard much either, but haven’t had a chance to talk to the guys who would know. I am guessing there’s information out there, I’ve just had a lot on my plate. Bottom line is that Louisiana would benefit immensely from being a little more proactive and putting fish back in the water, but asking the masses to do that amounts to peeing in the wind.
Fishing has still been good enough and people are having fun, but the overall trend is a decline over the years and that really bums me out.
But I remain optimistic, especially with speckled trout. They’re just so fecund and will bounce back if given some room to breathe. The river is acting right, too. That sure does help. So hopefully the freeze wasn’t so bad and we will have an a-m-a-z-i-n-g fall!
Not that the summer was bad, we had some really good reports in here. I have no idea what’s been posted by guides and on social media in general, but I’m sure there’s good and bad.
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No, it’s not the same as a red tide. It’s just extra algal growth due to sunshine and warm temps. It’s a plant. It grows under those conditions and isn’t the end of the world every time that the media has trained us to believe.
It’s just that, in my experience, fishing doesn’t tend to be great in those locations that have too much algae. Just go somewhere else.
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After reading their About page, I’m sold. I would give them a chance.
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The Generac/Starlink investment that I made this year will ensure all storms stay away, strictly due to Murphy’s Law. lol
