Devin
Forum Replies Created
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I actually wrote a 5,537 word article with 30 pictures on this very thing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t publish until the 15th.
The short of it is this: mapping cards suck. Do not spend a lot of money on them, or any at all.
This is coming from the guy who’s owned four of them, made one of his own and currently run two on his boat.
The worst thing about them is that they lead you to believe certain waters are safe to run when they are categorically not.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but the very best thing you can use to safely navigate the marsh is what I teach inside 101. There’s a reason I spent years developing that course: because it’s the real deal, based upon actual experience, and structured in the most simple-stupid way possible to be communicated to any inshore angler willing to apply himself, which is the key ingredient most are missing.
People are trained consumers looking for something to buy to solve their problems. That works in video games, it does not work in inshore fishing.
After navigating from Pascagoula to Slidell to Chandeleur to the Amite River down through Venice across Barataria Basin all the friggin way to Vermilion Bay, in two different boats, using trhee of the same GPS model you have (a 7, 10 and 12), I can tell you that the Humminbird base map is “good enough”. Make your safe routes on GED, upload them and you’ll have the best thing you can have, especially after you accumulate proven tracks, save them and organize them.
With that said, I do have a Lakemaster Louisiana Delta card. However much it costs now, if that amount of money can be spent on something more valuable (like a Garmin inReach or VHF radio) then spend it on that.
Often I switch back to the base map because it has the information I’m looking for, like aids to navigation or use in low-light. So I have the card and don’t even use it. Consider that.
Every time I’ve ripped off a lower unit or gotten “stuck like chuck” is when I trusted the card and began free-navigating areas I had not scoped out on GED.
And no, the solution is not getting a card with “newer” imagery. Any card with the freshest rasterized imagery is already out of date thanks to the CPRA, Mississippi River, subsidence, erosion and a multitude of other factors. Use what’s taught in 101 and you’ll learn a lot more about the area you’re fishing or miss all that valuable information and risk doing something way more expensive than any mapping card money can buy.
Mapping cards are, at best, a tool. Otherwise they suck.
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Copies are at Gus’s Tackle in Slidell. Thanks, everyone.
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I see you’ve got a battleship of a bay boat. Good. But where are you trailering/launching from? What’s your situation? That info could help us better help you.
Remember, we can’t read your mind.
The more info we have, the better.
I say this because I see that even Tiger Shoals is covered in river water. I’m not sure how viable that would be for speckled trout. Maybe redfish.
But I do see that the beach/shore south/southeast of the mouth of the Atchafalaya looks doable. That and there could be good ponds for redfish in the Atchafalaya delta. I always considered that, but never got the chance to look.
If you do run that delta by launching from Jessie Fontenot Memorial Boat Landing then you will want to do some serious navigational homework. A delta like that is a great way to get stranded.
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Yes, it can, which is why I recommend trailering somewhere else. That’s what I do when the area around me is pressured or the conditions are not great to fish. I put my money where my mouth is, and you should, too.
It pays. Look at this epic Venice trip that @Boyce and @ShooterMcGrabbin went on. I’ll tell you that they did that by applying the process taught in 101. Which is good news for you because that process operates independently of recent reports or having someone show you where to go.
With that said, recent intel to work with is this report here, another here and this post here.
You and @kcolden70510 should hook up and compare notes, work together, make it happen.
Make a planning post. An actual planning post showing that you’ve put some thought and consideration into fishing V-Bay when the river is as high as it is. Make some routes, fishing spots, etc. and post them here and we can look it over and give you better feedback.
Take it from the guy who has caught limits of speckled, trout, redfish, bass and flounder across Louisiana’s coast and makes a living from teaching others how to do it: this process that I am harping on is how you achieve long term success. Or sum it up as being “too hard” and “not worth your time” and you’ll continue to re-invent the wheel.
I see that you’ve made it a good ways through 101 (yes, I can see what people enroll and complete) so that tells me you’re taking this seriously. Good.
You may or may not have come across it yet, but I talk a good deal about V-Bay in the Planning section of 101 at 17:00 and how I would tackle it. That’s your cheat code. Use it.
I look forward to your planning post.
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Welcome to the forum and thank you for the kind words. Glad you’re here.
Yeah, I’d be terrified to let speckled trout flop all over that wood. It just looks too good. That is a really nice looking boat! I’m sure it rides well being heavier like that.
Thanks for posting an intro!
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The Long Rocks is gonna be a boat show. I’d spend that time finding trout elsewhere so you’re not reinventing the wheel for next time.
If I had to fish that area, I’d hit EBM with everything I’ve got or tuck into MRGO south of the Rock Dam and fish the points for trout and redfish.
Do you have a shallow water anchor?
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Thanks for pitching in!
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There are radar mounts for center consoles that don’t feature a T-top.
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Just single engine, I don’t want to do that much maintenance. lol
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Interesting. I’ll check that out.
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I’m not sure yet. Garmin makes a Bluetooth foot pedal that supposedly has a similar amount of responsiveness/control as cable steer. I can operate that from the console or deck.
I have to accept that style of fishing is probably going to be undoable, but the tradeoff will be other capabilities a bass boat can’t deliver on as efficiently, like running big water, radar, hauling more people.
My family’s kids are growing up, and I can’t take all of them in a bass boat.
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That’s where it’s at. The legendary hammer and easy limits are there and will be there first before anywhere else. Screw Lake Pontchartrain and the horse it rode in on.
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It’s time to bring back a battleship. I will definitely miss the dexterity of a bass boat!
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Yeah, it’s a tough call.
I would split the difference by judging which direction has more options. Off the top of my head, I feel that running west has more of that:
- Elmer’s surf
- Fourchon Barges
- Belle Pass (inside and out)
- Casse Tete Island
- Timbalier Sunk Rocks
- Rigs at Timbalier
Unless there’s something I am missing.
After that, use Geosphere, you’re gonna get more up-to-date imagery.
Finally, the wind looks kinda rough, so I would consider heading east if doing so would keep me protected.
If you do, you can hit Independence Reef, that’s sorta protected. Then you could head north, fish Hotel Sid. I hate to say Queen Bess because it’s a fruitless community hole, or at least has been in my experience.
If the wind were gonna lay down I’d feel better about fishing out west.
If you do go west, have a backup route that keeps you protected, like through Leeville or something.
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I’m assuming you mean a Danforth anchor. Yes, that will work fine. I used that for years and caught fish. You’ll just have to be more methodical about it. I wouldn’t recommend a mushroom anchor for the marsh.
After that, yeah sure, start at Treasure Bay and work north. But, honestly, that’s not much of a plan. Sounds like a great way to catch gaff tops and throwbacks.
So, what I strongly recommend is using the process that I teach. Because if I weren’t familiar with the area, then I would be taking a hard look at GED to figure out my routes and spots. That way I can learn more and make better decisions.
You’ve gotten started on that by judging the conditions, the chief of them being wind. But where are you going? How are you gonna get there? I don’t even know what boat you’re in because it’s not listed in your profile and you haven’t mentioned it.
The more you put in to a planning post, the more you’re gonna get back. Otherwise, I have no idea what you’re working with and I don’t have time to do it for you here and now because I already did an 11+ hour course.
Are you going to fish tidelines, points, oyster reefs, what’s up? What coves/shorelines/whatever have you identified for Plan Redfish? Where are you launching from? I can help you if you take some agency for your fishing trip and give me something to work with.
