[LA_Fiddler]

Good report thanks. Co-incides with my experience this weekend re: early bite

[LA_Fiddler]

What’s happening with the motor?

[LA_Fiddler]

My favorite jigging rod is a 6’6 Falcon HD. MH Fast tip. I use it with 3/8 or heavier jigheads.

My second favorite is an old All Star Classic 6’7 – MH Mod Fast – Tend to keep it spooled with a 1/4 oz or lighter.

I buy the Lew’s LFS Speed Spools (they’re usually 100, but they go on sale a couple times a year for $70.

[LA_Fiddler]

I have an older fixed mount ICOM IC-M422 and a 4′ whip antenna, which is the bare minimum.

For Grand Isle, I don’t think most people need it unless they fish east of 4 bayou pass or obviously if they go to the rigs. I do a lot east of 4B, so I definitely needed one.

I initially had a handheld, but the whole reason to have one is to get a distress call out, so I did the fixed install. Fixed mounts have much higher volume than handhelds.

My old Lowrance GPS used the NMEA 1083, which allowed you to connect two wires from the GPS to the ICOM, and the red distress button would broadcast the GPS location when pressed. This is great to teach the kids in case something happens to me they can hold down the red button.

So my ICOM has been good. I’ll probably buy an M-330G this winter so I can get my GPS function back on it. Internal GPS is the way to go.

[LA_Fiddler]

good report – thanks!

[LA_Fiddler]

I get these calls. They usually send an email first, and if you don’t respond to the email they’ll call.

Yesterday I got stopped at the ramp by the LDWF doing surveys, and I asked if the surveys they did are the same as the LA Creel. He told me the Creel Surveys and the in person surveys are for different purposes, which I didn’t realize.

[LA_Fiddler]

I prefer the 3 inch on a single jighead, but the smaller ones do work well under cork or on a 1/8th.

[LA_Fiddler]

It’s an adventure. It’s an incredible risk-reward exercise.

Nature has a pull to it, and if you’re honest, you feel the call to leave civilization and feel vulnerable.

When I look at the wind and the suspicious looking radar in the morning, then make the go decision to run 20 or 30 miles away from civilization in a 30 year old bay boat, I have that sense of risk. Aside from physical risk, you risk going out and getting skunked, getting soaked, etc. You could run all that way and the water is chocolate milk everywhere. Sometimes I make the decision to roll over and go back to sleep, but most of the time I go. And then if I hit paydirt, it’s like winning the lottery.

If I hit paydirt and I have a guest on board, it’s like hitting the MegaMillions. My sons and my dad have all been with me on days when we absolutely destroyed the trout, and I’ll never forget any of those days.

The only thing that beats fishing for this feeling is spot and stalk big game hunting.

Since I went down the rabbit hole of inshore about 6 years ago, I’ve been invited on a couple of charters here and there. The guides were great and did a great job, but it just wasn’t that fun. The adventure was gone.

A seaworthy 18-21 foot boat with a reliable engine and some knowhow can get you fishing anywhere on the coast. Offshore is a different calculation, and you really do have to spend some bucks to be safe, and the risk (IMO) is much higher. That’s one reason I probably won’t ever get really deep into it.

[LA_Fiddler]

That’s the good stuff!

I was on a bite like that last year on a barrier island. It was 17-18″ as fast as you could haul them in. Limit by 7:00AM.

Then we went back the next day and did it again.

You remember those trips forever.

[LA_Fiddler]

I’m late to the party, but:

Grand Isle was just about as pressured as it’s ever been this year. Maybe down just a little bit if I had to bet. But it’s also a different kind of place. People come for the weekend with the family and go run around looking for fish as a side activity.

But I do think ya’ll are definitely on to something with the aging out thing.

Also, I think the “return to the office” trend has had an effect.

[LA_Fiddler]

Thanks!

Last year I killed the trout in September mostly fishing a summer pattern, and missed most of October and November with hunting.

Haven’t fished a proper fall pattern in 2 years and I’m ready for it to get going.

[LA_Fiddler]

That checks out. Late August I was catching solid trout on the beaches and in the passes. It was tough fishing but they were there. Figured things had changed but apparently not yet.

[LA_Fiddler]

the bleach/water concoction in a spray bottle has made it into my boat finally

[LA_Fiddler]

“After that, you are the friggin’ man. Way to man up and get it done. Glad to see you got back out on the water instead of quitting fishing”

thanks cap! Had to get payback on the sailcats

[LA_Fiddler]

thanks – I usually unhook them like capt devin says, where you just twist the flipper and don’t actually flip them over. I’ve removed hundreds upon hundreds and didn’t even think about it anymore.

This one was just the right size and the right amount of pissed off to really get some momentum while hanging there kicking his tail. I was using the little aluminum flipper, and my hand just happened to be right where his side fin was when he bucked.

I bought a bigger flipper so my hand can stay further away.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eqb1QhhWMAAH37a?format=jpg&name=large