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I'm headed to New Orleans in Mid September for a work trip. I will have 3 free days and am looking into going after reds with a fly rod. I tried to get a couple co-workers to go in with me on a guide but couldn't get anyone to bite so I can't really a ford the $600+ guide fee on my own.
I will have a rental car and am looking at driving South an hour or 2 and am hoping I can find either Kayaks or skiff to rent for the day in an area with reds or trout. Also I do have realistic ideas and don't need to go after bulls, schoolies would be jut fine.
For equipment, I have 7,8, and 10 wt rods I plan to bring.
I have done a fare amount of flats fishing in the past but am by no means an expert in the salt.
Any help and advise on places, techniques, and rentals would be very appreciated
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Did you try contacting the guide on this board? looks like he is close to New Orleans.
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[#0000FF]I spent about 6 months in the New Orleans area on a temporary work assignment. I'm a float tuber and I launched in many places to fish the canals and back channels around Buras. Most of them are fairly shallow and most have reds, specks and flounder...all of which will hit almost any minnow pattern. Clousers are great. Ditto for zonkers and crystal buggers. Whites, yellows and chartreuse all work well. You will be wanting to imitate cocahoe minnows, baby mullet and small shrimp.
Best times to fish are when the tides are moving. Look for places where water is flowing into or out of marshy areas. Reds and other predators congregate to ambush minnows, shrimps, crabs and other groceries as they wash in and out of their feeding areas. But otherwise, just move along and cast in toward the edges of the reeds...or out off the points. Also, look for oyster beds during low water and fish them during high water.
I caught plenty of speckled trout and smaller redfish on a 6 weight. But an 8 is better both for throwing bigger flies and for handling beefy reds.
September should be prime time...in between hurricanes. Oh yeah, watch out for snakes and gators. They will still be active until it chills down in November. And if you are in a nonmotorized craft be sure to have a tide chart and watch the water movement. There are places you can get caught and have to wait out a tide change if you can't propel yourself back against the current.
About rentals. Suggest you go on line and look for something either in the New Orleans area or down in Buras or Venice. Been a while since I was there and I have no idea of anyplace in particular for you to look.
A guide is almost always worth the investment and can keep you out of trouble. But if budget is a concern you can probably find some fish without a lot of help. Get a good map of the area you will be fishing. Stop in some of the bait and tackle shops and don't make fun of their Cajun accents.
Oh yeah. One last thing. Be sure to bathe in a good bug repellent with lots of DEET. If you don't get carried off by the mosquitoes (state bird) the "no-seeums" (tiny biting flies" will drive you nuts.
While I was down there the locals favored slathering up with Avon Skin So Soft. It worked but it was kinda weird to go into a bait shop full of big macho locals all smelling like...well, a lady's boutique.
Is the fishing worth it? My first trip...unguided...I caught about 50 speckled trout and over 20 reds. Even got a couple of flounders. But I got a lot of weird looks from some of the locals in my float tube. "What da hell is dat?"
On the trip in the picture I caught well over 30 reds and about a dozen specks...all in the back corner of the Buras Boat Basin...right next to the main highway. There are often people fishing off the bank there and catching fish. But I kicked over and fished like I was bass fishing...casting around boat docks and old sunken derelicts. Biggest Ianded was 33 inches and 13 pounds. Close to bull status. Can't remember how many bigger ones escaped with new lip ornaments on my eight pound line.
When conditions are right you will catch a lot of fish in fairly shallow water. And it is a blast to see them pushing up pressure waves in front of them as they charge toward your lure or fly.
Good luck. And you can PM me if you have any questions I can answer for you.
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Tubedude,
Thanks for the great info. At $600 a day plus tip I think I'll try the DIY way. I don't think I can justify that kid of coin to my wife. Right now I'm looking into the Grand Isle area. I've heard good things and have found a guy to rent me a couple Kayaks. Is that the Buras Boat Harbor your refering to? That looks like a great area also. I need to see if I can find a Kayak rental area there. There don't seem to be many people coming up with boat rental places for me.
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[#0000FF]Grand Isle is probably a good call. Nice little town, nice beaches and miles of inside protected waters. I never did fish it while I was down there but made a couple of lookee see trips. And I knew a couple of guys who gave it rave reviews. I don't remember what time of year they were referring to but there are times when you can catch the BIG bull reds from the beach.
Good luck and have fun.
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