Delacroix, 4-25-2024

Now that I have more free time on my hands, I can pick days with better conditions for fly fishing. Thursday was an optimal day. The forecast was for lots of sunshine with a modest break from some of the high winds that are typical of spring. There would be enough water to get the kayak in at one of my favorite combat launches. It was “go time” for Delacroix.

I headed out and went to a spot where Shane and I caught some fish last week. It’s a little hole that’s a couple of feet deeper than the surrounding marsh. I hooked into a small redfish on my third cast and then nothing afterward. It seems the fish had dispersed from this spot. I rounded the corner and spooked a couple of redfish and then spooked them again as I came back through the spot a few minutes later. Time to move on.

I went across a flat that was about a foot deep today. There wasn’t enough water here for me or the fish in the past trips, but they were in there today. I saw them coming and picked off three.

I headed out farther to a leeward shoreline to get some protection from the wind that was now blowing at about 10 mph. The redfish liked this bank today. I had just caught a couple of slot redfish when a large one came tailing along the bank toward me. Then I saw his buddies. A school of mostly over-slot-sized redfish was on me at point-blank casting distance. After landing five of the 10-12 lb fish and an 18” fish that ate the spoon fly that hung in the water while I unhooked a larger redfish, I needed a break. I paused for a bit, drank some water, watched them swim by for a while, and then caught another one. I guess the commotion of landing that fish caused the school to move on. They started to come by in twos and threes and then disappeared altogether.

I poled the kayak along the shoreline and spotted another small redfish and got it to eat the spoon fly. Then I turned around and hoped to cross paths with the school. That didn’t happen. But I did find a couple more slot fish along the way.

I worked my way back in and passed the flat where I had caught fish earlier in the day. Just as I thought the flat was empty, a large and a small redfish appeared off the bow. I froze and tried not to scare them as they cruised by. Once they passed, I made a cast as far behind me as I could. I tried again, thinking that they were probably beyond casting range and then I felt the line go taught. The smaller fish was on the line and the larger one was following, probably shouting encouragement to his buddy – probably things like “spit out that hook”, or “break that line”.

I was cruising toward the landing spot while dragging the spoon fly behind me. Suddenly the line started flying off the reel and there was another fat redfish on the line. This guy (it was a male because it drummed) probably put up the best battle of the day. It was about 28” and 10 lbs. and had that beautiful orange color that Delacroix reds are famous for. It was a nice fish to conclude a memorable day on the water.

Some people, like my buddy Jack Hickman, have a “thing” about bananas being bad luck to take on a boat. I don’t think there are data to support this notion.

Conditions and details:

Tide table and solunar periods:

Water Level: as expected, a bit above normal.

Predicted wind was accurate.

Water Clarity: good

Water salinity: unknown

Weather/sky: Sunny, patchy clouds

Temperature: 84 F for the high

Moon: just past full

Water covered: ~ 7 miles

Launch: slipped the Hobie Compass in about 8 a.m., out at 4:30 p.m.

Other fishers: solo

Gear: 8-weight fly rod, floating line with Rich Waldner’s spoon fly 

April 14th and 15th, 2024

Shane, a buddy from Alaska, was in town with his wife for a conference and afterward, they stayed a few days at our place. He and his wife had fished with a guide the day before, had some success, and missed a few chances as well. Shane and I took the tandem kayak out to Delacroix on the 14^th. After a difficult launch due to low water, we got into a little deeper water and the kayak began to glide. The water clarity was OK, but the increasing breeze made sight fishing difficult. We tried blind casting and found a spot with a congregation of redfish that were at the lower edge of the slot size. They were not big, but they provided some good action. Shane caught about 10 and missed a few. He also caught a bass (white or yellow bass, not sure which) and a nice-sized blue catfish. After playing with these fish for a while, we paddled north and tried to find a similar pattern where the wind pushed water through a marsh cut. We did find a similar scenario, but it only produced one redfish. At this point, we turned around and started working our way in. I had been paddling and trying to keep the kayak in position for Shane to cast up until now. Shane wanted me to fish, so I began to cast the spoon fly in a searching pattern and got a good strike – not from a redfish, but a speckled trout. We paddled across some rough water (the Crew tracks well) and returned to the spot where we caught fish earlier in the morning. They were still there. I caught a redfish and Shane caught a trout. It was time to leave, so we scooted back to the launch. This time there was enough water and landing the kayak was easy.      

        

Water Clarity: fair

Water salinity: unknown – likely very fresh

Weather/sky: Sunny

Air temperature: 75 F for the high

Moon: half, waxing  

Water covered: ~ 5 miles

Launch: slipped the Crescent Crew tandem kayak in about 10:00 a.m., out at 4:30 p.m.

Other fishers: Shane P.

Gear: 8-weight fly rods, floating line, with Rich Waldner’s spoon fly

Predicted tide and solunar periods – low about 9 a.m. and rising about a foot through the day.

The wind was E at 5 mph and then picked up to about 12 mph from the SSE as predicted.

On the 15^th, Shane and I were up early and headed to City Park for about 3 hours of fly fishing. I knew of a bream bed in the main lake, and we headed there. Shane caught about a dozen medium-sized bluegill there while I caught about the same number of smaller ones on some flies that were based on the Bully Bluegill Spider pattern. The difference was that I used ostrich herl to replace the rubber legs on the fly that Shane used. I used a similar “all peacock” version. The bluegill and small bass were clobbering these flies. We left the bluegill bed and began to fish at different spots along the bank. I ended up with about 10 small bass and probably twice that many bluegills. Shane had similar success. It was a busy morning!

Reggio and Hopedale trips, 3-30 and 4-5-2024

The Regio trip was a skunk. There was about a 5-10 mph wind blowing, water was low and very dirty. I searched unsuccessfully for better water and fish. I took a bad picture of a roseate spoonbill on its nest. Saw about 100 alligators, mostly smaller ones of less than 6 feet in length. Unless the aquatic vegetation comes up, the water is not going to clear up. I’ll avoid this area for a while.

I tried out the new trolling motor on the back of the Crescent Crew kayak. I was a little awkward getting the long-jointed tiller to work while seated in the middle of the kayak. It’s also awkward to raise and lower the trolling motor. I must turn around and stretch out from the middle seat position, but I can lift or drop the motor. The plan is to use the motor to get to an area (usually shallow) that I want to fish, lift it, pole and/or paddle around to sight fish, and then drop the motor and head back when I’m done.  

That methodology worked pretty well on this trip. I motored out about two miles and stopped at a pond that had drained out on a very low tide. I found the redfish stacked at the drain and caught 7 fairly quickly by blind casting into the dirty water with a spoon fly. After about an hour the action stopped, so I moved back to the junction of the canal and the little bayou that went to the pond. The redfish had moved back to this area, and I caught 3 more. I decided to make a move to look for clean water for sight casting.

The good news was that I did find some cleaner water in another pond. The bad news was that the redfish were really spooky. They acted like the spoon fly was giving them an electric shock when it came close. It happened with the four fish that I cast to. I saw the thick tail of a large black drum go up as I left the pond. I made several casts to it in the dirty water but didn’t hook up. I was about to give up when the line went tight. But it was a 20” redfish on the end of the line instead of a big black drum. It was about 3:30 and I made my way back to the truck in record time.

I’m not sure how fast the motor was pushing me, but I’ll guess it was 7-8 mph. I typically go about 3.5 mph when pedaling at a steady rate in my Hobie Compass, and it seemed like I was going about twice that speed. The 100 amp/hour lithium battery got me there and back. Coming in was a bit slower because of a 10-mph headwind. When I hooked up the battery to the charger it appeared that there was about 20-25% charge remaining on the battery. So, I think I could probably cover another couple of miles with this battery. I was running full throttle most of the time.         

Water Clarity: generally poor – cleaner in the back of small, closed ponds

Water salinity: unknown – likely very fresh

Weather/sky: Sunny

Air temperature: cool start of about 55 F, 78 F for the high

Moon: 1/8 approaching new  

Water covered: ~ 7 miles

Launch: slipped the Hobie Compass in about 8:00 a.m., out at 5:30 p.m.

Other fishers: solo

Gear: 8-weight fly rod, floating line, with Rich Waldner’s spoon fly

Predicted tide and solunar periods. The actual low tide level was about -2 feet.

Actual conditions at the nearby Shell Beach station. Note the red line (actual water level) is considerably below the projected (blue line) tidal levels.

The wind was NW-N at 5-10 mph as predicted.

Delacroix, LA 3-27-2024

I had a couple of earlier trips this month to Delacroix and Hopedale, respectively. I did well at Delacroix, catching 9 redfish on a day with good sight fishing conditions. The Hopedale trip was just fair (2 reds and a speckled trout) but the water was low and dirty and the sky was overcast that day. Today, I caught 6 redfish and missed a couple, which was pretty good considering the conditions.

I checked the water levels as I drove to St. Bernard Parish. Surprise! The water level was up despite the hard north winds. The tide was predicted to rise all day. That meant that launching at Delacroix was a go. I expected lower winds when I launched, but it was blowing at least 15 mph with whitecaps on open water. I took evasive maneuvers and got behind some islands for wind protection. There would be no standing and sight fishing today (muddy water, high wind), so I did some blind casting to points, pockets, and cuts along the islands. I had my first fish about 30 minutes after launching – a minimally legal redfish of about 16.5 inches sitting at the edge of a north/south cut between two small islands. The north wind was pushing through the cut, so this was an obvious place for a feeding fish to be positioned. This pattern repeatedly produced several fish over the day. The fish were scattered, so I had to keep moving and searching, catching one every hour or so throughout the trip. All the fish ate the Waldner spoon fly – my go-to fly for marsh redfish. Four of the redfish were “in the slot”. The largest redfish was about 26”. The two undersized reds were about 14”.

Actual conditions at the Shell Beach Station:

Water temperature ~ 60 F.

Predicted tidal conditions and solunar period:

Water Clarity: poor – cleaner in the back of small, closed ponds

Water salinity: unknown – likely very fresh

Weather/sky: Sunny

Air temperature: cool start of about 50 F, 70 F for the high

Moon: waning, just post-full

Water covered: ~ 6 miles

Launch: slipped the Hobie Compass in about 8:30 a.m., out at 5:30 p.m.

Other fishers: solo

Gear: 9-weight fly rod, floating line, with Rich Waldner’s spoon fly 

Rigging the Crescent Crew

Rigging the Crescent Crew Kayak

# 1. I started by adding the gear tracks and putting the foam decking in the kayak. I included some indoor/outdoor carpet patches in the wells where the seats go, adding a little more cushion and quiet.

#2. Here is a front view of the rigged Crew with the Paddlelogic TrailTrekker cart used for transportation. I use the 8-foot Park n’ Pole to pole around and anchor when sight fishing in the marsh. I added YakAttack paddle holders in the gear tracks.

#3. Floating net with attached extra float and Boga-grip, soft cooler, and tackle/gear bag. Plenty of room up front for these with easy access.

#4. “High” Crescent seat, Kayak Kushion, and Onyx inflatable belt PFD.

#5 Crescent rear seat pouch with a Standard Horizon floating radio and the Zoleo satellite communicator allow for times when I’m out of the range of my cell phone.

#6. Battery crate, Lithium Time 100 Ah lithium-iron-phosphate battery for motor, Newport quick release battery connection, YakAttack 10 Ah battery for the Garmin GPS/FF.

#7. The Ironwood 37”-52” tiller handle extension with a U-joint was needed for steering from the middle seat position when going solo. The U-joint allows almost 180 degrees of steering range.

#8. The Crescent horizontal mounting plate fits perfectly with the vertical Newport trolling motor mount that secures the 30” NV Newport 55 lb. thrust (0.84 hp) trolling motor.

#9. The motor is positioned just below the skeg to have a full range of steering.

#10. I added a Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 LakeVu 7 and a YakAttack Switchblade mount for the transducer. These mount in the gear track for easy addition and removal. I rarely need the Garmin in warmer weather because I am fishing in very shallow water. But it’s nice to have when fishing deep water, typically in winter.

#11. It was already a very fishy kayak before outfitting it. I’m looking forward to summer fishing in the Louisiana marshes. I’ll add a report when I take the rigged kayak out.

Delacroix, LA 3-6-2024

I was able to combat launch at Delacroix since the water was up. Conditions were perfect, except for the turbid water. I found the first redfish of the day sitting in a wind-blown gap between two little islands. I tagged and released the 27” fish. Things were slow since I couldn’t see any fish while standing. I had to revert to blind casting to structure, throwing the spoon fly into any pocket or drain I found along the way. I’d gone out a couple of miles to a little series of bayous off a large pond. The water there was shallow enough that I could get a glimpse of the fish. I cast to a cruising redfish, and it ate, but I couldn’t get a good hook set since it charged right at me as the line went tight. I hung around and got another chance at a redfish but had the same problem getting a good hook set. The third time was the charm, and I hooked into a nice 28” fish and got it in. As I was tagging it, a skiff with a duo of anglers came up, looked me over for a minute, and then took off on the main engine. Sorry I was in your spot.

I decided to fish my way back toward the landing. I was crossing the middle of a large pond when I spotted a tailing redfish. It turned out the fish was working for food on a submerged island less than a foot deep. I approached it and suddenly grounded the kayak. The fish took off, but after a minute it was feeding again. I pitched the spoon fly into the target zone and got a fat 24” fish. I tagged it and let it go.

I went to a nice shoreline, hoping for some protection from the breeze to spot fish. The wind went to zero and the water went flat. I tagged and released another redfish, and then saw two dark tails working their way toward me. Two big black drum were coming my way. I cast to the first and got it to eat the spoon fly. It barely budged when I strip-set the hook. Then, it proceeded to tow me around. After about ten minutes of a stalemate, I decided to force the issue. I grabbed the leader and intended to pull the drum into the net and unhook it. The drum went the other way and popped the 20# mono leader like it was a cobweb. The line snapped at the loop knot that held the spoon fly, and the black drum went away with a souvenir. It was getting late, so I headed back to the truck. 

Actual conditions at the Shell Beach Station:

Predicted conditions:

Tide: low tide about 10 a.m., predicted range of about 1.5 feet = bad prediction, water stayed up instead.

Water Level: high instead of the predicted low

Predicted wind was accurate.

Water Clarity: poor

Water salinity: unknown

Weather/sky: Sunny, patchy clouds

Temperature: 78 F for the high

Weather prediction was close, but it wasn’t cloudy.

Moon: waning quarter

Solunar period: major period at 8-10 a.m. 

Water covered: ~ 6 miles

Launch: slipped the Hobie Compass in about 8 a.m., out at 4:30 p.m.

Other fishers: solo

Gear: 9-weight fly rod, floating line with Rich Waldner’s spoon fly 

Hopedale, 2-20-2024

I was restricted on where I could fish due to the low water levels, really wanted to go to Reggio or Delacroix, but I opted for Hopedale. The water level was way down, and I had to slide the kayak across about 20’ of sandy bottom to get it launched. That’s what my white shrimp boots are for.

I turned into a pond and was greeted by a big alligator that was catching some spring sun on the bank. It was a cold morning, and I wasn’t seeing much fish activity. I headed across a pond and spotted the tail of a large black drum feeding in about 2-3 feet of water. I got as close as I could and then cast but it moved about 60’ away. I moved a little closer and guessed where to cast. Suddenly the drum was right next to the kayak, it saw me and dashed away. A few minutes later a similar situation occurred with a large tailing redfish. Then, no more fish were spotted. So, I moved around looking for cleaner water but didn’t find any. I saw signs of emerging water plant growth, so that’s a good omen for later spring fishing.

I went about a mile to an area that I’ve known to hold fish in low cold water. I got a couple of strikes and then hooked a fish that behaved oddly. Flounder! I got it in the net before it shook free of the hook. I switched to the spoon fly and caught 8 redfish that were hunkered down in this little bend in the bayou. Most were just under the 16” slot and one reached 16.5”. It was a good sign that a new crop of young redfish may be on the way.

It was 3:30, so I started to work my way back to the truck. I stopped at a pond that was beginning to refill as the tide pushed in. I was blind casting and got a couple of hard strikes on the spoon fly. I suspected they were trout, so I clipped off the spoon fly and tied on an ultra-shrimp. I had more strikes and landed 3 specks. All three were cookie-cutter 12” fish. I decided that was enough for the day and headed in. The tide was up now, and I didn’t have to drag the kayak beach it.

Conditions:

Winds: 0 – gusting to 20 mph, mostly about 5 mph, shifting through all directions over the day

Tide: low tide at 11 a.m., predicted range of about a foot.

Water Level: very low

Water Temperature: 50 F at Shell Beach Observation Station

Water Clarity: poor

Water salinity: unknown

Weather/sky: Sunny, patch clouds

Temperature: 63 F for the high

Moon: waxing third quarter

Solunar period: major period at 10:30 a.m.

Water covered: ~ 6 miles

Launch: slipped the Hobie Compass in about 8 a.m., out at 5 p.m.

Other fishers: solo

Gear: 9-weight fly rod, floating line with Rich Waldner’s terminator crab, 8-weight with a sink tip line – used Waldner’s spoon fly for the redfish and a homemade ultra-shrimp for the trout.

Hopedale and Delacroix Fishing – Winter Recap

I’ve been able to make a few trips out during the winter. Cold fronts and rainy days have limited the fishing. I fished at the end of January and caught a few reds, bass, and speckled trout in the marsh.

I also worked in a trip to City Park on a rainy day so that I could keep my casting arm loose. I got a couple of small bluegill and bass on a black, nymphy-looking fly.

I went to Hopedale and almost skunked due to the cold, dirty water, but I saw a little activity against the bank and caught a surprise sheepshead on a Waldner spoon fly.

Most recently, I went to Delacroix on a mid-February day with almost no wind and extremely low tide. Unfortunately, it was overcast, and the water was dirty. This made for poor sight fishing conditions. But the low water made it easier to spot the backs and tails of feeding fish. I caught a 14” bass, and then found a big black drum that was wagging its tail at me.

The drum did not really make a run when hooked. Instead, it just hugged the bottom and ran in circles for about 15 minutes. It finally surrendered and surfaced, and I was able to net it and get it into the kayak to unhook it. It was about 4’ long and I estimate its weight at about 40 lbs.

I caught and released a couple of redfish that were over the slot size as well. They too helped me out by being shallow and tailing.

I just bought a Crescent Crew tandem kayak to take my wife or another person out kayaking and/or fishing. I purchased it from The Backpacker in Lafayette, LA. I’ve been pleased with it. It is moderately fast when paddling solo, and it turns and tracks well and has a great glide. I fished from it for the first time at Delacroix. The Crew is not quite as stable as my Hobie Compass and Outfitter kayaks, but I was able to stand and pole easily. The extra room was nice, and it worked well for fly fishing. The Crew has a middle seating position for solo trips. I bought an additional “higher” seat for solo fishing. I’m looking forward to using the Crew for sight fishing this summer when the weed beds get thick. I think it will also be good for duck hunting next fall. Waters are warming up and better fishing days are coming.

Hopedale, 1-14-2024

A big cold front is due this week. I saw that a warming trend with lower winds was forecast for today, so I took advantage of this opportunity to fish before the cold snap turned them off.

I cast a Gulp! shrimp in a new translucent color on a 3/8 oz. Golden-eye jig head behind me and trolled it down the canal on my way to the ponds. A 14” trout hit as I reached my first stop and started to reel in the jig. Another cast, another trout. The bite was on at this junction where a bayou was dumping water into the main canal. Trout were holding in about 8 feet of water around the draining bayou. The next fish was a small 15” redfish, followed by a 27” red. Then more trout in the 13-17” range. I put a few in the bag and then caught some more redfish. A boat with 4 guys pulled up at about a cast length from where I was fishing and proceeded to anchor, restart the motor, and re-anchor several times to get in position to fish. I told them what I was using and how I was fishing it and then moved up the canal toward the duck ponds. I really wanted to sight fish for redfish anyway and didn’t stick around to see if the bite would continue.

The wind was a bit stronger than it was forecasted, so I got on a leeward bank and found pretty good visibility to about 3 feet deep. I crept along but did not see any fish even though the sun was warming the shallow water. The redfish never “moved up” onto the shallows today.

I moved to another area and found the same results, cleaner water in the shallows, but no fish. I located the deeper channel (3-3.5’) within a shallow bayou between two ponds and started casting the Gulp! shrimp. I caught a 28” redfish, tagged and released it, and guessed that there might be more hanging out in the deeper water.

I like the look of the translucent Gulp! shrimp, and so did the fish.

I decided to try the spoon fly and just as I reached to switch rods, a redfish started to tail about 30 yards from me. I scooted quietly toward the fish, but it disappeared. I made several casts in the general area, felt a tug, and gave a strip set. As the fish got closer, I thought it was a sheepshead, but it turned out to be a black drum. I don’t see many black drum in this area because it’s pretty fresh, but this year the interior marsh waters have been exceptionally salty due to the low flow rate of the Mississippi River. I was happy with this surprise catch on the spoon fly.

I headed for home and started to troll the jig again. I caught an undersized trout as I rounded a point. I ran into Frank Lee and his fishing partner as I got further toward my truck. We chatted as we went down the canal and then a 16” speck hit my jig. I circled around and made another pass through the spot without any more bites, so I headed for the truck. I ended the day with the back drum, 7 keeper-sized specks, and 8 redfish (5 were within or over the slot).

Conditions:

Winds: 5-10 mph, switching from East to South later in the day

Tide: low tide at 4 p.m. based on the Shell Beach Station

Water Level: low

Water Temperature: 50 F at Shell Beach

Water Clarity: fair – I found some nicer water in areas, but it did not hold any fish

Water salinity: 9 ppt

Weather/sky: Sunny

Temperature: 62 F for the high

Moon: new quarter

Solunar period: major period at 2 p.m. 

Water covered: ~ 8 miles

Launch: slipped the Hobie Compass in about 8 a.m., out at 4:15 p.m.

Other fishers: solo

Gear: 9-weight fly rod and a bait caster with a Gulp! shrimp for trolling on the way to and from the ponds

Hopedale, 1-7-2024

Another year of fishing begins. Here in the New Orleans area, we have had our typical winter yo-yo weather with cold fronts followed by warming trends. It’s the time of year for very low tides and strong northwesterly winds that drain the marshes. These variable conditions are not too critical for the “shrimp on the bottom” fishers but can be quite restricting to those of us who fish from kayaks with fly rods.

I was disappointed that the sun did not warm up the water as much as expected. I’d hoped that the redfish would be enticed to come into the shallows to feed, but that didn’t happen for me today. It was just sunny enough to bring my buddy, Big Mike, up onto the bank this afternoon. He was too lethargic to get all the way out of the water but did catch a few rays on his back.

I started with the lagoon. The wind was stronger than expected and the first spot I planned to fish on the south side was a scratch due to the dirty water. I went about half a mile across some whitecaps to the north side to find a windbreak and cleaner water. The water was much better here, but I didn’t see any fish except for a few clouds of mud when something dashed away.

I went along a little bayou that was about 5 feet deep and found a couple of redfish in a bend by blind casting. I’d found fish here before on blown out days with low water. Sometimes they stack up in this spot, but today I just got a couple of fish here. I had to slow down the retrieve to let the spoon fly get down to the bottom. I went beyond this spot and tried to make it to another pond but ran out of water and turned back.

I fished my way around the remainder of the northern shoreline and then moved to another area about a mile away. I’d planned to fish the northern edge of this duck pond but heard a hunter shooting so I stayed away. I think I may have helped and sent some scaup in his direction. (Saw LOTS of scaup today.)

I went to the last stop and found very clean tidal water pushing in to refill the pond. It was about 3 p.m. and the current pushed me along at a nice pace as I fished. I got a good strike and quickly realized by the head shake that it was a speckled trout rather than a redfish. It was a “speck” of about 16.5”. First decent trout I’ve caught since last summer at Grand Isle. I moved along and hooked another speck, but it shook free near the kayak, and a few minutes later got a 15” redfish. I hooked into another nice fish (probably another redfish) that self-released after a couple of minutes of battle. With that, I decided to head in.

It was a modestly successful fishing trip with lots of birds sighted today. I saw a beautifully colored merganser pair with prime plumage as I rounded a point. Later, I saw four roseate spoonbills feeding in a muddy drain, but they were gone too quickly for a picture. The wildlife makes it worth the trip even if no fish are caught.

Conditions:

Winds: 10 mph, NNW to NNE

Tide: low tide at 9:30 a.m. based on the Shell Beach Station

Water Level: low

Water Temperature: 50 F at Shell Beach

Water Clarity: fair – about 2 feet to start, cleaned up nicely as the tide came in later in the afternoon

Water salinity: did not check

Weather/sky: the sun could never free itself from a thin cloud layer, but did permit some sight fishing

Temperature: 56 F for the high

Moon: waning third

Solunar period: major period at 9:30 a.m. 

Water covered: ~ 8 miles

Launch: slipped the Hobie Compass in about 8 a.m., out at 4 p.m.

Other fishers: solo

Gear: 9-weight fly rod and a bait caster with a Vudu shrimp for trolling on the way to and from the ponds