A Louisiana New Year

I got invited to go to Louisiana and Redfish over New Year's. I’ve Redfished in Florida many times but not in Louisiana, so I was very excited, to say the least. Winter is supposed to be the time of year when you get the Big Bull Reds.

I exited the airport in New Orleans, and the excitement finally hit me, as did the sights, sounds, and smells. It’s freezing cold and rainy at home in Oregon and 70 here. This was going to be a great trip. 

My friend George Cook picked me up, and we were off. On the way down to Venice, Groceries, dinner, and a fishing license, we had a couple of stops to make. We pulled up to a floating house in the Venice marina two hours later. A couple of cocktails and my bed was calling.

We were up early, making breakfast and packing lunches. (Domestic saltwater trips do not typically include lunch.) I dressed a little warmer than usual and included a windbreaker for the ride out. We were staying in a floating hope right in the marina, so our guide, Cleve Evans, was picking us up right at our porch/dock.

We ran out to the fishing grounds in the fog, so I couldn’t really get the lay of the land. We pulled up to our first stop. Cleve climbed up on the poling platform, and my fishing partner climbed onto the casting deck. As he starts poling us around, he gives us his basic orientation. The gist of it was out the fly within a foot of its mouth, making slow, long strips that didn’t jerk or twitch away from the fish. Simple enough.  

On this first day, I was fishing with George’s buddy, a guide from Alaska named Trevor Smith. He was on the platform and was a little. Being up there and performing in front of guys you don’t know is a little intimidating. It’s a whole different game up there. There’s a lot of pressure. The guide is quietly but intensely directing you, “11 O’clock, 30 feet, do you see it? Cast! Strip, Come tight, long strips, recast, left, more left, drop it,” it’s like that all day. In the beginning, it’s hard to see fish. First off, the guide is 5 or so feet above you. So, he has a much better vantage point for spotting fish. It had also been raining the past few days, so the water was very dirty. Trevor ended up hooking a massive Catfish of about 40lbs; after a long, tough battle, we finally boated it. We were all in shock about how big it was. When you are fishing on a skiff like that, you typically have some arrangement about casting time, 45 minutes, 5 shots at fish, or one landing. So he landed one, and then it was my turn on the deck. 

Being in a new place with a new guide is nerve-racking, especially in a setting like this. Every move you make feels wrong, and you constantly have an internal dialogue, geez just a little further, ugh, that’s the tail, you cast behind it, it’s always something, and you feel dejected. We poled up a creek into a little pond, and there were two fish tailing off to our left. Captain Cleve quietly directs me, “10 O’clock, 30 feet. Do you see it?” I start casting and reply “ I’ve got it” I drop the fly about a foot past the fish and make a long strip, the fish eats and I strip again setting the hook. Immediately I know this is the largest Red I’ve ever hooked. After a long battle we net the fish and Captain Cleve state this fish is well over 20lbs. I’m in shock as to the size of the fish, and possibly the best fish I caught in 2024. Little did i know that my first fish of 2025 was going to be twice as good! 

The Mississippi in the winter is an amazing place. That part of the river is so big and interesting. All new sights, sounds, and smells. The birds and alligators, all the different boats. The shrimpers and the oil rigs. If you have a chance to go or if you want to go I say do it! And if you want to find out the rest of the story stop by the shop or give me a call at the shop.