Summer School begins

Tagging some fish

Summer time sight fishing patterns have arrived. The Mississippi River has fallen to the critical stage where dirty fresh water no longer inundates the southern salt water fishing grounds. Our eastern marsh is largely unaffected by the mighty Mississippi. The flats on islands outside the marsh will have fairly clear water exposing the monster bull reds. We are finding some pretty good numbers of fish. This cycle should only get better as the River subsides and September approaches.

Lucas with a nice summer time bull redfish

The large schools of big reds and black drum are beginning to appear. I have even seen a few schools of Jack Cravelle. The Jacks crash mullet on top making them susceptible to large poppers and fast moving tarpon style flies. Once hooked these 35 pound fish take line so fast your hands will get line burned before the line can hit the reel. Your fly reel's drag will be tested as one hundred yard runs are common. I general have to crank the motor to chase hooked fish while an hour long fight ensues.    
Soon these fish will be easy pickings on deep flats.

Black drum caught tailing in shallows

Finding these big schools of reds can be difficult in poor weather conditions. Low winds and lots of sun are the Louisiana fly fisherman's best friend. Usually big redfish hang around the schools of lethargic Black drum. The Black drum feed on the bottom creating plumes of mud in the clear water. Bait flees the big nasty drum and bull redfish lurk on the outer edges looking for an easy meal. Louisiana Redfish are notoriously lazy. The bull redfish will float to the surface and meander slowly. This habit makes the fish easy to see sight fishing targets. Put the fly on one's nose and he cant resist accelerating, mouth agape in a predatory frenzy.

My three favorite fishing months September-November are approaching. We are already on track for a spectacular year. Treat yourself by coming down to New Orleans for the three f's. Food fun and fishing!

End of February 2014 fly fishing report

The month of February in Louisiana is notorious for tough sight fishing conditions. This year the storms just wont quit. Another ice storm is pounding the Gulf coast as I write. This makes four in the past month. This weather is wrecking my fishing grounds clear water and puts the fish down.

It is Mardi Gras day in Bayou Big Easy. I cant believe throngs of tourists are out in 30 degree rainy weather. Never the less they endure the misery to catch the illusive beads thrown from the multicolor floats. I never understood why they are called floats until today. They should trade in tractors that pull the floats for a go devil outboard motor.








Fishing has been productive on the fishable days. There are plenty of fish out there. In fact the actual numbers boggle the mind. Perhaps this will mean a better than average March for the Biloxi marsh. I will hunker down for a few more days until the current weather system passes. Then all will start anew with good tides and tight lines.

Here is your video for the end of February.

    Overkill:        https://vimeo.com/87838003               


Captain John Iverson

Sight fishing Louisiana weather patterns

Inclement weather can be an absolute nuisance to sight fishing. Lately weather is a monster gobbling up chunks of good tide weeks. Occasionally the center of a high pressure system will pass close enough to clear the skies and calm the winds. Recent weather seems to mean ice storms. New Orleans rarely experiences snow and sleet. In the past month we have had two ice storms with another on the way. This renders a lot of my bookings unfishable.



There are many conditions considered in calling a day unfishable in Louisiana. Some of the basics include wind, water height and clarity, air temperature,  and lightning. A day can be cloudy with 20 knot winds and produce high floating aggressive bulls ripe for the picking. Louisiana may have small tides but they can play a key role in finding active fish. I prefer a 1.5 foot tide with the low tide value below ( +.5).  Sometimes the rotund girls just seem to show up to the dance for no reason whatsoever. However, there are some conditions that just plain stink for the Louisiana marsh.

Wind, the fly fisherman's nemesis. Actually wind can be managed to a certain degree. Large fly rods, like 9 and 10 weight, can handle big wind. Polling downwind gives clients downwind shots. There is a point of huge diminishing returns. Fishing becomes increasingly more difficult when my clothes begin to flap like a  flag. This happens around 18-20 knots. At or above 25 knots I begin to loose the ability to pole and direct the boat. Casting with accuracy becomes almost impossible. At winds above 25 knots I generally tuck my tail and head for the launch. Don your gear, this ride will get a little bumpy.


 High water can be a trip killer. This seems to be a Louisiana phenomenon. Both Florida and the Carolinas seem to treasure their flood tides. Louisiana boys don't have the same glossy outlook for flooded marsh grass. If the tide is above +2 feet don't expect to see many fish. When the water gets to +3 feet  most of  the areas launches go under water. Parking lots flood and levee gates close. Empire and Bayou Beinvenue Louisiana I am looking at you since I have gotten caught outside both gates. In general a hard Northwest wind will blow water out and a hard Southeast wind blows water in making tide charts unreliable. 



Poor water clarity can make sighting fish tough. If the fish are active and moving, dirty water is fishable. You may have to shoot at wakes, boils, and dark shadows. Obviously cleaner water is preferable. It is not essential unless the fish are sitting on the bottom inactive. Then all you may see is plumes of mud puffs coming up from the bottom like massive mushroom clouds. In these conditions the most common shot is right under the boat. Practice your short game fellas it will come in handy.

 

 

 

Air temperature effects redfish. Fish conducive to sight fishing live in water that is at or near the air temperature. When the High for the day does not reach 50 degrees I don't leave the house. Around 23 degrees the Louisiana marsh will have a fish kill. The big fish will not take the risk and head for deeper warmer waters. Defensively they sit on the bottom, gathering leeches and other parasites all over their body. The reds cant stay down forever in such a state of discomfort. The first warm stable day should produce  good fishing. On the opposite end of the thermometer 95 degrees seems to be a cutoff point for me. I start to overheat polling. Shallow fish come off flats to head for deeper cooler water.


Most of the year lightning would keep me landlocked. Fly fishing Louisiana summers include thunderstorms and water spouts. Generally small storms dot the fishing grounds and fire up most afternoons. They cannot be completely avoided. Chasing tails I will generally skirt the edges and run into sun openings trying not to allow a white towered cluster to slip between the skiff and the dock. At steak is a run home in the stinging rain with bolt after bolt popping off close. The balancing act could be called a guides version of risk management.

Anyway as for tails from bayou big easy, fly fishing has settled into full a blown winter pattern.  Fishing the bull redfish is easy when the big easy gets a break from this abnormally severe weather pattern. Lately I am finding the schools of bull redfish much closer to the mash banks. Any nice flat with shallow still water seems to hold sunbathing 10-15 pound fish. Since they are inactive sitting on bottom try polling in a zig zag pattern. This will stir the fish up. Some fish will want to come back to the same holding spot. Easy pickings for a good caster like you.  Come on down I'll show ya.  

Captain John Iverson

WHEN FLY GUIDES ATTACK III

I am back from vacation and ready to fish. When I left we were crushing the bull redfish on every good weather day and doing pretty well in bad conditions. I cannot say how many fish are waiting on my return but I guarantee it is a lot.

I finally finished with all the footage that had accumulated. My latest video should stand on its merits without any hype.

When fly guides attack III
https://vimeo.com/84087745

Low winds High redfish

This was one of those special weeks with low water lots of sun and no wind. The cold weather seems to get the big redfish to float on the surface offering themselves to clients. Frisky bulls swim slowly looking for the opportunity to crush anything in their path. It is a fly fishing guides dream to watch clients get frustrated or delighted depending on their cast. 

Multiple shots on multiple floaters is standard operating procedure as of late. The gin clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico glisten blue showing off four foot deep oyster beds. The bull reds are swimming inches deep appear in the distance allowing me to pole into position. If an accurate cast is present the eat is almost certain.

I have broken two fly rods and lost a gopro this week. Normally that would seem like a bad thing but the week was so much fun nothing dampened my sprits. Here is a video from last week I simply have to much footage to finish this weeks video.

VAPOR:        https://vimeo.com/81014876 

   
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

Whacked

We have had some crappy weather as of late. This did not deter the bull redfish from floating to the surface and eating our flies. The fish are cooperating in spectacular fashion. When we do get good weather conditions fly fishing is absolutely amazing. Seeing tons of giant redfish a day is a quite the rush.

Giant redfish appear in the gin clear shallows. Clients claim their heart begins to pound and knees begin to shake. All their focus is on the fish as flies swish by my head. I am getting so much footage that the majority does not make it to my video's.

This is definitely the job for me. I love chasing these big fish and watching them eat. I am privileged and honored to have such a life. This is way more fun than a real job.

This weeks video is called WHAKED. If you look closely you can see a client whack me with a fly as he casts at a 30 pound bull Louisiana redfish. He actually hit me twice but the footage was too long for the video. I picked up a fly rod and whaked a few which was a rare treat. We will save that for the next blog.

WHACKED: https://vimeo.com/81148873