Louisiana fly fishing report Mid October 2015

Well this has been an amazing week for fly fishing in the Louisiana marsh. Perfect weather and good tides have produced some an abundance of shots on bull redfish. The winds are now at 20 knots and the easy days are over for the foreseeable future.

I am confident the first calm day after this stretch will once again produced massive quantities of hungry crawling redfish. Even in poor conditions I will find fish. They just are not on every bank and in every nook and cranny.

The brief rest is not entirely unwelcome. My body aches and some down time is required to catch up on daily chores. A couple of days rest will do me good.

FOR BOOKINGS GO TO   
HTTP://FLYFISHINGREDFISH.COM

Mid November Louisiana fly fishing report

The Louisiana marsh south of New Orleans is no doubt a fly fisherman's dream. Huge cold fronts moved Artic air over the south. Colder temperatures cool and clear the waters of the marsh. Big redfish become much easier to spot in the gin clear shallows.


This time of year the bull reds move into more protected waters. Lounging lazily on the bottom waiting for an easy meal. Once the tide begins to move entire schools go on the hunt. Acres of fish maraud the flats. Finding the redfish is simple because they general mix in with hundreds of black drum. Find the black drum and your day is amazing.

December is my favorite month. Most of the non native guides leave the area to head home. With very few fly fisherman on the water the bull reds are free to congregate without molestation. This allows me to better control which fish I rotate into my route.

There is not a better time to fly fish than right now. If you have been planning a trip December is a great month. Email me for availability.

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!

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