Lafitte IFA Kayak tour

I fished the IFA Kayak tour Lafitte originally I wasn't going to do it but I realized I had to fish to qualify for the championship.  The last time I fished the IFA Empire I had a horrible day read about it here. I guess this story starts the Friday before I went red fishing for some slot reds for the grill. Me and my brother ended up keeping three reds from 18 to 22. On the way back to the launch at 11am we decided to take a detour to a trout spot. when we got there the tide was moving and there was bait being blown up. I was able to catch an 18 inch speck and missed a few more that I could see were bigger. I regret not going there first thing that morning because by this time it was hot out. If I wouldn't have caught that trout I probably would have gone to grand isle but I opted for the closer option that allowed me to sleep at home rather than my jeep that I had spent the past few weekends in. Sunday morning we woke up at 4:30 and headed to the launch. We arrived at 5:30 unloaded everything the wait for 6:00 was the longest 30 minutes of my life. It took forever but once the time came we were off and it was a sprint to the trout spot before the top water bite died. We got there rather quickly and as soon as we got there my top water was being blasted. I had 6 or 7 blowups before I hooked up but once I did I had a solid 18 inch speck. A few casts later another huge blowup and I could tell this was a bigger speck finally got it in and snapped the picture it ended up being almost 21 inches. I fished trout for fifteen minutes more but I didn't hit anything that was an upgrade. I knew my trout was good enough so I switched my target to the red fish I knew I needed a 40 inch fish to compete because most of the guys went to grand isle where they were plentiful see here. Armed with a extra smelly gulp I  fished for a redfish all day from about 7:30 until 1:30. I couldn't make it happen I caught all kinds of bottom feeders including white trout and croakers but no redfish. I know there were some big fish in the area my brother caught a 25 inch drum and he swears he lost a 24 inch speck at the kayak. It was a humbling day after starting off so well it was frustrating to not be able to complete what I set out to do. Competitive fishing is a battle against yourself and mother nature  as much as i like to think  can make the fish bite I haven't completely figured it out. Even though I didn't win anything the experience I gained will only help me in the championship.

fish from the friday before

friday before a 25 inch red