New Orleans Bass Fishing

big bass

While my brother caught his personal best bass this week I couldn't let him get all the attention. I caught this bass on accident while I was leaving to head to a meeting. Check out my brother Collin at afrofisherman.blogspot.com .

Thanks ,FishScale

First Fish on the Fly

I caught my first fish on the fly yesterday it was only a small bass but i'm happy. I have had that fly rod for three years and I was tired of seeing it collecting dust. So yesterday I decided to take it for a quick afternoon trip to the bayou. Stay tuned for more fly fishing posts and some redfish on the fly videos coming very soon.

Bass caught on the fly.

April Fools Redfish Video

Some video of the redfish I caught on April fools day 2014. The day started off pretty tough and I went four hours without landing a fish. I almost left because of high winds but I stuck it out and caught my limit in an hour and a half. Stay alert and make adjustments and you can find fish on the toughest days.

Enjoy, FishScale

Slow Your Roll DIY Drift Sock

http://funcfish.com/2013/05/building-a-kayak-drag-chain-anchor/

Spring time in south Louisiana is super windy and fishing in a kayak you are vulnerable to being blown around. Usually fight the wind  you can use your conventional anchor or the homemade pvc stake out pole. One of my favorite ways to fish is to drift the flats with the wind, but when is starts blowing 15 mph and above you can't drift very effectively. The drift simply becomes too fast and you will float right past many of your targets.  I almost bought a Drift sock that was made for a kayak and there are a couple of good options such as the Yak Gear Drift Anchor Kit, 19-Inch. But after looking at their construction they are pretty simple and that got me thinking I could make my own. I always begin any project with a quick online search chances are someone has already tried to solve the problem in having. When I searched my favorite forums for making your own kayak drift sock I got a myriad of options to chose from. People have used lengths of chain that drag the bottom, five gallon buckets , canvas tote bags, and even old pairs of jeans. I sorted through the many rigging options and quickly figured the pros and cons of each repurposed material.

The fully rolled up sock  ready for storage.

I didnt want to use the chain because of the added weight and the bucket would take up too much space so  I chose to go with the canvas tote option. The canvas tote would be lightweight and easy to store in the hull of my Hobie Outback. The only drawback is it would absorb water and would add moisture to the inside of my kayak. I already have trouble keeping my hooks from rusting in the boxes so I would have to store it on the deck and I don't use a crate. While searching for a canvas tote I found a reusable grocery bag these bags are made of recycled plastic so they don't absorb water and dry very quickly. 

The materials you will need are 

• Reusable grocery bag 
• Carabiner 
• Three feet of rope or bungee cord

The finished drift sock

 Converting it from a grocery bag to a drift sock is fairly easy it only takes two steps.      

• Tie one end of your bungee to the handles of the grocery bag.
• Tie the other end to the carabiner.
• You can clean up the tag end by zip tying it down to the main line but it is not necessary.

When on the water go to the area where you want to begin you drift and clip the carabiner to your anchor trolley. Adjust the position of the drift sock with the anchor trolley as you would on a conventional anchor to get the desired direction and angle of the drift. If the wind is blowing extremely hard or you need to drift even slower you can add a second  Grocery bag drift sock.  If you need an affordable effective drift sock when fishing you should get one of these reusable grocery bags chances are you have one laying around your house.

This site is a good resource for using a drift sock they go into way more depth than me.

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csd_sea_anchors.htm

Snot Grass Redfish at Pointe a la Hache

Bronze redfish tail

Went fishing in Pointe a la Hache to celebrate april fools day I started early around 6:30 just as the sun emerged on the horizon. I took off with no real plan only to catch as many reds and bass as possible.
 I decided to try some different presentations to build confidence in some new lures like the wake bait
inline spinner and spinner bait. The ponds down there are very shallow and packed with grass so my mirage drive spent most of the day out on the deck. The water in the bayou leading to the pond I fished was dirty but once I entered the pond water clarity increased to crystal clarity.  I was able to see a million garfish and many redfish often when it was too late and had already spooked them. The first hour I was throwing a buzzbait I got a couple of wakes up behind it and once something grabbed it but I am pretty sure that it was a garfish. I soon after abandoned the topwater and switched to the wakebait. I struggled to keep the treble hooks of the wakebait from fouling with the heavy weeds before it made in front of the fish. I got tired of taking the snot grass off of it and switched to an inline spinner. This was my first time using it and I was surprised that it was pretty weedless, and even if it got slimy it didn't hinder the action of the lure very much. I drifted further south and  found a corner of the pond where the wind had cleared most of the surface algae away. Another good sign  were the mullet jumping and crabs that were plentiful in this pond. I casted away from the bank to where I saw the distinctive wake of a red cruising. The cast was a little behind but the wake made a U-turn and then violently swirled on the inline spinner. I felt the tug of the fish and set the hook and nothing I quickly reeled in and recast but the fish was gone. I drifted around the open area to where a bayou entered the pond there was water flowing into the pond.

Keeper redfish was hiding in the grass

I cast to the mouth of the bayou and wham a redfish smacked the spinner as soon as it hit the water I set the hook expecting to feel the weight of a healthy redfish but again swing and a miss. I casted towards the other point a wake formed up and I missed another one dejected I moved on . Further Down the straight bayou I got to an intersection and looked down a dead end where I saw two fish blow up in quick succession. I pulled across the narrow bayou blocking the only exit for the fish and cast down the bank. My cast was a little too perfect and it landed directly on one of the reds spooking it and in the process the rest of the school. They ran out the bayou directly under my outback and I think I counted twelve redfish in the school. By this time the wind was picking up and I decided not to fight the wind and stay near the launch. I stood still and scanned the bayou for activity to try and locate the school which I had just spooked a couple minutes earlier. I did not see anything so I decided to use the wind and drift down the bayou blind casting to locate the school. I think I drifted back over them but I was moving at warp speed because the wind had picked up considerably.I didn't try to turn around I continued drifting across the open area I had been in earlier. At the end of the first drift I spotted a large red in a clear pocket on the grass I spooked it but It gave me an idea. I spent the rest of the day jumping from clearing to clearing. I drifted into a large opening and spooked six reds I got really excited because I was seeing a repeating pattern of where the fish were

This 18 inch red was cruising a grass line.

located. The next pocket I got to I used my marsh anchor to stop me before I drifted into the pocket. Stealth was the key to catching them and not spooking them and in this pocket I caught two fish back to back. The first fell for a texas rigged deadly dudley and the second my favorite gold spoon. I then used this anchoring method on the next pond and drew a strike on the inline spinner which again didn't connect.I examined the spinner closer and came to the conclusion that the factory hook was dull and it needs to be replaced. I missed four fish today because of a defective hook if it were a tournament those fish would have made a big difference in where I would have placed. I knew the fish didn't feel the hook so I casted to the left side of the pool with a gold spoon and boom fish on.

This fish fell for the inline spinner and then was caught on a gold spoon.

This was the most satisfying fish of the day after missing it I was able to catch it seconds later. I used the drift and anchor method to deal with the heavy wind and obtained pretty good results. Within thirty five minutes I had caught my limit of five redfish. I fished a little longer but was tired of bushwhacking and fighting the wind and was headed home by 12:00.