Day 1 (Sunday Afternoon)
After the nine hour haul from Tallahassee my dad and I got settled in to our room and got our rods together to test the waters. Fished a cut between the bay and the gulf and did fairly well. My dad hooked into a nice drum right away on a red jig head fished in about 10 feet of water on the outgoing tide. It weighed out at around 4.5lbs and started getting a real good feeling. Fishing was slow for the next hour or so with some rude locals trying to get us out of our spot (maybe it was theirs
). They sent over their son who was probably about 10 or 11 and he started going through our cooler. Again this was fairly awkward but they eventually left and as they drove over the bridge I pulled in a real nice red around 17". I held up as they drove by just to be a dick. We fished there until about sundown and we were packing our stuff up when I saw my rod which was sitting on some rocks starting moving into the water. I beat feet over there and got a nice hook set in and the fight was on. The fight lasted a good part of ten minutes and I finally horsed it to shore. Gripped and got a weight measurement around 22.5 lbs. At this point I knew we had a hell of week in store for us. We ended up with 2 drum the biggest at 22.5 and multiple smaller reds probably not weighing more than a pound or two at the most. Got home around 8 made some dinner drank some beers and went to bed.Day 2
Got up around 630 grabbed a cup of coffee and replenished the shrimp which we pounded through the day before. Headed down to port fuschon where the majority of our domestic oil comes in to. Hooked into a couple of cats and finally figured it was time to move. This water was polluted to say the least. Actually most of the water around grand isle was pretty messed up looking. This is really unfortunate as it really is a gem of a fishery and a beautiful place. We moved up LA 1 (The main road, actually the only road from cut off to grand isle roughly 45 miles) and waded a little bit. Pounded the flounder and as soon as the tide slowed down around noon we were nailing them right along a steep weed bank. Most of the reds were shorties but great fights on light tackle. Fished there for a couple more hours saw a local conoco phillips employee pull in a beautiful 35" red and finally headed back towards grand isle. Fished the same cut as the day before nailing some more drum around the 5lb range. Got into some sea trout around nightfall and called it a night. Fished the surf and drank some beers and did little in the way of catching fish.
Day 3
Same routine as the day before and we hit Fuschon beach south of the port. Realized that my children would get birth defects if I stayed down there any longer and went back to the culvert of LA 1. Again pounded the flounder and some bigger reds up to 23". Hit another bridge up the island and pulled in a 8lb drum, Feeling the effects of fishing 12 hour days we went back to the room caught a couple hours of sleep and hit the surf around 8. Pulled in a 3.5 foot long shark which was one hell of a fight in rough windy conditions. Pulled out a puppy red in the surf close to the beach around 11 and headed in for the evening. This was probably our most productive day. Between the two of us we probably caught 30 fish but nothing of real size compared to the day before.
Day 4
I never thought id get to this point but man was I tired from fishing. Fished the culvert and did not get a bite. The weather had calmed down and the low had moved to the east with high pressure building in from the southwest. This laid down the seas which I think killed fishing. Pulled in a 14lb drum at our favorite bridge and took a break. Hit the surf catching some cats and we went in around 830. Knowing that 5 am would come early and we would lose an hour heading east I dont know if my body could have taken another 10-11 pm fishing adventure.
This is probably the best four days of fishing I have ever had. The majority of the creoles on the island are extremely nice and giving people with those who obviously felt that a couple of boys from virginia did not belong on their island. The place got hit pretty hard by Katrina and a lot of rebuilding is still taking place. Plus I have never seen some many mobile homes on stilts.
This is a little more serious. I am a conscious fisherman. I love being on the water and experiencing all mother nature has to offer. What I saw this week is not what comes to mind when I fill up my tank with gas. The environment is industrial and that is how these people make their livings. I counted 14 oil rig lights from the beach at night with numerous more offshore that I am sure I could not see. The water seemed very polluted and much different than what I am used to. Its not just the oil companies either. Locals dump trash all in the bayous and it really does take a little bit away from fishing. Grand Isle truly is a fishing gem. I only hope that my children and my children's children will be able to experience all southeastern Louisiana has to offer. This trip has shined light on conservation and that maybe one guy saying something can make a difference even when battling those who handle millions of dollars everyday. I did not want to turn this into a political message and that is not my goal. I only hope that something is done before its too late.
Long story short get down to the bayous at least once in your life. You will not regret it.
Pictures should be up soon. My dad is staying the night in Savannah and will be home sometime tomorrow. So hopefully by Saturday I will have something. Looking to do some fishing this weekend and will probably be around the St. Marks area Friday - Sunday. Spring break is a god send.
