Bass Cat Popper

The latest Fly Fisherman magazine has a fly pattern called The Cat. It's tied using spun deer hair for the head. I don't mind spinning deer hair, but silicone floatant is not readily available here and I really don't like using it. I used a piece of closed cell foam for the head on my version. The zonker tail really gives it great action. I put one together and went to my local pond to make sure it would float right. It did and got a lot of action, and even bream had a go at it.

Recipe:
#2 Mustaad 34007 hook
Foam popper head crudely fashioned into a head (the bass don't care)
Doll eyes superglued on, then head is coated with Loon Hardhead
3 inch or so zonker tail
Marabou collar
Extra long hackle



Here is a variation using a Rainy's Foam Frog Body:

Deceiver

This is a simple version of the Deceiver fly. It's a great baitfish imitator, great for all species of saltwater fish. I've also caught bass and crappie on it.
#2 - 2/0 stainless hook such as a Mustaad 34007
4-10 hackle feathers
Gold or silver flash
Gold or silver mylar for body
Red bucktail collar
Peacock hurl topping
Black thread
Tie in the hackle, then the flash. Tie in the mylar at the back, extend thread to front of hook, then wrap the mylar body. Tie in the collar, then the topping. Tie cone head, then coat with a couple of layers of Hard As Nails or epoxy.

Inline spinners for fly casting

This is my variation of the Tom Nixon spinner fly: http://laflyfish.com/flies/tom-nixon-spinner.php
I use a long shank #2 - #6 hook. I use about a foot of wire to make it easy to work with. Thread the wire through the hook eye, then wrap the hook 4 or 5 times. Bend a right angle in the wire close to the hook, then hold the wire and twist several times until the wire breaks cleanly at the hook. Straighten the wire so that it is aligned with the hook shank and then put the beads, and the clevis and blade. Then form the eye, it's easiest to do with a small pair of round jawed slip ring pliers. Mine came in a tool kit for bead chain making that Michael's sells for about $7. It comes in a box that is perfect for storing parts. Once you have the eye formed, wrap and break the wire as done on the hook.
A great source for the parts is: http://lurepartsonline.com
I use marabou for the tail and chenille or estaz for the body on freshwater spinners with a #6 hook. On the saltwater version, I use buck tail for the tail and mylar for the body, then coat the body with Hard As Nails clear nail polish.
BTW I learned all this at the monthly fly tying session with the Red Stick Fly Fishers club. Don Richardson demoed it, and even brought a bunch of the Michael's kits and passed them on at cost.

Pfluegar reels

I like my old Pfluegar reels. I'm not really collecting them, I use most of them a lot.
Left to right: CJ 1495, US 1495 1/2 with four spare spools, US 1495 DA, Sal-Trout 1554, two Progress 1774's, Progress 60.

Here's some close ups of the Progress 60.

Little Mo part deux

Second time for me that is.. The Red Stick Fly Fishers made the annual pilgrimage to Murfreesboro, Arkansas for the "Rainbeaux Coalition" trip. We stayed at White Oak Creek Retreat again this year. Friday was below freezing all day, but it warmed up into the 50's for Saturday and Sunday. Many more pictures here: Little Mo 2009.

The Pen

Thanks to the members of the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club for turning us on to the Pen in Chalmette. Or as they say down there, da pen down in da parrish. From Baton Rouge take I-10 to New Orleans, then left at the split towards Slidell, then take the 510 (Hwy 47) exit towards Chalmette. Once you go over the bridge look for Marina Road on the left. There is a Travel Lodge there with a green roof and a convenience store, it's the first store that you get to after you cross the bridge. It's an hour and a half trip from Baton Rouge.
Anyway, back to the report. In the winter it's an evening bite. Right in front of the new two story camp with the copper roof is a deep hole. Black and red drum are on the bottom. A sink tip will get your fly there. When the trout are in there, they can be caught from the surface down. We caught lots of big black drum, slow at first then every cast right at dark.

Hwy 1 fishing spots

Last year Catch Cormier wrote an article for the RSFF newsletter. It details all of the fishing spots that can be reached by car from Golden Meadow south. Here are links to that newsletter and a map of the Fourchon to GI area.
Redletter 0507.pdf
Hwy 1 Map.pdf

Fall catch and eat

Hogy, Kevin, and I arrived Friday for the RSFF's Fall Catch and Eat, ready to catch some fish. We went into the ponds to the right of the landing at Catfish Lake and caught trout all day, as well as some reds. Total was about 30 keepers for the day. Saturday we arrived a the canal to Elmer's Island to view a torrent of water pouring through, and 20 mph winds. We back tracked to the TPH and started out bank fishing with poppers under a cork. Kevin went behind the island and caught two really nice flounders and lost several more at the kayak. I saw two guys steady catching trout and went to see what they were using. Large Johnson Sprite gold spoons. I put one on and caught several as well. We ended up with a respectable box of fish. Sunday morning we got to the TPH at about 7, it was still cold. I was about ready to pack it in, but went ahead and tried with a DOA under a cork. First two casts, two fish. We all got in the kayaks and fished the hole and the marsh behind the island. Hogy got a redfish at least 30 lbs to right under the kayak and broke the leader trying to get it off the bottom. I stayed in the TPH trowing a gold spoon and caught trout almost on every cast. Just as we were all about ready to call it a day at 1 pm, trout started busting shrimp in the middle of the hole. We drifted among them and caught schooles on every cast, and some big ones. I was limited out and Hogy and Keven had about 15 nice trout each. We packed it in and went and cleaned fish for over an hour before we headed back to BR. I almost forgot the highlight of the trip. Hogy cut a trout up and put it on the bottom of the hole. He caught and landed a huge gar, over five feet! It was released unharmed.

Got G.A.S.?

In internet music circles we call it G.A.S. - Gear Acquisition Syndrome. It starts as a quest to upgrade your equipment and it can take on a life of it's own. Luckily by buying used at the right price, you can easily sell or trade equipment for what you paid for it and end up breaking even. Usually there is a detour into collecting instead of using gear. Luckily I'm through with that. I really like what I have now and use it all. For more details on that go to http://noahvale.freeshell.org and click on "My Basses".
Anyway what's that got to do with Louisiana Fishing? I have had a power boat for most of my adult life. I got into fishing from a kayak last year. Well I started with a canoe, and then got a kayak.. I am on kayak number three now. All the money spent on the canoe and other kayaks all came back to me when I sold them. Now I have what I should have gotten first - a Native Watercraft Magic 12. All of my other kayaks have been good, but the downfall with a kayak for me is the seat. In a power boat, you can stand and you don't suffer from "yakbutt". The Natives hands down have to the best seat in the biz. Here's a pic of my new Magic tricked out and ready to do battle with redfish:

My new toy

I just bought a 1980 Macgregor Venture 25. It needs some work, but it's all there.
I brought the sail bag home and was surprised to find that it has a jib and a genoa, and a mast cover. All the sails are in good condition with good sheets. The main sheet needs to be replaced, and the starboard upper shroud is frayed. The cushions are being recovered with a light blue vinyl, I should have them back in a few weeks.
These are the before pics!

Finsport Fly Wallet

I've been on a quest to get the right setup for salt water water fly fishing from my Pungo 120 kayak. Love the kayak, but room is limited. I like to wear a life jacket, and have one with a couple of zip-up pockets. Almost works. And yeah, I have vests, two waist packs, tons of fly boxes, and on and on...
And yes, I support my local shops - when they have what I want. I also shop online. I actually make my living selling online, so I appreciate the support I get as well. After all a lot of online sellers are shops too, some of us are shops available to the whole world...
So I was placing an order at Sierra Trading Post. I get their email come-ons and they sent me a coupon 10% off with free shipping for an order over $100. I put together an order from their already discounted clearance section. Picked up Frog Togs rain jacket for $29!
Anyway back to the topic at hand. I got one of these:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,97787_Finsport-6008-Fly-Wallet.html
EVERYTHING I need fits in it! Tools, leaders, tippet, more flies than I should really take, all in a 9x5 inch when closed wallet. It has a clip that attaches to a D ring on the life jacket. Love it!

Suspending Clouser

I got this idea at warmfly.com. Instead of a lead head, a piece of flip-flop foam is used for the eyes. It floats hook down, so the color pattern is reversed. I used some glow in the dark tinsel as well as gold krystal flash. It floats until the bucktail gets wet, then is suspends just under the surface as you strip. So far it has been effective for bass, I also want to try if for specks at night.

Fingernail spoon files

These are really easy to do and they work well for redfish. I get the fake fingernails at the "Everythings a Dollar" store for a dollar! The more expensive ones available elsewhere really don't work as well, as they are heavier. A quick scissor trim and shaping with the $1 nail files I got at the same store does it. I then color them yellow with a Sharpie. I've used super glue in the past, but the easiest and quickest way to attach the Mustaad 34007 #2 hook is with a mini hot glue gun. The I coat them with a little 5 minute epoxy and using a salt shaker, I cover them with ultra fine glitter (from Wal-Mart). I do this over a box so that I can catch the excess glitter and return it to the salt shaker. Then after the 5 minute is set, I go over it with a thin coat of 30 minute epoxy and put them on a drying wheel. If you are careful to only use very thin coats of epoxy, they only weigh 1 gram each.

I got this demo Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 at the Backpacker. I love the speed and comfort. I still have some rigging to do, but so far I am really liking it.

Afternoon gills

I put my kayak in a neighborhood pond late yesterday afternoon. The pond is full of small bass. I could see the bass chasing the smaller bream that I caught as I pulled them in. Some of the ones I caught have signs of bass attacks. I caught a couple of the bass, all small. I kept these bream, probably caught another two dozen throwbacks. After I pulled my kayak up right at dark, I tossed the foam spider along the bank where I had caught several bass on previous trips and caught the three largest bream of the day, one right after the other.

Little Missouri River

Made the RSFF trip to Murfreesboro, Arkansas this past weekend. They stock rainbow trout below the dam at Lake Greeson. It's only six and a half miles of river with thousands of trout. Much fun!
More pictures here: http://ammonspictures.com/v/album_001/little_missouri_jan_2008/

Made a trip to the Telephone Pole Hole yesterday. Caught several flounder on the east end flats, then moved to the hole. We anchored our boats and waded to the edge of the pit and had good trout action on clousers.

Lake Okhissa

Ok, so it's not Louisiana Fishing, but it's close. It's a beautiful lake, very deep with tons of trees - and fish. Just 90 miles from my house, and better yet just 40 miles from my parent's house in Homesville, MS.

Slabs!

Hogy and I made a quick trip to some gravel pits near the Mississippi River this afternoon. Deceivers and wooly buggers were what they wanted. Much fun!

RSFF Fall Catch And Eat

I got a late start and then got held up at the Des Allemands bridge for an hour. I fished Catfish Lake and only caught two keeper specks. Sunday I went to the coast, but the wind had been blowing all night and it was muddy. I stopped for a minute just above Leeville and caught three nice specks in a row. A couple of shrimp boats came through and muddied the water. Still had fun, even if it was more fishing than catching.

Pencil Poppers

Actually they are pencil pillow poppers. I got the idea here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgn_h9bE99w

I pretty much did them the same way, but I coated them with 30 minute epoxy to help resist those toothy critter's mouths.

Redfish!!

A friend of mine went to the beach at Elmers Island yesterday, I had to work.. :-(

He caught redfish over 30 inches on every cast! We were going today, but he needs a day of rest.

The finished "fish coffin"

I got the idea for this on the Kayak Fishing Stuff forum.
Here's the finished cooler. It's 17" wide at the wide end, 28" long, and 12" and the other end. It's 8-1/2" high. It's made of 5mm luan plywood with 1" foam building insulation glued inside. The hinge is a piece of 1/4" tubing held in place by conduit straps. It's covered with fiberglass resin outside and all the inside corners are sealed with silicon RTV. I put a couple of coats of polyurethane paint inside and outside. It's very light weight, and low profile so that it doesn't catch a lot of wind or block vision. Now I just need to see how many fish will fit inside!

My kayak

I had been seeing this yak in a neighbors yard for a couple of years. It's a Pelican Apex II. I gave them $180 for it. The biggest problem with this model is the "wet butt" syndrome. I ordered a Surf To Summit "Drifter" seat for it. Those were designed for the original OK Drifters, which had the same problem. The seat provides a 3 inch rise and has great back support.
Being that this is a 13 foot tandem yak, there is plenty of storage room. I built the "fish coffin" out of 5mm luan plywood and lined it with 1 inch foamboard. The top is removeable for cleaning. I'm painting it with white polyurethane paint inside and out.
Possibly the next project is outriggers up front so that I can stand up in it.
Total investment so far is less than $400.

(click pics to enlarge)

Running of the bulls

We went to GI today. Put the yaks in a Elmers and headed to the beach on the Caminada Pass side. Water was a bit dirty and got no action on flies. We caught several specks in the canal on the way, with only 2 keepers. I caught some big mullet with a cast net and filleted up some for bait. We put them on the bottom just off the beach and got slammed by bull reds. Hogy caught a 28" red right away and a few minutes later I hooked up a huge one. My little Shimano spinning reel gave up on me just as I was seeing the fish in the surf, the drag locked and I lost it. It looked to be about 3' long. On the way back we caught 4 more big reds and Hogy put a piece of the mullet on the bottom and caught a 25" speck! Check out the no-spots red on the right. Not a bad day at all...

Cheap waterproof fly box

Wal-Mart sells these watertite food containers for $3. They are 6.5x9x3.5". A couple of them fit in the 97c mini-crate they sell, I use one for gear and one for flies in my yak. The foam I got from Lowe's. It's roofing and siding underlayment foam. It's not too strong, but very cheap and is actually the perfect width for the box! No need to cut slots, as the foam is soft. A little quick grab craft cement will stick it well. The center section is just two pieces glued together.

Catfish Lake 9-1-2007

Slow day at Catfish Lake in Golden Meadow. Caught a lot of undersized specks, with one keeper. This flounder blew up on a DOA under a popping cork in very shallow water over an oyster bed. It was great stuffed with crabmeat and the speck.

This Blog

I started this to post pictures of Louisiana Fishing. I mostly fish saltwater from Golden Meadow south to Grand Isle in my kayak or canoe.