Flyfishing for Redfish in Louisiana is a Fly Fishing Dream
Does Louisiana come to mind when most people think of flyfishing
for Redfish? Destinations of Florida and Texas have received
much notoriety, but I'll let you in on a well kept secret.
Louisiana Fly Fishing has taken the fly fishing world by force.
Louisiana has long been known for it's outstanding salt water
fishing. Each year many thousands of anglers, with conventional
tackle head south to Louisiana for world class deep sea fishing.
And even more fishermen come to Cajun Land to experience the
thrill of catching Redfish, Speckled Trout, Sheepshead, Flounder,
White Trout, Jack Crevalle, Blue Fish, Mackerel, and other
such species in the remote and pristine marsh that south Louisiana
has long been famous for. But of all the varied specie that
transverse the shallow oyster laden waters, none is more prized
or sought after that the Redfish.
Flyfishing for Redfish in Louisiana is World Class Sight
Fishing
The silt carried south by the mighty Mississippi River is
the secret ingredient to the recipe that makes Louisiana fly
fishing a phenomena! It's kind of like Cyan pepper in a Cajun
gumbo. The absolute vastness and consequential seclusion of
the south Louisiana wetlands are the end product of top soil
run-off from northern states that the Mississippi River skillfully
delivered to the hunting and fishing grounds of the local
Indians and the Cajun inhabitants. It is the secluded habitat
of this marsh wetlands that provides home and shelter for
these highly prized creatures; the Redfish. Redfish are often
seen foraging in water so shallow that their bellies are shimmying
along the soft mud bottoms while their backs are exposed to
the air. An observant viewer might notice the eyes of the
Redfish at water level when they "crawl" through
this shallowest of water. Once one experiences the thrills
of hunting for Redfish, they often prefer to fish no other
way. As I recall my experiences in the Louisiana marsh, I
realize that people who practice this sport, are much better
described as hunters than fishermen. Cast are only made after
these gorgeous Redfish are sighted. The thrill of watching
a coppery, bronzed back Redfish take a fly is not soon forgotten.
Getting a Redfish to eat a dead or live bait is OK, I guess.
But seducing and tricking a wary Redfish to eat a hook covered
with feathers is the ultimate. There's just no way to adequately
describe sight fishing for Redfish in Louisiana on the fly.
Flyfishing for Redfish in Louisiana takes you to places
your not likely to ever see
Once in Louisiana you may choose to visit Ante-bellum Plantation
homes; possible New Orleans with it's alluring past and historic
architecture. You could go the Aquarium of the America's and
get an up close and first hand view of giant Redfish, huge
tarpon, the the like. But hiring a local charter captain and
spending a day in the primitive shallow water estuaries is
excelled by no other experience. Don't expect to see tourist,
or flashing billboards, or barkers calling out for your money.
The life you see will be those that have evolved through the
millennia. Wildlife often line the edges of the bayous. The
sounds of the Louisiana marsh are an orchestra to those that
have an ear to hear. Sighting the snow white body of a Great
White Heron against a blue bird sky can be breath taking.
Osprey, for years have stood watch on the highest branch of
the same tree searching for substance. Loons cry out with
their eerie calls and then dive deep below the water in search
of food. Ducks fly over head while raccoons walk daintily
over the jagged oysters. Roseate Spoonbills with their electric
pink plumage often flaunt their beauty as they gracefully
fly over head. Flyfishing in Louisiana is much more than a
fly fishing experience. Flyfishing in Louisiana takes us to
a place where we can sneak a look through a tiny key hole
and see a small part of the beauty and mystique that south
Louisiana has been greatly blessed with.
Flyfishing for Redfish in Louisiana is a Cajun experience
Florida has the Hewe's flats skiffs and other such manufactured
hulls. Texas has the mass produced "flats sleds".
But the Cajun experience is one-of-a-kind. The estuaries are
like none other. The fish are world class and numerous. But
it is the Cajun influence that really sets us apart from the
rest of the world. The charter skiff was custom designed and
built by the captain. After building 4 skiffs for himself,
the hulls have evolved into a shallow water craft that is
uniquely suited to the shallow, oyster laden waters that the
big fish live in. These 20 foot floating fish stalkers float
is 4 inches of water and have the stability to make cast without
rocking. The seven foot long casting deck is snag-less and
rubber coated. These boats were built for flyfishermen.
And then there are the camps that line the bayous and the
salty individuals that make their living the very same way
their great, great, great grand parents did. Much of the Cajun
life is still lived out on a daily basis in the waters we
call home.
If you think a flyfishing Cajun adventure sounds like something
you'd like to experience, you'll have to come to Louisiana
to do it. Dorothy on the Wizard of OZ clicked here heels and
said, "there's no place like home". The Cajun lives
are intimately intertwined with the wetlands and like Dorothy,
There's No Place like South Louisiana.
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