Sometimes the most simple of fishing trips can become a true bucket list memory. Last fall two friends and I decided to sneak out of work for a quick half-day kayak fishing outing to some local marsh southwest of our hometown of Lafayette, LA. What started out as a quick chance to get a fishing fix turned into a bonding experience for all of us.
Our little group arrived at an old metal gate alongside the dirt road that meandered down to the marsh from the main highway. My friend Brett Broussard’s family owns property along a small canal that would serve as our launch. We lifted our kayaks over the metal gate as a small group of cattle stared at us as if they were trying to figure out what we were doing. As the sun rose above the horizon, Brett, Greg Sonnier and I were afloat on the brackish water of the canal heading out to the marsh.
“I’ve been hearing of people out here catching fish” said Brett as we paddled. The canal emerged into a broad lake and we headed across against a solid southeast breeze. As we paddled, Greg shouted over the wind “I see shrimp popping!”. That brought our heart rates up as we approached the marsh on the far side.
Brett paddled around the point on the western end of the island and signaled us to follow. This had been his honey hole in the past and he began to fish the lee shore. Wanting to give Brett room, I pushed on to another area of protected water. Moving along blind casting points and pockets, I could hear Greg and Brett whooping as they both worked on boating redfish.
One thing about fishing with a group of friends is that you just can’t help feeling a little competitive. Hearing both Greg and Brett catching fish was starting to make me feel a little edgy. I fished the entire pond without getting a sniff. Moving through a trenasse towards the next pond, I spooked out 2 large reds – only heightening that bad feeling of not being able to get a bite.
Approaching the next open area, I stood up in my kayak and cast beyond the point that led to the pond. A couple of twitches and WHAM – the reel was screaming in the way that says “Redfish On!!!”. After getting the fish to the boat, I realized that in the midst of the fight, my paddle had fallen off the boat and floated away. I spent a few frenzied minutes of paddling around with my hands before finally spotting the paddle 50 yards away up against the marsh grass. What a relief! Losing your paddle out in the marsh doesn’t stack up man-points with your buddies.
Having a fish in the box makes all the difference in your confidence. I stayed with standing up and stalked through the marsh until a wake materialized about 50 yards out – moving right to left. I paddled close enough to lob the black and chartreuse cocahoe out in front of the group. The fish jumped on the lure so fast it was incredible.
This was the pattern we were looking for. With the tide slightly too high to see tails and backs, the tip off was wakes – sometimes groups – but more often singles or pairs of fish. The wakes were not easily separated from the wind chop that was on the water, but once we knew what we were looking for – the fishing was ON! Over the next 3 hours, we stood in our yaks, stalking around looking for wakes and catching upper slot redfish.
Back at the metal gate, the cattle didn’t seem at all impressed with our catch. The imaginary scoreboard didn’t matter as we swapped tales of the fun we had shared. Within an hour we were all back at work – but our minds were still on the marsh and the wonderful half day well spent with good friends on the water.
To see a video of sight fishing wakers that day – go to www.youtube.com and search “John Kayak Fishing”.
[easy-social-share]