Delacroix, Louisiana
Stevie Nick didn’t have to blindfold us. The 180’s and G forces pretty much assured that Al “Cbreeze” Calabrese and I would never find our way back to the ponds where we would be sight-fishing all day. Delacroix’s marshes are a magnificent labyrinth of cuts, ponds, bayous and small lakes that should confuse anybody that hadn’t devoted a good part of their life getting lost in and finding their way out of. Turns out Stevie knows the back-ways of this region as good as anybody without having grown up fishing Delacroix.
On our way out, we were winging it at high speeds snaking through very tight channels. While I was white-knuckling it, I noticed Stevie check his screen and not hesitate or break speed, just make instant changes to course.
As Louisiana’s coastal zone is changing at a faster rate than anywhere else in the world, day by day, storm by storm, to confidently navigate the marshes an angler has to rely on someone who practically lives out there….or rely on a technology that is keeping pace.
It turns out Stevie is the lead Pro Staffer for Standard Mapping which is the premier Louisiana-based map publisher and creator of the “E-card.” Despite Stevie’s intimate knowledge of his backyard, we used the E-card regularly as we ventured into super-skinny waters. Not only that but timing the tides back there was tricky and a real gamble, a gamble we won several times by testing his Blazer Bay’s 0-50mph capabilities.
Sight fishing reds in the marsh, at least in this marsh, is definitely the pinnacle of light-tackle saltwater fishing in Louisiana.
The water we found in the ponds around Delacroix was, without exaggerating, clear as any water I’ve seen, much less fished in. Delacroix is at the back door of New Orleans, which some say is the northernmost city of the Caribbean. These waters fit that scenario perfectly.
But good luck seeing em!
To put this in context, all 3 of us were on top of a 5 foot platform. Stevie was winding us though the ponds and grass beds in 1-2 feet of water, tracking multiple fish in multiple locations, placing his bait in front of the fish he wanted while telling Al where to cast, which of the fish to go for, their weight and why that fish and telling me to keep my chin up and keep trying.
On this trip, among other things, I learned a lot from Stevie about boat handling. What you do is, when you start feeling bottom and it’s just getting shallower, you turn on some Bob Marley, back out about 30-40 yds then punch it. You get the boat up to mud-plane and you might make that flat. Worked for us several times.
By end of the day, I had several nicknames I could kid Stevie with:
Speed Racer expedited us through the mazes at blazing speeds. If anybody had been tailing this tournament champion, they would have crashed and burned many times. His Blazer Bay turned into an airboat with afterburners when called for.
No smoke screens or oil slicks needed here.
Rain Man…bears some explanation. First of all, Stevie is a savant of sorts when it comes to sight fishing. Secondly, he was overflowing with explanations and insights. I know he wasn’t counting cards but something was going on that I couldn’t explain.
Red Reaper: By the end of day, Stevie had pretty much hand picked the tournament- class red fish of the area with his X-ray vision, catching what he wanted, passing up what he didn’t. The redfish knew when his gaze fell upon them but it was hard to hide.
These are some tricks to the trade and to Stevie’s success. Check out Standard Mapping at standardmap.com.