Fall Trout Fishing!

Hello,friends!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about fishing, since fishing hasn’t been at the forefront of my activities for the past year or so.  Certainly, my oldest son and I have enjoyed a couple of bass fishing trips, but we didn’t catch many–just had an enjoyable time on the water together.

Today, I’m super happy to inform you all that not only did I get to enjoy a fall fishing trip, but also a VERY successful speckled trout trip.

Instead of my being the captain and guide, I was treated to a marsh fishing trip not far from home with a friend we shall call Mr. Fisher. Mr. Fisher is indeed an expert fisher, and he really proved himself this time around. If I can manage to stay on good terms with Mr. Fisher, there will be more fishing posts in 2019 including jug-line fishing and fishing for crawfish, YES!

Mr. Fisher usually likes to get an early start–before daylight if possible, but we didn’t start fishing until around 8 a.m. because I had to wait for Miah to get on the bus for work.  So by the time we arrived at his secret honey hole, at least six boats were lined up on either side, hauling trout in, one after the other.  Somehow, word of those secret honey holes way up in the marsh somehow seems to leak out, as though the GPS coordinates were shared on every social media platform.  Regardless, we quietly trolled our way in among those boats and tried our best, but we weren’t on his exact spot, which was occupied by a guide boat holding five people, which meant they would be there until they caught five limits of trout.  We tried to quietly shift spots several times without muddying the water or disturbing the fish, but other boats were not so courteous, and soon, the trout stopped biting completely.  Before we completely deserted the spot, I managed to land at least one beauty like this, with him catching quite a few more.

Eventually, we pulled up anchor and headed further into the marsh, through shallow waters and across mud flats, upon which larger boats would surely run aground.  We also looked for an area protected from the brutal north winds which howled around us.  Being the intuitive fisher that he is, Mr. Fisher settled on a potential spot and dropped anchor saying that if he were a speckled trout, THIS is where he would be hanging out.  And on his first cast into those somewhat murky waters, his trout-like thinking was affirmed with the landing of this beautiful fat trout.  

Not long after, I began catching trout on almost every catch.  “Are you fishing under the engine?” he asked laughingly.  It seemed like it because almost every fish took the bait right at the stern of the boat.  “I think we’re sitting right on top of the fish”, I replied.  Soon, I was giggling like a delighted little girl, truly I was.  I admit it, without shame!  Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly reel in another monster trout, a fish snatched my line and the fight was on.  I reeled the trout to the boat, and as I slung the line over the gunwale, I said, “This one is a real rod bender!”  Before the words were completely out of my mouth CRACK!!! My rod broke in half. I think that was the fattest trout I’ve ever caught in all my years of fishing. Well, we should have used the net to land it, but I was just way too excited to wait for the net!  At least I landed the fish . . . without worry for the rod.  After I threw the fish in the box, I grabbed my other rod and reel, cut off the popping cork, switched bait with shaking hands, and was right back at it quick as a jiffy!  

For those of you interested in the details, we fished both under a popping cork and tight-lining on the bottom, which he calls “slow rolling”.  When one method of catching seemed to slow down, we would switch to the other.  Once we found hungry trout actively feeding, it really didn’t matter what color bait we threw at the them, either.  We used a blue moon plastic, a pearly white plastic, and a bright blue swim bait that all worked equally well.

It was a long, hard day of fishing, fighting the wind and finding clear water, but it was well worth it.  We fished a full seven hours and ended up with two limits of fine, fat specks, which totals 50 fish.  He already has plenty trout in his freezer, so he gave them all to me, and I spent all day the next day cleaning them and putting them up in the freezer.  I’ll be honest, y’all, it was the best “tired” I’ve felt in a while, but I wouldn’t trade that fishing trip for anything, because there’s nothing like some fishing therapy for what ails you.

Below is a little gallery showing you just how large these fish were.  Twelve inches is the smallest keeper size allowed, but we caught only one fish under 14 inches, and all the rest were between 14 and 19.5 inches long.  I should have measured the girth, because when I say FAT, I mean they were FAT!  Please click on pic to see full size images.

Well, that’s it for now from the Louisiana wetlands.  For the foreseeable future, I will be baking Christmas goodies for the family, shopping for gifts, and doing the things a bayou granny should be doing!  Now, it’s your turn to tell me what you’re planning this Christmas.  Where are you going?  Who’s coming over?  And what will you be serving?  Let me know!

Happy Holidays, friend,

BW