December 2020

For years I had been reading about the winter shallow water fishery for Bull Redfish in Louisiana, and with plane travel not being an option this year I decided to give it a try.  I'm sure glad I did.  I'm happy to report this fishery is everything I hoped it would be and more.  My trip planning started with calling up Mark Richards from Hunting Red Fishing Charters.  Actually, that's pretty much where my planning ended as well, because Mark has a fishing camp that he rents out at very reasonable rates so we had lodging taken care of.  All we had to figure out was food.  Weather is always a question mark in this part of the world, but I was hoping to get at least a couple fishable days out of the four days that we booked.  As it turns out, I was able to fish all four although the conditions varied quite a bit during that time.

The trip started with the 6 hour drive from Houston to Dulac, Louisiana.  I liked that Dulac is a little off the beaten path and not as built up as Venice or some other areas.  I made the drive alone, with my brother and his wife joining me the next day.  I made it to the camp, which was not fancy but very comfortable.  It has two bedrooms and a full kitchen, and the wifi was much stronger than I was expecting.  After a good night's sleep, I was ready to get to fishing.

A view of the fish camp in Dulac

The weather forecast for the first day was very good, with sunshine and light winds.  Both are very helpful for sight fishing Redfish, and are certainly not a given during winter so I counted myself lucky.  Mark's boat has a flat bottom for sneaking into very shallow areas of less than a foot of water, and it also has a raised tower for spotting fish as seen below.

The boat launch was empty when we arrived, and we saw very few people during our four-day stay.  The boat launch will probably not make the list of America's Most Scenic Places any time soon,  as it looked like the kind of launch that survivors of a deadly plague might use to escape from zombies in a post-apocalyptic movie.  However, it did the job.

The boat launch we used each day

We took about a half hour ride into the marsh, and saw some wildlife including several Nutrias (similar to a beaver), various birds such as ospreys, pelicans, and herons, as well as a number of dolphins.   We got to a promising-looking shoreline and climbed up into the tower to look for fish.  I was very surprised by the shallowness of the water.  I don't think we fished any spots that were much deeper than 2 feet all four days.  You would think that between the shallow water, the elevated vantage point of the tower, and the size of Bull Redfish they would be easy to spot, but they weren't.  They were just sitting on the bottom and blended in surprisingly well.  On the first day they were easier to see due to the light winds and the bright sun, but if the water got a little murky from wind or a cloud passed in front of the sun, it got tough.

Within a few minutes we were spotting Redfish, and I cast my Chatterbait in front of one and it ate it.  A spirited battle ensued, and I had to hold onto the gyrating rod while trying to climb down from the tower.   After a couple of runs the Redfish made it into the net and I was on the board after just a few minutes of fishing.  That fish measured 36", but ended up being one of the smallest Redfish of the trip.  That tells you what a good trip it was.  Chatterbaits were the ticket this whole trip; especially later in the trip when the water got muddier.

The first Redfish of the trip

That fish was quickly followed by two more, including a 41.5" beast.

The heaviest fish of the trip. 41.5" with a lot of girth

All fish were released and swam away healthily after photos and measurements.  Redfish are hearty fish that survive a lot of handling, and survive even better in the cool December water.  At that point I had only been fishing a short time and already had three fish in the boat, so I decided to try to get fancy and use my fly rod.  I knew I would not really have a chance the next day with my brother and his wife fishing with me, and conditions were forecast to deteriorate.  I'm not an avid fly fisherman, so it took me a little while to shake the rust off my casting.  Shots at fish had to be taken quite fast before the boat spooked them, and usually you just had a few seconds to land a fly in front of the fish before it would run away.  However, I started getting the hang of it and was able to pick away at fish throughout the day, including another 41.5" monster.

In addition to the Redfish, I also caught a couple of Black Drum on the fly rod.  They would not go far to chase the fly, but if you got it within a few inches of of their mouths before the boat spooked them they would eat.  They fought much less than the Redfish, but were still fun to catch.

The fish got a little pickier in the afternoon, but I ended the day with 8 Redfish and 2 Drum, with 5 of the Redfish and both Drum caught on fly.  I was pumped, as I had pretty much checked everything off my list on the first day.  I probably could have caught at least twice that number if I had stuck to conventional tackle, but I was really glad to knock off those fish on a fly rod.  The visual bites and the fight on fly gear were something else.

On day 2, my brother Matt and his wife Kat joined me.  Matt has joined me on some fishing trips over the years, but is not an avid fisherman.  Kat had done almost no fishing previously, but was a quick study.  We all started out blind casting Chatterbaits from the deck, as the wind had increased and fish were much tougher to spot.  Mark stayed up on the platform to steer the trolling motor and look for fish.  

Hopes were high after the previous day, but things started very slow, with Matt foul hooking a Drum and not much else happening for the first hour or two.  However, as the sun came higher Matt's Chatterbait suddenly stopped and the line started heading out fast towards the horizon as the drag sizzled.  This was what we came for!  After a good fight the large fish finally made it into the net.

Spirits were raised after the successful capture, and both Kat and Matt started casting with renewed enthusiasm.  I got a Drum, followed by a Drum for Kat and another big Redfish for me.

Kat had only previously caught a couple of smaller freshwater fish in her life, so she was stoked about the Drum.  However, I knew that if she hooked a Redfish it would be a much bigger thrill.  Even with the fish much less active than the previous day, I knew that if she kept throwing out casts and covering water, eventually she would put her lure close enough to the right fish to get a bite.  As the day was nearing a close, it finally happened.  I heard her grunt as her Chatterbait got crunched, her rod doubled over, and the fish started zipping out line at a rapid pace.  Given the length of the first run, I figured it was a good fish and that the fight would take a while.  The fish bit near the boat but was quite far away by the time it stopped running.  We were fishing medium 10-17lb bass rods, so that made every fight very sporty.  After about a 15-minute back and forth tug of war, she managed to get it to the net.  What a great way to end the day.

The next day conditions got even windier.  However, Kat started it with a bang right off the bat with this nice Redfish.  She was really getting the hang of this type of fishing quickly.

The quick hit made us optimistic that it would be a wide open bite, but it ended up being a grind, with a fish picked off here and there. We just covered lots of water with our three Chatterbaits, and every once in a while we would put one right in front of a fish that felt like biting.  Kat was the big winner for the day, landing three Redfish and one Drum.  I ended up with three Redfish, including the biggest of the trip at 42".  I also got the smallest fish of the trip at 30", which we kept to eat.  Matt got one nice Redfish sometime around the middle of the day.

The longest fish of the trip at 42"

The only fish of the trip that we kept.

Matt and Kat decided to start the long drive back to Atlanta the next morning, so I fished a half day by myself.  

Heading out the last morning

It was again very windy, so I couldn't spot any fish, but I decided to fish from the tower anyway for a change of pace.  On about the 5th cast I stuck a nice fish just shy of 40".  I then hooked and lost one, and then stuck one just over 40" at the end of a shoreline.  There was then a long lull, with no fish hooked or seen at the next two spots.  We had enough time to try one more spot, and fortunately I was able to stick a beauty.  It was not the biggest fish of the trip at 39", but put up the strongest fight.  It took such a tremendous first run that it almost emptied my reel of line and we had to chase it with the boat.  Once in a while you just hook a fish that fights way harder than the others of its size.  It was a great way to end the trip by noon.

Last fish of the trip, with the Chatterbait still in its mouth.

This is a unique fishery.  I don't know anywhere else where you can catch fish like this in such shallow, seemingly featureless water.  It's strange that the fish are there, as there did not seem to be much food in the spots they were at and they were not really congregated.  Looking at the shallow mud flats we fished, you would never guess there were fish of anywhere near this size there.  Almost all of the Redfish we caught were over 36", and there were definitely some mid 40's fish around - I lost one the first day.  It's an incredible trophy fishery.  If you want to try it out, I highly recommend Mark Richards as a guide.  It would be easy to get stuck in the shallow water if you didn't know what you were doing, so I wouldn't recommend this as a DIY thing unless you are very familiar with the area.