Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Scenes From The Louisiana Marsh - Deux

With the first two days in the Louisiana marsh with Captain Kevin Morlock and Captain Steve Martinez of Indigo Guide Service behind us, our third day on the water was an unending blanket of gray.  Any peek of blue sky through the clouds was quickly squeezed out and flat light made it really tough to see anything moving in the shallow water.

Captain Steve Martinez, Mike Sepelak of Mike's Gone Fishi'... Again and I were fishing together finding a few fish through the day but it was tough going.  I caught a large black drum to start things off but the gray skies prevailed.  The other boat had a similar experience but ended their day with a glorious series of moments where they caught a bull redfish, a black drum and a sheephead all within minutes of each other from the same flat.  Smiles and high fives made the cold ride home worth it.


Our last day on the water was all sun, little in the way of clouds but a incessant wind with gusts over 25 mph.  We'd see fish but have a hard time getting the boat in position to make the presentation or be blown off the flat into deep water entirely.  We looked for protection from the lee side but were typically met with more wind.  Nothing else to say than it was a tough day.

Captain Kevin Morlock was fishing Ethan Smith and I and we spotted a small redfish with it's tail out of the water, Ethan quickly cast and pulled the lure from the grass edge into the shallow water only for it to be devoured instantly by what we thought was that small redfish.  Moments later we found that it had instead been taken by a twenty pound bull redfish as it swirled the surface and then made several long runs taking line from the reel each time.  What a great surprise and the perfect way to end four days in the marsh. 
















All in all a great trip to the Louisiana marsh and this photo of Ethan Smith of SmithFly captures what it's all about.  He must be living right since no matter what the conditions, Ethan caught a worthy fish every day we were out.

This trip wouldn't have been what it was without the hard work of both Captain Kevin Morlock and Captain Steve Martinez.  I appreciate everything that they put into making this trip special for the four of us.  Thanks also to Charles and Anne Gaiennie of Lytle Farms who were our gracious Airbnb (HERE/HERE) hosts.  They have a neat property with clean and comfortable accommodations and upped the ante with cast iron made breakfasts each morning, sack lunches for the boat when needed (Anne's chocolate chip cookies are not to be missed) and then an invite over to their home across the street on our last night in the marsh for chicken gumbo, potato salad, fresh squeezed lemonade and from scratch bread pudding.  Ethan, Mike Sepelak and Charles ended the evening with an impromptu jam session with Charles's pristine collection of vintage electric guitars.


Though the remainder of their Louisiana marsh dates are locked up for this year, if you're interested in Beaver Island carp and smallmouth or a trip for steelhead on the Pere Marquette, now is the time to lock in your dates with Indigo Guide Service.  Visit their website for more information.

2 comments:

Mike Sepelak said...

It's kind of you not to mention our early return on Day 3. :-)

Cameron Mortenson said...

Mike... I figured that story didn't need to be told. HA...