10/27/2008 October in the Delta. I haven't posted many reports lately. My internet in Venice has
been down since the hurricanes and I don't have it up and running yet. I'm in Denham Springs at
my wife's computer right now and my trip yesterday was so good I had to post it.
I took Brian Neal of Hammond and Bob Moore of Baton Rouge on a "Delta Delite". We headed out
of the Venice Marina at almost good lite(dark), and went south. My first stop produced a trout on
the first cast. Bob had a 3 pounder. Then Brian caught a 26 inch red. This went on for an hour or
so till we had our limit of reds and about 30 specks. I moved about a half mile to a spot I've never
fished but always wanted to. Bam, the trout were there, and we finished our limit. It was only 10:30
and was too beautiful a day to go in so I headed to another favorite spot. The reds were stacked.
They kept grabbing Brian's "Aggrivator" cork so they tied on topwaters and the show was on. It
was topwater catch and release. I got to do the releasing. These reds actually liked Brian's cork
better than the top dogs. They would grab it and run for 10 to 20 yards before spitting it out. I've
never seen two men have more fun fishing, it was great.
The River is down and green, the weather is beautiful, and the fishing is on.
9/24/2008 First trip after the storms. The two hurricanes really slowed me down and I hadn't
fished for over two weeks when Dan Sturgon of Sabel Steel called and wanted a trip for last
weekend. He had 2 friends, Keith and Marcus,and they all wanted to catch some fish. I told him he
was buying "pot-luck" but I would give it my best shot. I had no idea of the water conditions much
less the water hazards left by our two storms. We met at Venice Marina at 6am. The big Skeeter
was loaded with live bait, market bait, ice, fuel, and tackle, and we headed out. The predicted high
east winds sent me to the west side. The water was off color at my first stop, but we started
picking up a few trout. Live shrimp under a cork was the ticket. It was slow but steady and in a
couple hours we had 35 beauties in the box. My guys asked for reds so I moved several miles to
my red spot and directly we had a red on the line. Same story as the trout, slow but steady. By
1pm we had our limit of reds, all in the 22 inch class. The box was full so we headed for the
landing. Great trip for "pot-luck".
The storms pounded but didn't hurt the fishing in Venice. The marinas are open, the restaurants
are open, and I'm open for business.
8/15/2008 Running of the Bulls. I took Christie and Jamie Holwager down in the Delta on
Thursday. Christie works in the fishing department of the Denham Springs Bass Pro Shop, and
she won a trip with me, Big "O", for being their best salesperson. She had never caught a bull red
and Jamie had never been fishing. They were both in for a treat.
I headed to where I slammed the reds 2 days ago and naturally there was nothing there. My
second spot produced nothing. My 3rd, nothing. 4th, nothing. Getting worried? Me too. My 5th
stop was paydirt. My first cast hit the water and went down with the reel screaming. I handed the
rod to Christie and she fought the bull like a pro. We landed her, high fived, took pictures, and
released her to fight another day. Then Jamie got in the act. He fought his red to the boat and we
repeated the above. We caught and released about 5 more and then went looking for keepers.
After a boring hour, Christie said how much fun it was catching those bulls. I took the hint and
headed back. We caught and released at least 12 more and broke off a bunch. We also boxed a
limit of keepers and several trout.
This was a trip I don't think Christie or Jamie will ever forget.
7/21/2008 Hot time on the reefs. Today I took my good client Many Guileyardo and his 2 son-in-
laws, Danny Brown and Trey Neathery looking for trout. I needed a break from downriver and I felt
confident about the oyster reefs behind Buras. We left Venice Marina at good light and headed
west. My first stop and the first cast produced a trout. It was on. This was not a fish every cast day
but the bite was steady and the trout were solid, 16 to 18". We had about 50 in the box when the
bite quit. We hung around the reef for awhile thinking it would start again but it didn't happen. We
did pick up 4 nice reds. I moved to another spot. And got into them again. We were out of shrimp
so I switched my guys to the Billy Bay Jumping Halo in his Grass color. Just like the real thing.
These fish were bigger than the ones we caught on live crickets. By noon our box was full, the
sun was overhead and I brought my men back to the dock before the brutal afternoon. Great Day!!
7/17/2008 Reds in the Delta. Monday and Tuesday of this week I took my old friend, Gene Smith,
from Miss. along with his Texas friends, Joe Ashy, Pat Gray and Gilmer Abels, to chase the reds
down in the Delta. These guys were willing to catch trout but reds were there fish of choice. My
first stop was a bummer. No reds no trout no nothing. After an hour of frustration I moved to a little
protected cove, anchored down, and decided to chum up some reds. I chummed with market bait
and soon we caught our first red. A few minutes later another. Then the bite really turned on and
over the next 4 hours we boxed our limit and then caught and released another limit or two. These
were all perfect size reds for the grill. We then moved to look for some bulls and they were located
along a little deserted beach. We only landed a couple, but the reels were screaming for 2 hours.
We headed in to beat the heat and repeated the same trip on Tuesday. These were great guys and
we all had a great time.
6/26/2008 Hot times in the Delta. I haven't posted in awhile, I've been too busy fishing. The high
River has slowed the trout bite downriver a little but the quality has been up there and the reds are
everywhere. 4 & 5 pound trout are being caught mostly with live shrimp or croakers at the rigs.
The reds are plentiful and are taking market bait under a cork.
Today I had Steve, Bill and Phil from Memphis and we pounded the keeper reds(18" to 22"). WE
kept our limit and released for several hours. These guys wanted reds and the Delta was there to
oblige. Venice is hot as always, both fish and temperature.
6/11/2008 Three days in a row with the St. Louis bunch. Alan Schweiss, David Bade and his son
Drew fished with me Monday through Wednesday and each day was different and awesome.
Today was the best. I started out looking for reds which is unusual for me, but I just felt like
waking up the reds. After putting a limit in the box we started looking for trout. Boy, did we find
them. These were big sows, "Yellow Mouths" as they call them and plenty of them. We had
crickets under a cork and they were doing there job. Every trout was 3 to 5 pounds. By 10:30 my
box couldn't hold another trout. We were out of shrimp and out of ice chests so we headed for
Venice Marina to get out of the heat. Three great days with three great guys. I hope we can do it
again.
5/19/2008 Slammed-Um- I fished with 3 Razorbacks today. Chris, Mike and Dennis, all from
Arkansas, were ready to leave the dock at 5:30, so I cranked up the big Skeeter and made a
beautiful early morning run down the Mississippi. When I got to my first stop there were 2 boats
already there. We found a hole, anchored up and started drowning crickets. We picked up a few
trout but it was slow. After an hour I picked up the pole and headed to my second spot. I had
caught fish here yesterday and I felt confident. They didn't seem to want bait so I switched to
black and chautruse on the bottom. Bam- a 4 pounder. I immediately rerigged everyone and we all
started to hit them. The bite slowed after about an hour so I moved about 100 yards and again
found the trout. We also were picking up a few reds and Dennis landed a bull - 27 pounds. When
this bite slowed I moved back to my original spot and switched back to the cricket under a cork.
The tide had changed and the water got dirty but the trout were still there. We ended the day with
a full box of beautiful trout and Mike landed one 7 pounder. A Big trout in anybody's book. We
also had a limit of keeper reds and lots of great memories.
5/10/2008 WE WACKED-UM! Today I took David Johnson, his dad Don, and friend Will Pearce.
Our first stop was dynamite. We started at 7 and by 8:15 we had our limit of beautiful Delta trout.
The box was full. We used live bait along with the Betts Jumping Halo Shrimp. It is probably the
best plastic shrimp I have ever used. We eased out of our spot so we wouldn't mess up the bite
for the other boats and went looking for reds. Two stops and nothing. The third was paydirt. I had
to make my guys empty their drinks out of their ice chest to make room for the fish. By 10:00 we
had our limit. For the next hour it was catch and release. Don got tired like me so we just watched
the boys battle the reds. It was high 5's at 11:00 and we headed in. Venice is exploding. The River
has turned the corner and the fish know it.
5/1/2008 Another red day in the Delta. Today I took my younger brother, Roy, along with his two
friends, Kenny Varin and Kenny Waters on their annual fishing bash. They do this every year and
naturally the wind had to blow like the second coming of Katrina. Trout were out but reds were in.
I told them I wouldn't even look for trout but I felt like I could find a spot out of the wind where
there might be a few reds. We got-um. Market bait under a cork and it was on. Not every cast but a
good bite. By noon we had our limit and headed to the Venice Marina dock. I'm going to have
dinner with these guys tonight and try to do it again tomorrow.
4/29/2008 WOW, the Reds are Running! I had the pleasure of taking 3 male nurses from the
Shreveport area today. Alex, Heath, and Doug met me at Venice Marina about 6:15 am. We had a
nice easy ride down the Muddy Mississippi. About halfway to where I was headed I changed my
mind and headed to a spot I fished 2 weeks ago. I don't know why I changed but it was a good
move. The first hour was slow. Then they busted loose. There were reds everywhere. We were
throwing market bait under a cork and by 8:45 we had our limit in the box. From then on it was
catch and release. I lost count around 70 but I'm pretty sure we landed and released over 100
reds. Again, WOW. I'm taking these same men tomorrow, but I don't know if I can repeat. There is
never 2 days alike in the Delta.
4/20/2008 Put the "Hammer" down. After 2 months of looking at muddy water I finally hit paydirt
today. My good friend, Dr. Charles Dahlke, and his friends, Jimmy Weilder and Bill Blair, all of
Columbus, Miss. met me at Venice Marina at 7am. Doc had been fishing behind Buras and told me
the water was too dirty to catch trout. I decided to take them downriver to look for trout and if we
struck out I knew I could find a bunch of reds. This was the first day I've had in a long time without
wind or fog. It was a pleasure to ride down the Mississippi. My first stop looked kinda bad, no fish
for 30 minutes. As I trolled closer to the canes I could see the water get a little cleaner. This gave
me hope. Doc and Bill were throwing topwater, Wiley had black and chautruse on the bottom and
I had an electric chicken under a cork. Finally Wiley had a hit an miss, went back and hooked up.
He boated a beautiful 3 pounder. Directly he hooked up again and then all 4 of us were throwing
black and chautruse. They wanted it on the bottom and we were happy to oblige. This time of year
when we have a high River there is a layer of fresh water on top and salt water on the bottom. This
can happen in very shallow water. The water we were fishing was only 3 feet. The action got fast
and furious and all the fish were "hammers", I mean 2 to 5 pounds. I got so excited that I quit
fishing and cranked up my video camera to record this fiasco. In 1 1/2 hours we had 48 trout in my
100 qt box. I took all the ice out and then put a small layer on top. I couldn't close the lid. These
were big yellow mouths and the best trip I've had in over a year. I told my guys that we were not
going to keep anymore fish and they were happy to catch and release. We did this for another
hour, the tide got slack and the bite quit. I've got some great video and several good still pictures.
I'll try to post some stills tomorrow but right now I'm too tired. The Delta paid great dividends
today.
4/19/2008 I was asked by Venice Marina several weeks ago if I could take a trip for a large
insurance company who were bringing their employees on a fishing trip/tournament/good time.
Naturally I jumped at the chance. I met Trey, Christian, and Pansy, at the fish cleaning dock about
7:30 am. I was there at 4:45 and had to wait. No problem, I'm always there at 4:45. There were
about 15 or 16 boats running in this group and all the guests stayed up late the night before for
their party and crawfish boil. I headed down the "muddy" River with my clients and told them we
were chasing reds today. My first stop proved good. Market bait under a cork proved to be the
ticket. We boated 8 in about an hour and a half and then the bite stopped. Slack tide. Two hours
later all we had boated was a 10 pound blue cat. Then around 11:00 I eased into a little pocket and
it was on. At high noon we had our limit of beautiful 20 to 26 inch reds and headed for home. Trey
had the 2 biggest that he weighed in the tournament. Christian and Pansy were great troopers
and excellent fisherwomen. I'll take them anytime. Thanks to Venice Marina and Capt. Jimmy
Gringo for asking me.
4/18/2008 Easy Living-I was asked by my good friend, Capt. Larry, to take 3 of his regular clients
on a trip because he was already booked with another Captain. I met his buddies at the Venice
Marina about 6:30, we loaded and hit the high, muddy, ugly, Mississippi River. I've been getting
lots of calls about the fishing with the high River. My answer to all callers is that the red fish
fishing is awesome, and we should start seeing good catches of trout in another week. The wind
has been more trouble than the River. Back to my trip. I pulled the big Skeeter to my first stop,
stuck the pole, rigged market bait under a cork and started catching reds. I've had some good
luck the past several weeks with spinners but today they wanted shrimp. It wasn't fast and furious
but they were all catching and having a good time. Most of these reds were the "good" ones,17"
to 20" with a couple 26's mixed in. We had our limit after about 2 hours and then it was catch and
release. Lots of fun.
4/7/2008 Red weekend on a rising River. I had the pleasure this weekend of entertaining Ed
Williams, Promotions Manager of Bass Pro Shops, and his Assistant, Gina Landry. We were all
there for the Fishermen for Bryce fund raiser tournament on Saturday out of Venice Marina. I took
Ed and Gina down the "muddy" River on Friday to scout for the tournament. We got into the reds
and a slow rolled spinner bait produced the most bites. We caught a few on market bait under a
cork, but Ed showed me the light with his spinners. Gina caught on the spinner quickly, and we
soon had a limit of keepers in the box. I knew where I was going on tournament day.
Saturday morning dawned foggy and rainy, and tournament director, Dennis Bardwell, wisely
held up the start until 8:00am. My competitors were George and his two young friends from
Ponchatoula. I had the spinners already tied on when we hit my spot and George hooked up on
his first cast. We boated 7 keepers that were all 25 plus inches and George said not to keep
anymore. Feels good to have people who want to conserve our resources. We caught and
released for two hours, got soaking wet in a driving rainstorm and headed in around noon. Our
fish didn't win the prize but the fund raiser tournament was a winner in the harts of everyone who
participated. I enjoyed it and so did my clients and so did my friends from Bass Pro.
Sunday was "kick-back" time for me. I took Ed and Gina to a close spot to finish my red weekend
and got skunked for 3 hours. Then we put market bait on the bottom in the muddy water and hit
paydirt. After boating our limit we released another 15 or 20 and headed in. My thanks to Ed and
Gina of Bass Pro for an enjoyable weekend and to the organizers of Fishermen for Bryce for the
opportunity to help in the tournament.
3/30/2008 Another good day in Venice. Many Guilliardo and his brother, Tiny, and nephew, Scott,
met me in the fog at Venice Marina at 6:30 am. I had reservations about going out in that much fog
but decided to ease out of the marina and give it a look. I idled for about 2 miles and then we got a
little break so I picked the big Skeeter up on step and eased through the clouds. Its surprising just
how slow you can keep this boat on plane especially with trim tabs. We took our time and 30
minutes later we were where I caught them on Friday. These men have been with me before and
they are a lot of fun. We had both live bait and a bunch of the jumping "Halo" shrimp. I rigged
them about 18" under a rattlin cork and we were off and running. It sure is fun to see those corks
go under and then start rattlin when the trout surfaces and starts shaking and baking. 35 trout
later my bite slowed so I went hunting. We picked a few here and there but no hard bite. Two
hours later I told my guys that we were going back to where we started. I new the trout were there
we just had to find them. It was slow but by 1:00pm we had a limit along with 2 drums and 1
keeper red. We caught 15 reds but all were short by 1/4" as usual. Tiny, also, caught the biggest
stingray I've seen in a long time. These guys had enough so Many broke out the fried chicken and
cokes. We had our Delta picnic and headed in with a full belly and a full box of trout.
3/28/2008 Finally a trout bite. I've been fighting muddy waters, high winds and few trout for
several weeks but today was sweet. I met Robert Ballard of Zachary and his two friends, Eric and
James, at Venice Marina at about 7am. We loaded the big Skeeter and headed to the same spot I
fished yesterday. Yesterday I caught 21 trout but I had a tough wind and dirty water. Today was
different. We had almost no wind, imagine that!! We started out with the jumping halo shrimp
under a cork and picked up several trout, but not the "mother load". I jumped around over the
next couple hours and picked up some more, but we still had "off color" water. Then I hit green
water with lots of bait. PAY DIRT. Over the next two hours we caught our limit along with about 15
undersize reds. By 1:00pm the box was full. We looked for bigger reds but only found one along
with 2 big drums. Not a bad day. The Halo Jumping Shrimp is one of the best plastic shrimps I
have ever used, and it last forever.
3/14/2008 Had a 3 boat trip today with my buddy, Richard Manzella of Cembell Industries, and a
bunch of his friends. Capt. Jeff and Capt. Raymond were good enough to help me and we all left
the Venice Marina dock at 7am. We headed downriver and were greeted with a "pea-soup" fog.
That happens often this time of year. We idled for about 5 miles until we hit one of the passes and
the fog lifted. Up and running, we made it to our spot, got anchored, and started catching. These
men wanted reds and the Delta supplied them. There is lots of ways to catch reds but this time of
year its hard to beat market bait under a rattling cork. The trick is to put a whole shrimp on a jig
head, throw it out and make plenty of noise with the cork. Reds have a tough time finding your
bait in muddy water but if you make enough noise they will come to it. After you "pop" the cork let
it sit about 15 seconds, the pop it again. After we had our boxes full of reds we headed back up
the foggy Mississippi. It was worse at 2pm than it was at 7am. I got lost for awhile but with Capt.
Raymond's help and Richard's eyes I made it back. If you run the River this time of year be very
careful, it can be dangerous.
2/4/2008 I've been deer hunting for the last month so I haven't had many fish stories to report.
However, deer season is over and its back to fishing for me. I went on a little scouting trip out of
Venice yesterday. There wasn't much water anywhere but we managed to find a limit of reds in
about 3 hours. Bait of choice was Tsunami's tipped with market bait. This spring is starting to fill
up fast, so if you want a charter in April, May, or June give me a call at 225-978-1136, or check my
web at www.BIGOCHARTERS.COM.
I am on the Pro Staff of the new Bass Pro Shop that is opening in Denham Springs. I'll be working
their Conservation Night this Wednesday and will be in the fishing dept on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday. If you want to see a great store and meet and talk fishing, come on out and ask for Big
"O" See you there.
been down since the hurricanes and I don't have it up and running yet. I'm in Denham Springs at
my wife's computer right now and my trip yesterday was so good I had to post it.
I took Brian Neal of Hammond and Bob Moore of Baton Rouge on a "Delta Delite". We headed out
of the Venice Marina at almost good lite(dark), and went south. My first stop produced a trout on
the first cast. Bob had a 3 pounder. Then Brian caught a 26 inch red. This went on for an hour or
so till we had our limit of reds and about 30 specks. I moved about a half mile to a spot I've never
fished but always wanted to. Bam, the trout were there, and we finished our limit. It was only 10:30
and was too beautiful a day to go in so I headed to another favorite spot. The reds were stacked.
They kept grabbing Brian's "Aggrivator" cork so they tied on topwaters and the show was on. It
was topwater catch and release. I got to do the releasing. These reds actually liked Brian's cork
better than the top dogs. They would grab it and run for 10 to 20 yards before spitting it out. I've
never seen two men have more fun fishing, it was great.
The River is down and green, the weather is beautiful, and the fishing is on.
9/24/2008 First trip after the storms. The two hurricanes really slowed me down and I hadn't
fished for over two weeks when Dan Sturgon of Sabel Steel called and wanted a trip for last
weekend. He had 2 friends, Keith and Marcus,and they all wanted to catch some fish. I told him he
was buying "pot-luck" but I would give it my best shot. I had no idea of the water conditions much
less the water hazards left by our two storms. We met at Venice Marina at 6am. The big Skeeter
was loaded with live bait, market bait, ice, fuel, and tackle, and we headed out. The predicted high
east winds sent me to the west side. The water was off color at my first stop, but we started
picking up a few trout. Live shrimp under a cork was the ticket. It was slow but steady and in a
couple hours we had 35 beauties in the box. My guys asked for reds so I moved several miles to
my red spot and directly we had a red on the line. Same story as the trout, slow but steady. By
1pm we had our limit of reds, all in the 22 inch class. The box was full so we headed for the
landing. Great trip for "pot-luck".
The storms pounded but didn't hurt the fishing in Venice. The marinas are open, the restaurants
are open, and I'm open for business.
8/15/2008 Running of the Bulls. I took Christie and Jamie Holwager down in the Delta on
Thursday. Christie works in the fishing department of the Denham Springs Bass Pro Shop, and
she won a trip with me, Big "O", for being their best salesperson. She had never caught a bull red
and Jamie had never been fishing. They were both in for a treat.
I headed to where I slammed the reds 2 days ago and naturally there was nothing there. My
second spot produced nothing. My 3rd, nothing. 4th, nothing. Getting worried? Me too. My 5th
stop was paydirt. My first cast hit the water and went down with the reel screaming. I handed the
rod to Christie and she fought the bull like a pro. We landed her, high fived, took pictures, and
released her to fight another day. Then Jamie got in the act. He fought his red to the boat and we
repeated the above. We caught and released about 5 more and then went looking for keepers.
After a boring hour, Christie said how much fun it was catching those bulls. I took the hint and
headed back. We caught and released at least 12 more and broke off a bunch. We also boxed a
limit of keepers and several trout.
This was a trip I don't think Christie or Jamie will ever forget.
7/21/2008 Hot time on the reefs. Today I took my good client Many Guileyardo and his 2 son-in-
laws, Danny Brown and Trey Neathery looking for trout. I needed a break from downriver and I felt
confident about the oyster reefs behind Buras. We left Venice Marina at good light and headed
west. My first stop and the first cast produced a trout. It was on. This was not a fish every cast day
but the bite was steady and the trout were solid, 16 to 18". We had about 50 in the box when the
bite quit. We hung around the reef for awhile thinking it would start again but it didn't happen. We
did pick up 4 nice reds. I moved to another spot. And got into them again. We were out of shrimp
so I switched my guys to the Billy Bay Jumping Halo in his Grass color. Just like the real thing.
These fish were bigger than the ones we caught on live crickets. By noon our box was full, the
sun was overhead and I brought my men back to the dock before the brutal afternoon. Great Day!!
7/17/2008 Reds in the Delta. Monday and Tuesday of this week I took my old friend, Gene Smith,
from Miss. along with his Texas friends, Joe Ashy, Pat Gray and Gilmer Abels, to chase the reds
down in the Delta. These guys were willing to catch trout but reds were there fish of choice. My
first stop was a bummer. No reds no trout no nothing. After an hour of frustration I moved to a little
protected cove, anchored down, and decided to chum up some reds. I chummed with market bait
and soon we caught our first red. A few minutes later another. Then the bite really turned on and
over the next 4 hours we boxed our limit and then caught and released another limit or two. These
were all perfect size reds for the grill. We then moved to look for some bulls and they were located
along a little deserted beach. We only landed a couple, but the reels were screaming for 2 hours.
We headed in to beat the heat and repeated the same trip on Tuesday. These were great guys and
we all had a great time.
6/26/2008 Hot times in the Delta. I haven't posted in awhile, I've been too busy fishing. The high
River has slowed the trout bite downriver a little but the quality has been up there and the reds are
everywhere. 4 & 5 pound trout are being caught mostly with live shrimp or croakers at the rigs.
The reds are plentiful and are taking market bait under a cork.
Today I had Steve, Bill and Phil from Memphis and we pounded the keeper reds(18" to 22"). WE
kept our limit and released for several hours. These guys wanted reds and the Delta was there to
oblige. Venice is hot as always, both fish and temperature.
6/11/2008 Three days in a row with the St. Louis bunch. Alan Schweiss, David Bade and his son
Drew fished with me Monday through Wednesday and each day was different and awesome.
Today was the best. I started out looking for reds which is unusual for me, but I just felt like
waking up the reds. After putting a limit in the box we started looking for trout. Boy, did we find
them. These were big sows, "Yellow Mouths" as they call them and plenty of them. We had
crickets under a cork and they were doing there job. Every trout was 3 to 5 pounds. By 10:30 my
box couldn't hold another trout. We were out of shrimp and out of ice chests so we headed for
Venice Marina to get out of the heat. Three great days with three great guys. I hope we can do it
again.
5/19/2008 Slammed-Um- I fished with 3 Razorbacks today. Chris, Mike and Dennis, all from
Arkansas, were ready to leave the dock at 5:30, so I cranked up the big Skeeter and made a
beautiful early morning run down the Mississippi. When I got to my first stop there were 2 boats
already there. We found a hole, anchored up and started drowning crickets. We picked up a few
trout but it was slow. After an hour I picked up the pole and headed to my second spot. I had
caught fish here yesterday and I felt confident. They didn't seem to want bait so I switched to
black and chautruse on the bottom. Bam- a 4 pounder. I immediately rerigged everyone and we all
started to hit them. The bite slowed after about an hour so I moved about 100 yards and again
found the trout. We also were picking up a few reds and Dennis landed a bull - 27 pounds. When
this bite slowed I moved back to my original spot and switched back to the cricket under a cork.
The tide had changed and the water got dirty but the trout were still there. We ended the day with
a full box of beautiful trout and Mike landed one 7 pounder. A Big trout in anybody's book. We
also had a limit of keeper reds and lots of great memories.
5/10/2008 WE WACKED-UM! Today I took David Johnson, his dad Don, and friend Will Pearce.
Our first stop was dynamite. We started at 7 and by 8:15 we had our limit of beautiful Delta trout.
The box was full. We used live bait along with the Betts Jumping Halo Shrimp. It is probably the
best plastic shrimp I have ever used. We eased out of our spot so we wouldn't mess up the bite
for the other boats and went looking for reds. Two stops and nothing. The third was paydirt. I had
to make my guys empty their drinks out of their ice chest to make room for the fish. By 10:00 we
had our limit. For the next hour it was catch and release. Don got tired like me so we just watched
the boys battle the reds. It was high 5's at 11:00 and we headed in. Venice is exploding. The River
has turned the corner and the fish know it.
5/1/2008 Another red day in the Delta. Today I took my younger brother, Roy, along with his two
friends, Kenny Varin and Kenny Waters on their annual fishing bash. They do this every year and
naturally the wind had to blow like the second coming of Katrina. Trout were out but reds were in.
I told them I wouldn't even look for trout but I felt like I could find a spot out of the wind where
there might be a few reds. We got-um. Market bait under a cork and it was on. Not every cast but a
good bite. By noon we had our limit and headed to the Venice Marina dock. I'm going to have
dinner with these guys tonight and try to do it again tomorrow.
4/29/2008 WOW, the Reds are Running! I had the pleasure of taking 3 male nurses from the
Shreveport area today. Alex, Heath, and Doug met me at Venice Marina about 6:15 am. We had a
nice easy ride down the Muddy Mississippi. About halfway to where I was headed I changed my
mind and headed to a spot I fished 2 weeks ago. I don't know why I changed but it was a good
move. The first hour was slow. Then they busted loose. There were reds everywhere. We were
throwing market bait under a cork and by 8:45 we had our limit in the box. From then on it was
catch and release. I lost count around 70 but I'm pretty sure we landed and released over 100
reds. Again, WOW. I'm taking these same men tomorrow, but I don't know if I can repeat. There is
never 2 days alike in the Delta.
4/20/2008 Put the "Hammer" down. After 2 months of looking at muddy water I finally hit paydirt
today. My good friend, Dr. Charles Dahlke, and his friends, Jimmy Weilder and Bill Blair, all of
Columbus, Miss. met me at Venice Marina at 7am. Doc had been fishing behind Buras and told me
the water was too dirty to catch trout. I decided to take them downriver to look for trout and if we
struck out I knew I could find a bunch of reds. This was the first day I've had in a long time without
wind or fog. It was a pleasure to ride down the Mississippi. My first stop looked kinda bad, no fish
for 30 minutes. As I trolled closer to the canes I could see the water get a little cleaner. This gave
me hope. Doc and Bill were throwing topwater, Wiley had black and chautruse on the bottom and
I had an electric chicken under a cork. Finally Wiley had a hit an miss, went back and hooked up.
He boated a beautiful 3 pounder. Directly he hooked up again and then all 4 of us were throwing
black and chautruse. They wanted it on the bottom and we were happy to oblige. This time of year
when we have a high River there is a layer of fresh water on top and salt water on the bottom. This
can happen in very shallow water. The water we were fishing was only 3 feet. The action got fast
and furious and all the fish were "hammers", I mean 2 to 5 pounds. I got so excited that I quit
fishing and cranked up my video camera to record this fiasco. In 1 1/2 hours we had 48 trout in my
100 qt box. I took all the ice out and then put a small layer on top. I couldn't close the lid. These
were big yellow mouths and the best trip I've had in over a year. I told my guys that we were not
going to keep anymore fish and they were happy to catch and release. We did this for another
hour, the tide got slack and the bite quit. I've got some great video and several good still pictures.
I'll try to post some stills tomorrow but right now I'm too tired. The Delta paid great dividends
today.
4/19/2008 I was asked by Venice Marina several weeks ago if I could take a trip for a large
insurance company who were bringing their employees on a fishing trip/tournament/good time.
Naturally I jumped at the chance. I met Trey, Christian, and Pansy, at the fish cleaning dock about
7:30 am. I was there at 4:45 and had to wait. No problem, I'm always there at 4:45. There were
about 15 or 16 boats running in this group and all the guests stayed up late the night before for
their party and crawfish boil. I headed down the "muddy" River with my clients and told them we
were chasing reds today. My first stop proved good. Market bait under a cork proved to be the
ticket. We boated 8 in about an hour and a half and then the bite stopped. Slack tide. Two hours
later all we had boated was a 10 pound blue cat. Then around 11:00 I eased into a little pocket and
it was on. At high noon we had our limit of beautiful 20 to 26 inch reds and headed for home. Trey
had the 2 biggest that he weighed in the tournament. Christian and Pansy were great troopers
and excellent fisherwomen. I'll take them anytime. Thanks to Venice Marina and Capt. Jimmy
Gringo for asking me.
4/18/2008 Easy Living-I was asked by my good friend, Capt. Larry, to take 3 of his regular clients
on a trip because he was already booked with another Captain. I met his buddies at the Venice
Marina about 6:30, we loaded and hit the high, muddy, ugly, Mississippi River. I've been getting
lots of calls about the fishing with the high River. My answer to all callers is that the red fish
fishing is awesome, and we should start seeing good catches of trout in another week. The wind
has been more trouble than the River. Back to my trip. I pulled the big Skeeter to my first stop,
stuck the pole, rigged market bait under a cork and started catching reds. I've had some good
luck the past several weeks with spinners but today they wanted shrimp. It wasn't fast and furious
but they were all catching and having a good time. Most of these reds were the "good" ones,17"
to 20" with a couple 26's mixed in. We had our limit after about 2 hours and then it was catch and
release. Lots of fun.
4/7/2008 Red weekend on a rising River. I had the pleasure this weekend of entertaining Ed
Williams, Promotions Manager of Bass Pro Shops, and his Assistant, Gina Landry. We were all
there for the Fishermen for Bryce fund raiser tournament on Saturday out of Venice Marina. I took
Ed and Gina down the "muddy" River on Friday to scout for the tournament. We got into the reds
and a slow rolled spinner bait produced the most bites. We caught a few on market bait under a
cork, but Ed showed me the light with his spinners. Gina caught on the spinner quickly, and we
soon had a limit of keepers in the box. I knew where I was going on tournament day.
Saturday morning dawned foggy and rainy, and tournament director, Dennis Bardwell, wisely
held up the start until 8:00am. My competitors were George and his two young friends from
Ponchatoula. I had the spinners already tied on when we hit my spot and George hooked up on
his first cast. We boated 7 keepers that were all 25 plus inches and George said not to keep
anymore. Feels good to have people who want to conserve our resources. We caught and
released for two hours, got soaking wet in a driving rainstorm and headed in around noon. Our
fish didn't win the prize but the fund raiser tournament was a winner in the harts of everyone who
participated. I enjoyed it and so did my clients and so did my friends from Bass Pro.
Sunday was "kick-back" time for me. I took Ed and Gina to a close spot to finish my red weekend
and got skunked for 3 hours. Then we put market bait on the bottom in the muddy water and hit
paydirt. After boating our limit we released another 15 or 20 and headed in. My thanks to Ed and
Gina of Bass Pro for an enjoyable weekend and to the organizers of Fishermen for Bryce for the
opportunity to help in the tournament.
3/30/2008 Another good day in Venice. Many Guilliardo and his brother, Tiny, and nephew, Scott,
met me in the fog at Venice Marina at 6:30 am. I had reservations about going out in that much fog
but decided to ease out of the marina and give it a look. I idled for about 2 miles and then we got a
little break so I picked the big Skeeter up on step and eased through the clouds. Its surprising just
how slow you can keep this boat on plane especially with trim tabs. We took our time and 30
minutes later we were where I caught them on Friday. These men have been with me before and
they are a lot of fun. We had both live bait and a bunch of the jumping "Halo" shrimp. I rigged
them about 18" under a rattlin cork and we were off and running. It sure is fun to see those corks
go under and then start rattlin when the trout surfaces and starts shaking and baking. 35 trout
later my bite slowed so I went hunting. We picked a few here and there but no hard bite. Two
hours later I told my guys that we were going back to where we started. I new the trout were there
we just had to find them. It was slow but by 1:00pm we had a limit along with 2 drums and 1
keeper red. We caught 15 reds but all were short by 1/4" as usual. Tiny, also, caught the biggest
stingray I've seen in a long time. These guys had enough so Many broke out the fried chicken and
cokes. We had our Delta picnic and headed in with a full belly and a full box of trout.
3/28/2008 Finally a trout bite. I've been fighting muddy waters, high winds and few trout for
several weeks but today was sweet. I met Robert Ballard of Zachary and his two friends, Eric and
James, at Venice Marina at about 7am. We loaded the big Skeeter and headed to the same spot I
fished yesterday. Yesterday I caught 21 trout but I had a tough wind and dirty water. Today was
different. We had almost no wind, imagine that!! We started out with the jumping halo shrimp
under a cork and picked up several trout, but not the "mother load". I jumped around over the
next couple hours and picked up some more, but we still had "off color" water. Then I hit green
water with lots of bait. PAY DIRT. Over the next two hours we caught our limit along with about 15
undersize reds. By 1:00pm the box was full. We looked for bigger reds but only found one along
with 2 big drums. Not a bad day. The Halo Jumping Shrimp is one of the best plastic shrimps I
have ever used, and it last forever.
3/14/2008 Had a 3 boat trip today with my buddy, Richard Manzella of Cembell Industries, and a
bunch of his friends. Capt. Jeff and Capt. Raymond were good enough to help me and we all left
the Venice Marina dock at 7am. We headed downriver and were greeted with a "pea-soup" fog.
That happens often this time of year. We idled for about 5 miles until we hit one of the passes and
the fog lifted. Up and running, we made it to our spot, got anchored, and started catching. These
men wanted reds and the Delta supplied them. There is lots of ways to catch reds but this time of
year its hard to beat market bait under a rattling cork. The trick is to put a whole shrimp on a jig
head, throw it out and make plenty of noise with the cork. Reds have a tough time finding your
bait in muddy water but if you make enough noise they will come to it. After you "pop" the cork let
it sit about 15 seconds, the pop it again. After we had our boxes full of reds we headed back up
the foggy Mississippi. It was worse at 2pm than it was at 7am. I got lost for awhile but with Capt.
Raymond's help and Richard's eyes I made it back. If you run the River this time of year be very
careful, it can be dangerous.
2/4/2008 I've been deer hunting for the last month so I haven't had many fish stories to report.
However, deer season is over and its back to fishing for me. I went on a little scouting trip out of
Venice yesterday. There wasn't much water anywhere but we managed to find a limit of reds in
about 3 hours. Bait of choice was Tsunami's tipped with market bait. This spring is starting to fill
up fast, so if you want a charter in April, May, or June give me a call at 225-978-1136, or check my
web at www.BIGOCHARTERS.COM.
I am on the Pro Staff of the new Bass Pro Shop that is opening in Denham Springs. I'll be working
their Conservation Night this Wednesday and will be in the fishing dept on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday. If you want to see a great store and meet and talk fishing, come on out and ask for Big
"O" See you there.
Fishing
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