I would like to thank all the people that fished with me this year, and wish everyone a happy and fishy new year. It is truly a gift to live and work in the outdoors, and a real pleasure to be able to show it to people who love it as much as me, or to people who would not see it otherwise. As an incentive for you to bring the kids fishing I will take two adults and two kids for only $300.00 during the month of January. A savings of $100.00 to help get the kids "hooked on fishing". Give me a call at 504-392-4409 to book a trip. Happy New Year.

Dec. 28th

Sounds like everyone had a good day after an early morning rain. We left the dock at C-Way Marina at just after 8:30 AM. and were fishing behind Myrtle Grove by 9AM. Anthony Messner, his wife Francesca, and their two sons, told me they caught more fish than they ever caught before.

We were fogged in by 10:30, and stayed that way till noon but the trout and reds just kept biting. The fish shut down at 2:30 and so did we. A quick ride back to the launch and the fish were cleaned by 4PM. A great day with some great people. Its a pleasure to be able to take a family fishing and watch the joy as they catch fish.

Want to give it a try? Call Papa Joe 504-392-4409

Nov. 5th

Had a great day fishing with vending magnet Chris Russo, and Dempsey. The Trout fishing is fantastic out of Lafette and  Myrtle Grove. We had several trout over 3 lbs with about 20% throw-backs. The best part is it will only get better these next 2 months. November and December should be realy great. Purple with the chartruse tail caught the lions share of the fish today. I started Chris out with it this morning and then I used the white glow, but I should have swithed to the purple sooner. This weekend should be excellent and I had my Sunday Charter cancel so Sunday Nov 8th is an open date if you want to catch some trout give me a call 504-392-4409. Good Luck.

Oct. 27th

Another great day in the Lafette area. Today i had the pleasure of fishing with Donald Wood Sr. and Jr. and Russell Naquin. These guys fished hard and did real well on the specs, but the Reds pretty much escaped our hooks. The weather was great even though the wind was still a little high. I know I cleaned a bunch of fish for them so good eating boys, I hope you enjoy them. 

Oct. 25th 

Fishing finally improved after that last cool front. Even though the wind was still a little strong from the East we managed to catch a fine mess of fish. My party  today was Evlyn and Pete Schreems and their two boys. They all like to fish and it was a great day. Everyone had to get up a little early and miss the extra hour sleep from the time change and it showed on all of us by the end of the trip Most of the trout were caught on artificial but we needed some help for the Reds from a couple of LBS of shrimp. We wound up with about 8 keeper reds but caught several more through- backs. The weather was beautiful and they promised to do it again soon. I'm looking forward to it.

Oct. 3rd   

Had a great days fishing with Boyd Favaloro, his brother Guy, Guy's son Warren, and their friend Bob. Don't know the exact count but we had a lot of Trout and several real nice reds. The winter pattern is beginning to take shape, except for the weather boy was it hot today. Trout are on the move to the inside so we won't have to go as far to find them, and the reds are big and full of fight. The guys today were surprised to learn we were only using 12 lb test, but the light tackle is a lot of fun and it makes you enjoy the fight that much more. October, and the rest of 98 is looking very good for fishing  and I'm ready any time you are. So give me a call, the weather will be cooling and a perfect time to bring the wife and kids.

Sept 23rd 

Made a quick late evening trip with Norris Gros. We didn't have much time to fish so I couldn't do a lot of running around. Luckily we hit the fish in just a short time, catching several reds and a few trout. Norris is a knowlegable fisherman and a lot of fun to fish with. We cleaned up a nice mess of fish when we returned to the C-Way Marina. Norris plans to eat them with his relatives here in town tomorrow night. The water conditions are practicaly back to normal, and if we are lucky enough to miss Georges this weekend fishing should be good all next week I have a couple of days open next week if you want to give 'em a try.

Sept 17th 

Just returned from my first teal hunt of the season. What a pleasant surprise it was to shoot some birds. We have not seen a lot of teal around the marsh and didn't expect to have much action, but the weather was just right (cloudy and windy) Bobby Boudet and I managed to shoot 6 this morning. The trick is to be always ready and don't miss any opportunities because you only get enough for a limit. That's what we did with our first hunt jitters we each missed an opportunity, hence only 6 birds. The weekend outlook depends on the low pressure in the Gulf, but who knows about that ? Not the weather people that's for sure.

Sept  7th 

Some fishing trips are more special than others, and yesterday was one special trip I had the pleasure of fishing with 4 great medical students from Tulane University. When Andrew Todd called last week to book a trip I had no idea what was in store for us. I always arrive at the C-Way marina early, launch my boat, take care of ice, bait etc., and have a cup of coffee with Dwight and Betty, while waiting for 6AM and my party to arrive. Needless to say we got off to a late start but we quickly made up for it at the first and best spot we found. Andrew brought Sherry Novick, Steven Hendry, and Curt Jones with him. By 8:30AM the wind kicked up and blew us out of Barataria Bay, and by 9:30 the rain kicked in and stayed with us off and on the remainder of the day. As a Guide and long time fisherman I have fished in all conditions more than once, but these kids were real troopers. When the last downpour hit us at 2PM we were all ready to quit. The fish count may have been a little lite at days end but it wasn't from a lack of fishing. I cleaned their fish and they were going to eat them for a Labor Day treat before returning to school. Good luck guys, hope you enjoy the fish you earned them.

July 26

You could not ask for a more perfect morning. Calm winds, overcast, two great fishing partners and the Reds were jumping into the boat. The only thing that wasn't in our favor (the tide) didn't matter. Today Mike Bush, and Herley Compton were my guests and we  fished behind Myrtle Groove in Bayou Dupont, Airplane bay, Bay five, and Bay Craw. We limited out on Red fish and also managed to boat several nice Flounders. I think this is going to be a great year for Flounder, we have caught more than usual so far.

As all good things must come to an end, so did our day at 10:30AM when we had to leave because Mike had to catch a plane to Ft, Laurderdale. I'm looking forward to a few trips this week, and at least one on Wednesday will bring us back to Myrtle Grove. I'll let you know how we do.

July 19

Fished yesterday with a group of Jesuit alumni, for their 6th annual fishing rodeo. This is the fourth year in a row I've had these guys out, and it just gets better every year. Had a great day even though the temperature and humidity were both very high. We caught most of our bass in a place called the Pen just a short distance from the C-Way Marina in Lafette Louisiana. As a total we caught about a dozen bass along with a few Redfish and one real nice Flounder that missed a place in the Rodeo by one tenth of an ounce. Our bass managed to take 1st and 3rd places.

At the weigh-in there was plenty of fried fish, beans, jambalya, and beer. The door prizes were great and everyone had a great time. Now we are waiting for next year

July 12

What a day, what a weekend. I decided to take a busman's holiday and fish a tournament for myself, so I purchased a ticket for the local "Hooters " fishing rodeo, called Ken Hocke for some company, and off we went.

On the morning of the 11th the wind was blowing at 20kts from the west, (not the best wind for fishing) but my 21' Sea Pro and 200 EFI Merc. made short work of the 5 mile run across Lake Salvadore. Dawn was just breaking as we came to a stop and put the trolling motor down. I began fishing the windward bank but I kept noticing action on the lee shore, so we crossed the canal and immediately began to pick up some bass, but not big.

That would be our problem the rest of the morning, plenty of small fish. Of course plenty of small fish is better than no fish, but it was tournament day and we hoped to find some larger bass. By day's end we managed to keep three fish to weigh in, and what a surprise at the weigh in when our fish held up. 

Now, winning all three places in the Bass category at a Hooters rodeo gets a lot of well deserved hugs and photos as well as trophies. It really turned out to be a great break from guiding and a lot of fun. The Hooters people are great folks, serve great food, put on a great rodeo, and all the money went to the Sunshine Kids--a very worthy cause. My wife took some great photos so I will post some pictures in the PICS section soon.

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