December 10th & 11th

Larry and Wayne came back to fish with Papa Joe a second time all the way from Georgia, and boy did we catch some fish. They enjoyed their stay at Papa Joe's lodge as well as the redfish, black drum, sheephead, and flounder. These guys had almost non stop action even though the weather was windy and cold the first day. Here is a picture of the 1st day's redfish and the two largest from the 2nd day. While the black drum and sheephead were caught on shrimp, the reds were all caught on artificial. Thanks guys, hope to see you again this spring.

December 4th & 5th

Norm Williams, his son Craig, Don Hunsaker, and his son Donald came from Texas and Missouri to fish with Papa Joe for both days. They loved the accommodations with that big back porch right on the water. The first day we caught 50 Specks and a few Redfish, and on day 2 we went straight for the reds. I'm still full from eating with these guys. It seems like all we did was fish and eat. Here are a few pictures of their trip. I had a good time taking you guys fishing. Thanks and I look forward to doing it again in 2004.

November 30th

Larry Lester, his wife Kathy, his daughter Amanda, and his sister Kathy, are pictured here with their limit of redfish. And it didn't take long to catch them. Larry's wife Kathy and daughter Amanda caught their first reds ever, while Larry and his sister could remember their childhood days fishing the Myrtle Grove area with their mom and dad. Enjoy the fish back in Wisconsin, but come back to fish with us again soon here in Louisiana. Thanks Larry.

November 29th

The Chapman's and friends had a fantastic fishing trip with Papa Joe and Captain Bobby today. The cold weather postponed the trip till 9 AM but as you can see by these pictures it didn't take long to warm up and certainly was worth the wait. As a group they caught over 100 fish. We hope to see you guys again next year and hope you enjoy the fish back in Nevada.

November 25th

Kevin Reinke, and brother Dave, with Suzanne and their 4 sons fished with Papa Joe and Capt E. J. today and just slammed the fish. The temperature was in the 30's first thing so we backed the trip up till 9AM. It warmed up into the 60's pretty quick and the fish were on. Here are 2 photos showing off the reds they caught. All E.J. and I could do was take fish off the hook and re-bait, and we had trouble keeping up. The largest fish was a 17Lb Bluecat, and the largest red was 8.2 Lbs and caught by Kevin. Thanks guys we hope to see you again soon.

November 22nd & 23rd

Jim Joesel from Cardpak Inc. and his guests, the Martinez brothers of Eclectic Products Inc., the makers of GOOP, fished with Papa Joe on his two-day fishing package. Speckled trout and redfish were plentiful until the end of the second day when the wind began to howl. Here are some pictures that prove fish can make you smile. Thanks guys, I hope you enjoyed the trip as much a I enjoyed taking you. See you again next year. Enjoy the fish.

November 20th & 21st

Getting married in New Orleans? Let's go fishing. That's what Brad Giles did and we had a fantastic time. On day one we fished Brad, his dad Don, son Chip, and brother Scott. We caught specks first thing in the morning on plastics, then some large sheephead on shrimp, and reds later in the day. On day two we fished 11 people including Brads new father-in-law, family members and friends. Here are some pictures showing off the fish from both days.

November 7th & 8th

Winston Cook brought his group of six to fish with Papa Joe on a two-day package. These guys have known each other for 25 or so years and have been fishing all over the country almost that long. They are very organized and certainly are a lot of fun. They arrived on Thursday night and on Friday morning Capt. E.J. and Papa Joe took them for the first days fishing. Here is the group showing off their first day's catch, and Garland with his 11 pound red. Jambalaya and a good nights sleep is all we needed to be ready for day two, and Don caught this 21 pound red --boy was he smiling. Here, the group poses with their second day's catch. Saturday night we ate Papa Joe's baked redfish. Eat, sleep, and fish, what a weekend. Thanks guys. Have a safe trip home, and come see us again real soon. E.J. and I enjoyed fishing with you.

November 1st

Guy Favaloro Jr., his father Guy Sr., and their friends Pete and Bobby fished with me today. It was a tough day with the wind in excess of 20 knots, but we managed to catch these reds and a few other reds and trout. Pete, if you email me at papajoe@fishneworleans.com I'll reply with the baked redfish recipe. Thanks guys, look forward to doing it again.

October 31st & November 1st

Joe McDonald, Chester Sr, Chester Jr. and Joe's brother Steve fished 2 days on one of Papa Joe's package trips. They ate fried shrimp, Jambalaya, and baked redfish; fished with Papa Joe and Capt. Mike, slept in waterfront rooms; and enjoyed evenings on the back porch. The sunsets are beautiful on the bayou. Here they are showing off some of the fish they caught. Thanks guys it was a lot of fun, I hope you enjoy the recipe for Papa Joe's baked fish, and we hope to see you again reel soon.

October 25th

Richard Wilson and his buddy fished with us two years ago and limited out on trout, so today they targeted redfish. They are pictured here with a couple of the largest reds they caught today, but it wasn't easy. Maybe we should have caught a few trout first. Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy the fish.

October 24th

Kevin Dolan and his son returned to fish with Papa Joe again this month. The objective was to catch fish but, specifically, Kevin's son wanted a big red. After catching trout for the first couple of hours we decided it was time to fill the bill and catch that big red. Well, this picture should be titled "Mission Accomplished". Kevin's son fought this 13.5 LB redfish for over ten minutes That's about 1 minute per pound; a terrific accomplishment for a 10 year old. As you can see, his dad was not far behind with his red. We caught and released 2 more 30" fish before calling it a day.

October 24th

Patrick Flynn also returned with a group of 16 to celebrate another bachelor party. Fishing turns out to be a good way for guys to get together before one of their buddies gets married. The guys were picked up in New Orleans and left the launch around 11 AM. They fished till 5 PM and had dinner at Jan's Cajun Restaurant. These photos show how the trip went. First, the whole group is showing off all the trout the board will hold. Then we have the guys from Capt. Bobby's boat with some reds and a flounder as well as trout, the largest fish, and dinner at Jan's. Thanks for fishing with us again. We met the next-to-be-married on this trip, so we look forward to seeing ya'll again next year.

October 18th

Cold fronts with high winds like we had today make fishing tough, but Todd Ducote and his 2 nephews were just as tough, and were able to catch enough fish to have a very good dinner. Check the smiles on these faces, and you can see successful trip all over them. Thanks guys I hope we get better weather next time, and thanks to the girls back home for putting Papa Joe's name on a sandwich, it hit the spot.

October 18th

Two other trips went out for Papa Joe today. The Jeff Teague party fished with Capt. E. J. and caught these fish, even though the wind was blowing close to 30 mph.

Marty Laws and his son fished with Capt. Mike and returned to the dock earlier than me so I missed getting a picture of their catch.

Thanks guys, see you next time around.

October 17th

A.B. Bowen from Mississippi came to Lafitte fish with Papa Joe today, and as you can see from this photo it was a mission accomplished. Archie drove down the day before and we had a fantastic dinner at Jan's Cajun restaurant prior to getting a good night's sleep at Papa Joe's Lodge. Enjoy the fish Archie and try my recipe -- I'm sure you'll like it. Come see us again soon and bring that grandson with you next time.

October 14th

On the average, afternoon fishing trips are not as productive as morning trips. But today with the Nabisco Purina group, all 3 boats managed to do pretty well. Their day started with an 11 AM pickup from the Royal Sonesta and by noon we were leaving the dock. After a short 10 minute ride and we were catching trout. Here are photos of Myra and Cheryl, who were on Papa Joe's boat, with their first speckled trout of the day. At 4 PM they were on their way back downtown after a well deserved fishing trip to break up a long work week. Thanks Myra and Nabisco Purina, we hope to see you again soon when you can stay longer.

October 13th

Today Papa Joe fished with William Maisano, Pat Patterson, and Anton Knipper. Fishing was tough, but these guys hung in there and managed to catch these beautiful Reds (pictured here) along with a few Speckled Trout. Even though the fish count was down, their spirits remained high, the sign of true fishermen. Thanks guys.

October 11th

Chad Cassie brought 7 buddies all the way down from Little Rock, Arkansas to stay at Papa Joe's Lodge and catch some fish. They were up pretty late on the back porch watching the boats go by and telling some pretty fishy stories, but that didn't stop them from getting an early start. We used 2 boats -- Capt. Pete and Papa Joe. Here are photos of the 2 biggest Reds and the group with all the reds they caught. They also caught about 40 specks. Thanks guys, it was a pleasure fishing with you. We hope to see you again soon.

October 3rd

Greg and Jennifer fished with Papa Joe today, and as you can see from these photos did pretty well for themselves. The day started out a bit chilly but the weather was beautiful, and the redfish bit on cue. These were the first reds that Greg and Jennifer ever caught, and they were certainly surprised with their strength. Papa Joe cleaned the fish and they were off to Jan's Cajun Restaurant to eat their catch and some world class onion rings. Give us a call when you are ready to do it again. Thanks.

September 27th

Here are pictures of Al and Irma Katz with some of the fish they caught today. They had a wonderful time fishing for specks and reds in some ponds made available to us by an extra high tide. Both the flounder you see in the photos weighted over 2.5 lbs. and we caught and released a lot of redfish. We did, however, keep enough for them to eat for lunch at Jan's Cajun Restaurant where the onion rings and sautéed redfish is world class. Thanks Al and Irma I enjoyed taking you fishing and hope we can do it again soon.

September 24th

Fishing the skinny waters of the duck ponds is a lot of fun. There may be an added degree of difficulty when the ponds have grass, but these guys had no problem as you can see from this photo. Left to right are Rusty Tardo, Blake Evans, and James Evans all holding part of their catch. The reason Blake is holding the biggest fish is because he caught it. What a fight! It was hard to tell weather he had the fish or the fish had him, but the best man won. I hope you guys enjoy eating the fish as much as we did catching them.

September 20th

Kevin Dolan and his children from Baton Rouge had a fantastic time fishing with Papa Joe today. It started last night when they stayed at the Papa Joe's place and enjoyed the sunset from the back porch. It certainly was a lot easier to get the kids up early after a good nights sleep. Once we got on the water it didn't take long for everyone to improve their casting skills. Some fish were keepers and some were throw-backs, but every fish was important and they all enjoyed reeling them in. Here are a couple of pictures of some of the fish we caught. Thanks Kevin, I look forward to fishing with you guys again.

September 19th

Jerry Burke, his friends, and family who came to New Orleans for his daughter's wedding went fishing with Papa Joe, E.J., Mike, and Craig -- one of the best fishing teams in Southeast Louisiana. The pressure was on because 4 boats had to catch enough fish to feed 70 people tonight. Well, as you can see here, we did it. When the cleaning was over we managed a full 5 gallon bucket of fish fillets and a lot of smiling faces. I hope the wedding went as well as the fishing trip. Thanks Jerry, see you next time you are in New Orleans.

September 15th & 16th

Fished the 2-day package with Ed, Vaughn, Cliff, and Rick from Cleveland GA. pictured here with their first days catch. Ed and Vaughn both fished with me before as part of a larger group and returned to enjoy the lodge, food, and of course the fishing. We ate Jambalaya and baked Redfish and had ice cream with Ed's German Chocolate cake. The 32X15 porch overlooking Bayou Barataria provided some quite time and of course the boats add some entertainment. Here is Vaughn with the money fish of the trip. Thanks guys I hope to see you again real soon.

September 7th

Mark Green and his group from Indiana fished with Papa Joe today. The only thing better than the weather was the fishing as you can see from the picture. Here is the group showing off their fish. There are some big reds in that group. Guides that helped Papa Joe were E.J., Mike, and Bobby and they did an excellent job putting these guys on fish. Thanks guys, come see us again. We also provide package trips that include accommodations, food, license, etc. Hope to see you all again soon.

September 1st

Capt. E.J. had a fantastic trip this morning with Jay Beshears and his wife. Here they are with just part of their limit of redfish. All the fish were caught on spinner baits, which made the trip even more exciting for everyone. Thanks for fishing with us, and I hope you enjoy the fish.

September 1st and 2nd

Kathy and Kevin Lester from Calhoun, Georgia fished with Papa Joe for 2 days and took home a mess of redfish filets for the family. As you can see from the first two photos we limited out on redfish both days. Here is Kathy with her very first redfish, and both of them with the largest reds from the 2nd day. Thanks for fishing with me the past two days. I hope you enjoy the fish and Papa Joe's recipe.

August 30th

Bachelor Parties are really fun and this one stands out for two reasons. First, everyone made the boat in the morning. Second, no one showed up with a hang over so everyone could have an enjoyable fishing trip. Here are some photos of John Barry, Joseph Mallek, and Scott and Jason Stefanski showing off the reds they caught today. You will notice several pictures of the groom -- everyone made sure he caught plenty of fish. Sorry we couldn't get a group picture with everyone and all the fish but it was a catch and release trip. Thanks for fishing with me guys, it was a real good time.

July 29th

Terry Miller and his father-in-law Roland Albrecht from Sarasota Florida fished with me today, and what a trip it was. We caught trout early and left them biting because it was a catch and release trip ( I did keep a few for myself ) and they wanted to fight some reds. Terry caught the 1st and biggest of the day at 12 lbs. Thanks guys it was great to see you again, have fun at the BassMaster's Classic, and enjoy the rest of your visit to New Orleans.

July 26th & 27th

Columbia Mississippi was represented well this weekend by Edwin Johnson, his son Joshua, Johnny Burkett, his son Johnny, and George Cooky. They ate Jambalaya and Baked Redfish with all the trimmings including cherry cheese cake and Peach Cobbler with vanilla ice-cream. They fished with Papa Joe and Captains E.J. and Tony for speckled trout and redfish and relaxed at the camp with a water front view. Here is the group after the first days fishing with their reds and two boxes of trout. Below is Edwin with the biggest red, (11 lbs.) and the men with their reds. The sons actually had more reds but their fish got cleaned before I was able to take a picture. (sorry guys). It was terrific fishing and the company was fantastic. Enjoy the fish Wednesday night guys, Mrs. Bush and I hope to see you again soon.

July 22nd

The day started early with a 4:45 am pick-up at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown New Orleans. David Latimer's fishing buddy backed out so he decided to brave it alone. It turned out to be a good choice. Here he is showing off his largest red and the limit he caught among others. David could not get over how hard these reds fight and had a terrific time landing them with 12 lb. test line. We were back at the dock for 12:30 pm, cleaned the fish for lunch, and then headed to Jan's Cajun Restaurant for a delicious meal. Thanks David, I look forward to fishing with you again in October.

July 22nd

It was a little on the windy side for David Setzer and his two sons as they fished for reds with Capt. E.J. today. But that didn't seem to stop them from catching the nice fish they kept for dinner tonight. I understand they threw a few of the larger ones back to fight another day. Thanks guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip and I know those fish tasted great.

July 19th & 20th

Raleigh Trosper, and Randy Umphers from Hot Springs AR. spent the weekend fishing with Papa Joe and took advantage of the wonderful accommodations at Papa Joe's little lodge on the bayou. Saturday they caught over 100 trout (counting throw-backs) plus this 37 lb. redfish that fought with Raleigh and 12 LB. test Original Stren line for almost 30 minutes. On Sunday we fished for reds and here they are showing them off for the camera. Thanks guys, I hope you enjoyed the weekend. Have fun eating those fish. I look forward to seeing you again in September.

Update

Here is what Nadim had to say about his trip last Thursday.

Hey Joe,

Just wanted to say we had a great time. I will tell everyone I know about your service. When will you get the pictures up on your site? I want to show off to all my friends here in Michigan. Thanks again.

Nadim

Thanks for the email and the kind words Nadim. It was my pleasure taking you and Gary fishing.

Papa Joe

July 17th

The day started early with a 4:45 pick-up for Nadim and Gary at the Hyatt in downtown New Orleans. They are pictured here with their catch. Both of them caught their first Redfish today and are showing them off in these photos.  We packed it in 11 AM so they could get back downtown and to work. The weather managed to hold up until we were on our way to town and was absolutely beautiful all morning. Thanks guys, enjoy eating those fish, and I hope to fish with you again.

July 13th

Some say a bad day fishing is better than a good day at the office. Well for Papa Joe a bad day fishing is a bad day at the office and today was one of those days. I apologize to Dave Faulkenbury and his party of 6 for mother nature and very few small fish, but it's fishing and it happens to every one of us sooner or later. I'm sorry it happened on your day. Other than the lack of fish the trip went well. We stayed semi-dry, and up till the end the weather made it pleasant to be on the water. Sorry again guys.

July 12th

Capt. E.J. Plaisance and Papa Joe Bush finish 12th in the IFA Redfish Tournament on July 12th. We ran 182 miles to and from Lafitte during the two days of fishing. One practice round, and one for real. Papa Joe caught this trout during the tournament.

July 5th

What a beautiful days fishing we had today. Tom Pacer, his son Mike, and Grandson Ryan were targeting trout for supper when Ryan scooped up on this big redfish. The weather treated us great. It stayed overcast and cool all day, but we never had a drop of rain. Thanks guys, I look forward to seeing you again this fall, and I hope you enjoyed eating those trout.

* * N E W S F L A S H * *

Papa Joe's 3 year old grandson Thomas catches 1st fish all by himself, and here he is bringing it into the boat. I could see the birds working the water like they were eating at the buffet from a long distance off. The water was so smooth it looked like a mirror and you could see the shrimp being chased an eaten by the trout. The bite was instant, as soon as the line hit the water the cork disappeared and the training began. How to hold the pole, reel fast, lift him in the boat, and after reeling in several fish that my son and I hooked he did it all by himself. While it didn't last more than an hour it was the most exciting time for Papa Joe and a nap was in order when we got home.   

June 28th

Guy Favaloro, his wife Kimberly, and children Jeffery and Catherine caught these fish among others fishing with me today. The first picture is Catherine with her first redfish and she caught it all by herself. Guy had the largest one over 20 inches, and Kimberly was close to catching the most. Good job girl. They spent the night before at the lodge and enjoyed coffee and biscuits before leaving the dock in the morning. The kids did very well catching speckled trout all by themselves with just a little help casting once in a while. We had plenty of action to keep everyone busy. Thanks folks, see you in the fall when it cools down.

June 27th

Dave Laurent booked this trip for Salmon and Associates. The weather looked calm so we aimed the boats straight for the surf, and managed to keep approximately 50 trout before the rain ran us back inside around 10 AM. We must have caught and released another 100 because of the size restrictions.

I was negligent on the picture taking because we ran from rain all the way in and the sky opened up just as we returned to the dock to clean fish. All and all it was a good trip with plenty of fish and of course the usual jokes and competitive clowning. Thanks guys, sorry again about the pictures. Enjoy the fish.

June 24

Bryan Billiot booked this afternoon trip for the biolab folks that were in New Orleans for a meeting. Capt. E.J. and Papa Joe left the dock with them around 2 PM to catch Papa Joe's favorite fish. ( that's the ones that bite of course) After fishing and catching trout in the heat of the afternoon they went up in the ponds to find redfish as the day cooled. The reds were not real hungry, but as you can see here these guys managed to pick up a few before heading back to the dock and Jan's Cajun Restaurant for a great meal. Here's the gang from Papa Joe's boat showing off a few of their fish.

June 23rd

Good company, excellent weather, and Redfish. The perfect recipe for FUN. Silas Lee, pictured here with his big red, fished with me today. We got an early start in an effort to beat the heat, that's important this time of year. We gave Silas door to door service to and from his hotel, and about a 55 mile round trip by boat through the south Louisiana marsh. Thanks Silas, come see us again.

June 21st

20 person trip, lot of weather. Gary Harvin and his three sons Gary Jr., Ross, and Clint, fished with me today as a part of the big trip booked by Todd Ducote. The weather would just not co-operate and we fought the rain all day. We managed to catch a lot of small trout with just a few keepers. Finally I decided to hit the redfish, boy do I wish we would have done that earlier. Here is a photo of the guys with some of the reds we caught. All and all everyone had a great time, and are looking forward to returning next year.

June 15th

Here is Malcolm and Bonnie Thomson showing off some of the fish they caught with Papa Joe yesterday. These folks were visiting New Orleans from Philly and with one more Cajun meal they may have stayed here. They love to fish and have their own boat back in Pennsylvania. The speckled trout here are called Weak Fish up there, but they can tell you the redfish down here can stretch your line. Malcolm's big red had the drag screaming, I thought it was going to spool his real. Thanks guys, I enjoyed taking you fishing and I hope you enjoyed the fish. Come back to see us again.

June 13th & 14th

What do you get when you take eight guys from the mountains of Georgia fishing, add in some Cajun food, and mix gently with beer and home made wine? Why that's the recipe for instant FUN. Here are some pictures of Ray, Paul, Ed, Bob, Topher, Willis, Dave, and Randy using the above recipe and showing off their fish. They stayed 3 nights and 2 days at the Papa Joe's Fish-inn, fishing and kicking back on the 33' by 15' patio overlooking the bayou. Thanks guys, enjoy the fish and come back real soon.

June 9th

Pictured here is the David Young party with David, John, Jeff, and James showing off some of the fish they caught Monday with Papa Joe. We had a great time. The jokes and antics never stopped right up to the end with David saying he always catches the most and the biggest fish. The lack of water movement kept the speckled trout bite a little slow early in the morning, but it picked up enough to keep me busy at the cleaning table. When we switched over to the reds however the action was fast and furious.

June 6th & 7th

What a weekend. We fished Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th with 22 people from Yohna Drywall in Georgia. The group fished with 5 of the finest captains in Louisiana and went home with a 94 quart ice chest of speckled trout, and redfish fillets. Now that's a lot of fish cleaning considering that Friday morning most of us lost some time with the rain storms. Saturday was another beautiful day in paradise and we smacked the fish hard. In Papa Joe's boat alone the guys caught 57 trout in just 20 minutes under a large flock of birds. I was lax in getting pictures with all the excitement and boats at the launch, but here are a couple of pictures that I managed to take of some folks in my boat.

June 1

For Boyd, Richard, and Patricia it was the best of trips, it was the worst of trips. Now here's the rest of the story. The weather was fantastic, the demo cast first thing this morning produced a fish (good sign); the company was outstanding as usual; but the fish wouldn't co-operate. We did however, manage to catch a few, maybe 20 counting throw-backs. And as you can see, Boyd had a fight on his hands getting this one in the boat. He was close to forty pounds and released to fight again. Boyd said as soon as his arm feels better he'll be looking for a rematch.

May 24th

Redfish, Speckled Trout, great weather, and a lot of laughs. That's the way the Favaloro party spent their day. Here are some pictures of Guy Sr., Guy Warren, and their buddies Bob and Pete showing off some of the fish they caught. If they cook them using "Pete's" recipe they will enjoy the eating as much as the catching. Thanks guys I hope to see you again soon.

May 22nd

Jack and Lenny Stefanick caught these fish and more while fishing with Papa Joe today. The rain that accompanied a cool front yesterday raised the level of doubt about the early morning bite, but at their first stop corks started disappearing and fish started filling the ice chest. They caught mostly trout and just a few reds. They kept a few to take home and returned the rest to fight another day. At one point, you could see a red coming after Jacks bait. It hit like a freight train and took a lot of drag before finally being netted at the boat. The weather? Well it turned out to be a beautiful day, and a great one for fishing. We hope to see you guys again this fall.

May 10th

What a day. It was great. How great was it? Look here to find out. Guy, Dave, and Dan spent the morning catching them on spinner baits in skinny water duck ponds. Papa Joe said the wind was blowing all week out of the south, and it pushed all the water into the ponds. They fished water that his 23 foot boat is not used to seeing, and had a fantastic time doing it. Bush said everyone stayed at his lodge and the early start helped add a few fish to the ice chest. Guy will be back in 2 weeks and we are looking forward to seeing him again.

May 9th

David Young, Ronny Estes, and John and Joe Frazier from Jackson, Mississippi fished with Papa Joe today. They stayed at Papa Joe's lodge the night before, got a good nights sleep, and an early start in the morning. It becomes more important to get an early start once the summer heat starts. The wind blew all week and just kept blowing, but they hung in there with spinner baits and caught these fish. Enjoy them guys, and we'll see you next time.

May 4th

Laurie and Miles Davis from Brookhaven Mississippi fished with Capt. Bobby for their anniversary today. Here they are with a few of their fish. As you can see, Laurie caught the biggest one and they took a large bag of fillets home with them. Happy anniversary and we hope to see you again soon.

May 2nd

WOW, What a way to go. Today we did Chris Washburn's bachelor party of 20 people. It was fantastic. Here are photos of Chris, Roger, Dan, Mitt, and Kevin with their catch and some large reds, and Rob Davis shows off a big red he caught. The largest red 20+ pounds was released (without photo). All the other fish were cooked and eaten at Jan's Cajun Restaurant and Papa Joe made all the arrangements for transportation, etc. Everyone had a great time.

April 30th

As you can see in this photo Pat Landry and his two sons caught a mixed bag of trout and reds. While the bite was a little slow the fun was full speed ahead and the good news is the trout are beginning to finally pick up. As always, I cleaned their fish and somewhere in Gretna, LA the Landry family is enjoying a fish fry tonight. Thanks guys come see us again soon.

April 27th

I had the pleasure of fishing with Chris Hamilton and his Buddy. It was a beautiful day except the fishing was still slow because of the cool font that came through the evening before. Here is a photo of Chris holding the largest red of the trip. We were using gold spinner baits with purple plastics and just slow rolling it over the grass. This is one of the best times of the year to see the bright green marsh before it gets hot. All the fish were released to fight another day. Thanks guys, I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as much as me.

April 25th-26th

We just had two fun filled fishing days with Willis and Calvin Davenport, Ed Taylor, and David Pilake. These guys came in from Georgia for my 2-day fishing package. Here is a picture with some of the reds they caught. Everyone had a great time, a good nights sleep and very full stomachs at Papa Joe's. Thanks guys have a good time in Canada, and be sure to come see us again.

April 18th

It was my pleasure fishing with Keith Burres and Scott Gillett today. The fog made it a slow ride to the fishing area, but it wasn't long before we had our first hook-up. We began fishing a small canal that is used as a drain for duck ponds on either side and it had its share of reds early in the morning. Here is a photo of the guys showing off a few of the fish they caught. Thanks guys, I hope you will come see us again soon.

April 17th

A slow day on the water did not stop the fun for Tom Pacer and his grandson Ryan, as you can see from these pictures. Here is Ryan with two of the redfish he caught, and this 30+ pound drum Tom landed on 12 lb. test line kept his arm shaking for an hour after the catch. They had a hard time standing so we took the picture sitting down. The fish was released to fight again. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and made for a very pleasant day in the boat. Thanks guys, I look forward to seeing you again this spring.

March 31st

Nash Brown, Dwight and Shane Walker, George Sibley, Bill Magum, Larry Finney, Nim Ashley, and Larry Pockrus -- all from Dallas TX --joined Papa Joe and Capt. E,J. for a two day fishing package. Shown here are the two largest redfish of the trip and a shot of the group with the first day's catch. While the fishing was a bit slow because of a strong cold front that came through the day before, it didn't stop the antics or the competition between anglers. The meals consisted of Jambalaya, and Redfish Bo, with all the trimmings. Of course, bread pudding and cherry cheese cake topped off each meal. Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy the fish when you get home, come see us again.

March 19th

Two boat trip today, Capt. Mike and Papa Joe had Steve DeBusk, Harold Hicky, Bead Hendrick, Chip Rosenberg, Bob McCallister, and Mike Clancy, AKA the CTIA Team. We caught Reds most of the morning, then by accident Papa Joe found some Trout and the boys made quick work of them. Here is a picture of the CTIA Team showing off the fish we kept for lunch at Jan's Cajun Restaurant. The trout were fried, the reds sauteed, and the fisherman full with go bags for all.

March 5th

Arica Schultz, Matt Shields, Mark Fersdght, and Brian Jensen came to town on spring break for Mardi Gras and a fishing trip. Other than getting up and being at the dock for 7 AM the day after the big celebration their trip went great. We caught and released 17 redfish with everyone catching their first red and several more to boot. Click here for pictures.

March 3rd

Cold and wind are two parts of the weather picture that would damp out a fishing trip for most people, but Mike Horan and his crew from Chicago made the day with a true Mardi Gras spirit. We were on our way and catching redfish until 10 AM when the wind got so bad the ponds we were fishing turned muddy. So we broke out the shrimp and Mike comes up with this 30 lb black drum. When the rain began around noon we headed for the marina and the world class onion rings, gumbo and fried fish at Jan's Cajun Restaurant.

February 13th

Bo Johnson, and John flew over to New Orleans from Punta Gorda Florida to get in on some big time redfish action, and Papa Joe put them on the fish just 5 minutes from the launch. Bo catches a lot of reds in Florida and here he and John show off their first Louisiana redfish. This picture shows the results of a double header. Both guys hooked up at the same time fishing a shallow water duck pond. All the fish caught today were released to fight again. Worth the trip you ask? You betcha.

February 12th

Fishing was not the primary reason for the visit to New Orleans by Doug Gilbert and Dr. Doug, but it doesn't take long to change priorities when a 5 or 6 lb redfish is on the line. That is exactly what happened when we found a school of reds while on our way to look for coontail grass. Here Dr. Doug shows off his first (but not last) redfish, and this picture shows Doug and Doug with their hands full. What a successful trip. We found plenty of Grass, a school of reds, and a Bald Eagle sitting on a nest. Then after the trip the Dougs went to Jan's Cajun Restaurant for some fresh sauteed redfish. Thanks guys, I hope to hear from you again real soon.

February 11th

Today I took Scott Templin from Austin, Texas and Ed Reed from Bloomington, Illinois. It seemed a lot colder than it really was during the ride out, but it got warm pretty quick. The bite started off slow and remained that way throughout the trip. However, we still managed to catch 14 redfish and 2 flounder. All were released to fight again. These guys had a great time and a good lunch at Jan's Cajun Restaurant at the trip's end.

February 2nd

Fished with Errol Rousseau from Cary, NC. today, and his favorite fish is red, but if you ask him what his favorite bait is he will probably tell you its the Old Bayside purple and chartreuse mud minnow. That's because he caught all the fish on it. Our day started when I picked up Errol at the W on Poydras Street in downtown New Orleans. A short 35 minute drive and we're off to find the reds. Now don't get me wrong the fishing was slow but Errol managed to catch a few specks as well as a limit of reds. The day was extremely pleasant, and although I just met Errol today I felt as though we had fished together all our lives. Here he is with the 2 largest Reds of the day.

January 27th

What a trip we had today. I had the opportunity to try out the Old Bayside Bait line along with Howard Hammons, the genius behind Old Bayside; Ron Kiffmeyer of Lindy, the new parent company of Old Bayside, Kevin Ford of the TV show Louisiana Outdoor Adventures, and Mark Hilzim of the Louisiana Sportsman. The baits were great. We caught fish on almost every type and color we tried. I especially like the way the systems fit together and can't wait to try them further when the trout start running. I have a feeling some of these baits are going to be the new HOT BAITS of South Louisiana. Here are a few pictures of the guys showing off their catch.

January 16th

Tony and Fawn Tantillo from Sunset Sporting Goods, in New Paltz, NY decided to beat the worst cold front of the year and see if they could catch a few fish. Well, the mystery was over in just a short time. After a few misses, Fawn and then Tony hooked up in rapid succession and the race was on. Redfish and black drum were the catch of the day. Here's a few pictures of the happy couple with some fish. We spent a pleasant day on the water, caught and released fish, told jokes, exchanged fish and deer recipes, and the weather? It turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. I hope to see you all again real soon.

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