Only One Catfish?

For starters I'll should acknowledge that another post about 2016 indeed means that I've not yet been fishing this year. Not good. That should be reconciled by Tuesday at the latest, but for now please endure one more blog about last year.

It struck me today that while last year's fish tally of 38 species is the largest since I began keeping annual lists (five years), it only includes on species of catfish. My job that I began last year does have me fishing mostly with lures, which doesn't lead to as many cat catches, but I normally take one of my children to a catfish pond, slip in a weekend day for big blues, or at least catch a channel cat or a flathead on a bass lure during a year.

The one catfish I did catch, the big topsail catfish that is pictured above, took an artificial lure while I was fishing for redfish in Venice, Louisiana with tournament angler Keith Bird and his son. We actually caught a few cats that day, including both hardheads and sails, and a couple of them even hit topwater lures. I didn't catch any of the hardheads, though.

My smile is all genuine, by the way. I'm a huge fan of catfish, and when I catch one when I am fishing for something else, I'm never even a tiny bit disappointed. I see it as a bonus, like icing on the cake. Slimy icing. I'll admit that (especially with saltwater cats). But icing nevertheless!

Salt-Infused Plans

I've fished mostly on fresh water in recent years, but that's certainly not due to any lack of interest in saltwater fishing. In truth I like the salty stuff a lot. It just hadn't been as good a fit with my writing markets.

That changes with my new role as a content specialist for PRADCO-Fishing because there are many great saltwater stories to be told about the Bomber, Rebel, Heddon and Cotton Cordell brands. During March alone I have coastal fishing plans in Texas, Louisiana and Florida.

Those places are also all warm, which is mighty nice during a month when we typically get a lot of cold weather in Georgia. Often I'm headed north to fish late ice this time of year, so the headstart on spring will be quite nice.

22 Species in 2013

North Carolina's Nantahala River accounted for rainbow,
brown and brook trout on the list, with all three coming on a cold
January day.

I suppose it's probably safe to sum up my 2013 fish species list. I may sneak out to a pond or creek before Tuesday, but I don't see myself wetting a line in any places where I'd be likely to add to this year's list of species caught.

Assuming that's correct and assuming I didn't miss any, I ended up catching 22 different kinds of fish in 2013. That's down from 30 in 2012, but I think that was an unusual year in terms of opportunities to travel farther from home and fish for different species than I normally encounter.

I always list the first of any given kind of fish that I catch each year and include the location, state and month. In terms of states, Louisiana accounted for the most listings (four, all salt), but Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Pennsylvania each added three, so places were pretty nicely distributed. May was the top month, with six new listings.

Interestingly, one of my favorite single fish on this year' list (if not my favorite) was somewhat of a confused listing. I caught a crappie this spring in Tennessee that very much looked like a black crappie, not only by its darkness but by a lack of distinguishable bands. However, it came from a place that normally produces white crappie and a friend counted the fin rays and said that was indeed a white crappie. It didn't matter on the list because I caught several other crappie of both varieties this year. I just thought it was interesting.

With two ice excursions on the books for early 2014 and a couple of other possible early trips in the works I hope to get next year's list off to a quick start. But first I might need to catch a few more pond bass or bluegills!

Hybrid School for 22

We mostly fished for largemouths earlier this week on Lake Eufaula, but I can't say I minded the school of white bass/striper hybrids that briefly popped Monday afternoon while I was fishing with Brent Crow. We didn't spend loads of time trying to keep up with the school, but when a bunch of fish started breaking on the surface, and birds started diving among them, you can bet that Brent quickly steered the boat within casting distance. I grabbed a Pop-R rod, flung the little plug into the fray and started ripping. If you've been around schooling hybrids, you won't be surprised that it took one cast and about three pops to get attacked and hooked up for the first time. We actually hoped there might be some largemouths or spots among the hybrids, but we caught half a dozen hybrids  and no black bass in 15 minutes or so before the schools went down for good or migrated down the lake.

When I got home I pulled up my "2013 fish species" list, which tracks the species I've caught this year, because I didn't think I remembered having caught a hybrid yet. As suspected, I had not, so I added it to the list. I had added four saltwater species a couple of weeks ago after returning from Louisiana, so October was a productive month.

This year's tally stands at 22 species. I hit 30 last year, and it seems unlikely I'll match that in 2013. You never know, though. I didn't know I would catch any hybrids this week.

Working for Them, Southwest Louisiana Style

Captain Bryan Branch of Calcasieu Charters felt like we really had to work for the fish we caught on Sunday, and he wasn't overly impressed by the bite. By day's end, though, the cooler contained 25 specks and reds and about the same number of white trout, Spanish and flounder, and we probably released nearly as many fish as we kept. I suppose it's all relative, because what's considered "working for them" at Lake Calcasieu would be an absolute banner day of fishing catching action almost anywhere else in the country. On more than a few occasions, three or four rods were bent to the weight of fish at the same time during our tough day!

The amazing this is that it is not just talk. Really good days on the Big Lake, as Calcasieu is commonly called, produce limits of trout and/or redfish for everyone aboard. On great days, the trout are all big, and all the action comes from one or two spots. We covered quite a bit of water, picking at fish from a fair number of few schools, with weekend fishing pressure and wind that grew through the day creating challenges for staying with the fish.

So I suppose we did work, by Southwest Louisiana standards, but I'll take that day of work any day. I'll also take the cooler filled with fillets that came as reward for our efforts!

Oh So Ready to Make Some Casts

Since leaving home five days ago, Nathaniel and I have spent a tremendous amount of time watching other people fish, taking photos of fish and fishermen, eying waterways and talking about lures, rods, reels and fishing trips. Today we were even waterfront in Lake Charles, supposedly with redfish and speckled trout within casting distance of the shore.

Our full fishing day doesn't come until Sunday, but I think there might be a window or two tomorrow where we can get out for a few hours locally and cast from the shore or wade a little. Just in case, I'm rigged and ready with my starting offering and have a whole line-up behind it. Rumor has it Lake Charles is rich with baitfish that the trout like to chase around, so my starting pick is a BOOYAH Boo Rig matched with Strike King KVD Swim-n-shiner a on a 1/4-ounce Egret Baits jighead. Lures waiting in the wings include a Bomber 14A, an Egret Baits Bayou Chub and a Vudu Shrimp.

Early Sunday we're moving just south of here to spend a day on Lake Calcasieu with Calcasieu Charter Service. Word has it that Big Lake, as Calcasieu is often known, has been producing great mixed catches of redfish, trout, sheepshead and more, with some good quality fish in the mix. I've fished there before, but it has been several years, so I'm eager to fish it again.

Fall Fishing Excursions

Autumn on the beautiful Tennessee River in North Alabama.

Not long ago, my fall calendar looked oddly barren, with only a couple of things set in stone and plenty of days between plans. As seems to happen late in the summer, though, that has changed in a hurry. In fact, as things stand now, it looks like I'll need fishing licenses from about eight different states to cover September and October adventures. Destinations are spread from Oklahoma to Louisiana to West Virginia, and fishing trips range from a float in a raft for a river smallmouths to a day in flats boat trip for seatrout. One trip in early October will last the better part of two weeks and will include fishing in three different states.

In truth destinations could have been even more widespread. I gave hard thought to continuing west after fishing in Oklahoma to do a little trout fishing in Colorado and Wyoming. Trout streams in the Wild West remain only places of dreams for me at this point, and one day I'll make it out there. I decided, though, that this fall was not the right time.

Considering the variety in the fishing I'll be doing, I should have the opportunity to add to my 2013 list of species caught. It's currently at 15 species and somewhat sadly hasn't grown since June. Last year, I had caught 25 different species of fish by the end of August. Of course most of my fishing this summer has been with my children in local ponds, where we mostly catch the same few species.

The number of miles logged and the days away from home will get wearisome, and I'll have to be efficient to get all my writing done between fishing days; Still, if I'm going to get extra busy with fishing trips for a while, fall is a mighty good time to do so. The fish tend to feed well (often on top!), the weather typically is nice, and many rivers and lakes put on their fall attire and become as pretty as they will be all year.

The run of travel begins in a little more than a week. I guess I'd better get some fish stories written!

Gear: Oliso Pro -- Vacuum Sealing Made Simple

No, I don't intend to cook soft-plastic lures, and I'm not looking at vacuum sealing as the new key to compact lure storage. In truth, I was just eager to try out the Oliso Pro VS97A Vacuum Sealer to see for myself it was as elementary to use as it appears in the demonstration videos. If you're like me, you've watched a few demonstrations of things that appeared effortless in the hands of experts but that weren't quite so simple at home! I also had some little people around me who were pretty eager to see just what that thing did.

Turns out the Oliso Pro really is that easy. We followed a few simple steps, and the inaugural attempt resulted a perfect seal with zero added challenges encountered, and in reality there really doesn't appear to be much more to learn. Of course, if you're someone who likes to test something a few times to gain confidence that you have it down, there's nothing to loose with this system because each bag is good for as many as a dozen uses, and the dishwater-safe bag remains full sized and fully intact. The new seal just goes in a different place.

Stand-out features of the Oliso ProVS97A are its "moist" setting, which allows you to seal fresh fish or marinated meats with no risk of ruining the machine with moisture, and extreme portability. The machine itself is compact, and it comes with a 12V adaptor, with everything packaged in a water-resistant carrying case. It also has adaptor for sealing special upright pantry bags and can even be used for canning; however, I'm guessing that I'll mostly be sealing Louisiana redfish, Santee Cooper catfish and such that's getting ready to travel back to Georgia and various jerky or fresh meat that I want to keep marinated or protected from elements on a camping, rafting or fishing trip.

Actually, my first real-life uses are probably only a couple of weeks away, which is part of why I wanted to do a test run with the plastic worms. Nathaniel and I will be camping, wading and fishing from a raft in just a couple of weeks, which means we'll have plenty of reason to have fresh food nicely sealed. Now I can feel confident that the vacuum sealing part  of the trip preparation will be quick, simple and efficient. In fact I'll most likely stick the sealer case in the back of the truck, just in case we want to prepare some more stuff while we're traveling!

Each Big Bite Might be Huge in Cup

Word I've heard from the Forrest Wood Cup practice field is that fishing on the Red River has been pretty good, in terms of overall bites and action, but that quality fish are at a premium. Anglers seem to think it's going to be somewhat of a grind, with quite a few similar-looking limits being brought to the scales, and that the angler who can find those few key bites is going to separate himself. It might not even be a true big fish pattern or location, but an isolated school of larger fish that shows up or a couple of hogs that bite at different times, grabbing the same baits that are producing mostly  2-pounders. However they appear, 5-pound fish could be absolute difference-makers in this event.

A few significant challenges I've heard about relate to the weather. The first is that it's hot (air and water alike), which is demanding on the anglers and tends to slow the fish. The second is that current is minimal, which makes fish less active and harder to pattern. The third is that the water is dirty -- much dirtier than normal for this time of year -- which will eliminate some patterns and cause the river to "fish smaller" than it would if the water was clearer. The heat and water color are unlikely to get change substantially between now and Thursday. More current could arrive, depending rainfall.

For what it's worth, I have seen a couple of pictures of very  nice fish (the sort that could make a difference) posted by Cup competitors, so some of those fish are out there and willing to bite. At least they have been willing to bite. We'll see if they still will -- come Thursday.

Unraveling the Red

Practice began this morning. Not long ago, in fact. Lots of questions and only a few days to find the best answers. The Forrest Wood Cup begins Thursday, four days from now. That's when 46 pros will begin the four-day battle on Louisiana's Red River for the title of world champion and the top prize of 1/2 million dollars.

Tournament waters include 150 miles of river, divided into three pools, plus extensive backwaters. Vast and complex, the Red River system is also ever-changing, and widely varying water levels and water colors dictate a great deal about how the fish will behave and where they will position themselves. Water levels also dictate which backwaters can even be reached in a bass boat, and that could change as the week progresses. Because some areas can only be reached by long runs and four trips through locks (round-trip), a lot of strategizing will have to come into play.

The general word I've gathered from anglers who know the Red and from what pros determined pre-practice is that this tournament is unlikely to be won on a single pot-of-gold spot. The fish groups just won't be big enough for one spot to do it for four days. Winner will need multiple areas or a highly repeatable pattern, and he'll probably need a back up pattern or at least be able to adjust his pattern as the tournament progresses -- because some condition almost certainly will change.

Today most pros probably will cover a lot of water, riding and looking at spots, seeing what cover is flooded and accessible in different areas, looking at water color and current strength, possibly in different pools, and making a few casts in a lot of areas, possibly with reaction lures. Other pros have already chosen major areas where they want to focus attention, and they'll spend today trying different techniques and hitting specific types of bank or weedlines in an attempt to narrow things.

Day 1 practice usually is about getting a general sense of things and possibly eliminating some ideas. If a pro finds something he really likes today and can spend the rest of practice looking for back-up stuff, that's a big bonus. I'll be watching for reports of what the pros find in practice and will pass them along here, on Twitter and on my facebook fishing page.

Starting to Steer Toward Red River

Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre doing a little final packing for the Forrest Wood Cup, adding some Terminator spinnerbaits he thinks he might need for the Red River. Photo courtesy of Dave Lefebre.

Practice begins Sunday.

In only four days, 46 of the nation's top pros will begin trying to find the right fish and the proper pattern to win the Forrest Wood Cup. A week later, one of those pros will hoist the world champion's trophy and a check for $500,000.

The competition begins a week from tomorrow (August 15) and lasts four days. The venue is Louisiana's Red River, at Shreveport, Louisiana. Competition waters include three pools, 150 miles of water and an extensive network of backwaters. The weather is supposed to be sizzling hot, with high humidity.  Fishing will be good, most pros agree. The challenge will be finding enough quality fish that are willing to cooperate. Decision making and execution when opportunities do arise are apt to be critical to the outcome.

For now, most competitors are most likely doing final packing or home preparation -- studying maps one more time, double checking essentials like their insurance evidence, and tossing in a few more baits they don't want to be without. A few, no doubt, are already en route, either because of the long distance they live from the Red River or because of other stops they need to make along the way.

Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Oregon lives the farthest from the Cup venue at 1787 miles. Christopher Brasher of Hallsville, Texas lives the closest and is only 47 miles away when he is at home.

Dave Lefebre of Erie, PA said he's starting south tomorrow morning. Lefebre, who will be making his 11th consecutive Forrest Wood Cup appearance, said the only real difference in his packing for the Cup from other tournaments is that he carries far more autograph cards and such than normal because of the huge amount of interaction with bass fishing fans.

Three of the competitors -- Jason Christie, Ish Monroe and Zell Rowland -- had to do all their Cup planning well ahead of times and actually must have their minds on a totally different fishery right now. All three also fish the B.A.S.S. Elite Series, which begins a tournament tomorrow on the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York. Depending on how they fare and whether they make Saturday and Sunday cuts, they'll be traveling from New York to Louisiana some time over the weekend. For now, they need to be thinking about St. Lawrence smallmouths. Next week, they'll think about Red River largemouths.

SEOPA, Specks, Redfish, Crawfish & Boudin

The Outdoor Journalist Education Foundation of America recently announced Nathaniel Samsel, my 15-year-old son, as recipient of the third annual Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award, which provides Nathaniel a scholarship to attend the 2013 Southeastern Outdoor Press Association fall conference. 

What that means in practical terms is that in early October, Nathaniel and I will climb in the truck and point it toward Lake Charles, Louisiana to enjoy some of the nation's best inshore saltwater fishing, tremendous Cajun cooking and four days of fun and learning with a whole bunch of industry friends. The SEOPA conference invariably provides great benefit to me as an outdoor writer, and I can't think of a finer place to gather than Southwest Louisiana.

Nathaniel has been to Louisiana once -- redfishing out of Venice last fall -- and that was more than plenty to make him eager to return. He also has attended the most recent two SEOPA conferences as a student member and knows how much he is able to learn and how much he simply enjoys hanging out with other folks from the industry.

Although Nathaniel only turned 15 a couple of months ago, he has demonstrated great initiative in the outdoors field while traveling with me and helping with photography and videos. He developed a YouTube channel featuring how-to fishing videos last year, and he produces all the videos for that channel. He also maintains an outdoors blog and music website and has published a couple of magazine articles. Through those efforts, he has increasingly been viewed by event hosts as a media attendee.

It's a long drive to Southwest Louisiana, so of course we'll have to do a little fishing while we're there. The plan, as of now, is to spend a couple of days either before or after the conference fishing on Lake Calcasieu, which is considered by many as the best destination on the Louisiana coast for big speckled trout.

Congratulations, Nathaniel, on the well-earned scholarship, and thank you for your work to ensure that we would be able to attend this year's conference.

More Videos Coming Soon

Nathaniel is still busy editing video clips from our recent trip to Louisiana. The second video from the trip, which you can view above, delivers practical advice about fishing locations from Capt. David Iverson, a veteran Venice area guide. The third "Cajun County" video will mesh some fun clips of the sometimes-frantic action I mentioned in a previous blog.

Upcoming videos will include crappie tips from Ronnie Capps and whatever stuff Nathaniel can gather from next week's Georgia fishing adventures at the pond and a couple of different North Georgia trout streams.

Keep an eye our YouTube channel, and we'll do our best to deliver videos that are worth watching.

Jack be Powerful; Jack be Quick

You usually won't spend many days targeting redfish in the fertile waters around Venice, Louisiana without someone in your group hooking into at least one whopper jack crevalle. Many anglers curse jacks, once they figure out what's on the line. I think jacks' brutal battles are seriously fun, and any jack is welcome to wallop my lure any time. Our group landed a few jacks last week. Lawrence Taylor landed his first jack ever, and Capt. Carl Smith landed a 24-pounder while Nathaniel and I were in the boat. Nathaniel captured the whole battle with a GoPro, including some cool "hat-cam" footage while he was netting the fish for Capt. Smith, He edited the whole fight down to a cool little 2 1/2-minute video.

Check it out.

The video is the first of three Nathaniel plans to produce from the Louisiana trip and the first of many for a new YouTube Channel he just set up for us. I usually forget to shoot video on trips (altough I'm going to try to do better), and I've never taken time to learn the editing side of things, so Nathaniel s taking over the video end of things for us and hopefully in time will also be doing some free-lance video work as he begins building his own place in the outdoor communications world.

If you haven't visited Nathaniel Samsel Outdoors lately, be sure to stop by and take a look.

Sometimes Frantic Action

I've heard people joke about not hanging rods out of sides of the boat because the fishing was so good, but today that was played out -- twice. Lawrence Taylor and Capt. David Iverson scored a day-ending double when both of them laid down rods with dangling Bomber Pogies on them and turned to other tasks, only to have redfish attack both baits.
That finale was par for the courses on a day filled with doubles, break-offs, shark appearances and huge schools of redfish. We caught several "eaters" early but never could quite fill our limits because almost all the fish we caught this afternoon were more than 27 inches long and therefore above the slot.
One of many highlights for me was catching the most uniquely marked redfish I've ever seen. Really, though, the whole day was one giant highlight reel.

Why You Come to Louisiana

"That's why you come to Louisiana," David Iverson said with a grin as he, Nathaniel and I all battled redfish. We'd found a big group by a jetty and every time someone would reel up one fish several others would follow. When that would happen, whoever didn't have one on needed only to drop a lure among then to hook up.  We had multiple doubles and triples within a few hours.
Top baits today were a Bomber Mud Minnow Curltail and Super Pogy. I fished mostly with the Pogy and caught fish by working it several different ways. The most productive technique overall was to let the bait fall a few seconds after casting it and then work it back with a series of rod lifts and pauses.
We have one more day remaining, and I suspect we'll start in the  area where we caught most of our fish this afternoon. It'll be interesting to see if the fish are still there and how they act.

Marsh Play

The afternoon plan was to sight-fish in the marsh, but heavy winds and very dark skies said otherwise. Instead we fished blind in areas the reds have been using in recent days, throwing Bomber Mud Minnows under Paradise Poppers. The bite was slow for Louisiana, but we did manage a few, which might end up being part of tonight's dinner. Thank you to Barnie White and contending with mountain boys in the marsh.
Nathaniel caught two redfish, which I believe might have doubled his lifelong catch. Maybe he'll crank that total up a big notch tomorrow! Tomorrow's plan is to start around Southwest Pass, which is expected to be less impacted by wind than areas we worked today.

Redfish Dinner

The main course tonight was baked redfish topped with crab meat. Appetizers included fried shrimp and oysters, followed by a little gumbo. Outstanding!  Now I feel like I'm in Louisiana. 
We'll start tomorrow targeting bull reds and then will sight fish marsh fish after the sun climbs farther up and the tide goes down. I'd better nap awhile I suppose. It hardly seems like today when we left Georgia.

Arrived in Louisiana

Eleven or so hours after leaving Clarkesville we're settled in at Woodland Plantation, about a half hour south of New Orleans, and ready to Hit the marsh first thing tomorrow morning. First, though, we night need to eat a little Cajun food.

Cajun Country

I'm looking forward to an upcoming return to Cajun Country and a quest for jumbo redfish and speckled trout. It has been a couple of years since I've been to the Louisiana coast, which is definitely w-a-y too long. The reds, with their smashing strikes and bulldog tenacity, are the biggest draw, but it would be a mistake the to ignore the fresh, salty small of the marsh, the amazing spreads of spicy seafood delights that end up on Louisiana tables and the undeniable fun of spending time with lively Cajun folks.

From a practical standpoint, I don't do a tremendous number of saltwater trips, and the Louisiana coast is so productive that I always get a bunch of useful story material from trips. October is supposed to be prime time for big reds in the marshes south of New Orleans, and the bite is going strong based on the last word I heard.

I'm also looking forward to trying out some different baits. The guides anticipate the Bomber Who Dat Rattling Spoon and Badonk-A-Donk SS (subsurface) to be major players, and I haven't spent time working either of these baits.

Finally, I'm excited that Nathaniel gets to ride along. He's never been to the Louisiana coast, and it's always fun sharing my favorite places with him. I think he'll really like redfishing because it's a lot like bass fishing except that the fish are way bigger and stronger. He's also going to shoot a few videos for me, and I'm hoping to get some life going on my YouTube channel.

We leave home Saturday morning.