I love the month of January! The reason? Big Redfish in New Orleans! This is the time of year when I get down to the Big Easy and target big Reds on the fly. I first fished the area in 2003 with my good friend Capt. Gregg Arnold. I had fished with Gregg on and episode of my first TV series “In Search of Fly water back in April of that year.
The following January , Gregg called me one cold night in san Diego and said “ you need to come down to New Orleans as soon as possible , I’ve found an area with giant redfish and I think we can break the world record on the fly IF you can get here in the next couple days”.
After I got off the phone with Gregg I immediately booked a plane ticket for the next morning. By the next afternoon Gregg and I were driving through downtown New Orleans planning our fly fishing attack.
Gregg and I fished hard for 3 days which resulted in 3 of the best days fishing I think I’ve ever experienced. We caught big number of redfish and ion our final day on the water we hooked and released 20 all over 25 pounds with the largest fish of the day being a world record redfish that tipped the scales at 41.65 pounds!!
There is no better place to fish during the winter months then New Orleans La for redfish.
If you go
SEASONS: OCTOBER –FEBRUARY
Rod: 9 ft 9 wt
Reel: any good saltwater fly reels w/ 200 yards of 20 to 30 lb Dacron/Gel spun backing
Flyline: Floating WF Redfish taper flyline. (Make sure these lines are made for cooler waters)
Flies: Hailey’s Comet, Lex’s hip hop crab
CONTACT: Capt. Gregg Arnold ph: 504.237.6742 email: garnold3@cox.net
This episode was awesome brotha. Got my blood pumpin. Always enjoy your show, though I have to admit I feel a bit of a traitor. I work with Curtis Flemming as one of his part time pro staff - FRC has been my favorite fly fishin show for the last 4-5 years. Greatest group of guys to fish with. Relate to you and your show though - grew up in HB, surfing, snowboarding at Bear Mtn (Gold Mine when I started riding), skating and fly fishing in the Sierras. Now livin in CO and fishin carp, bass, trout, pike and salt all over. Enjoy the show man! Keep it up. dazieg@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteConway,
ReplyDeleteLove the show. My son is a huge fan. He is 14 and has been my fishing partner for the last 6 years. I was born and raised in Wisconsin, have been in South Carolina for the last 25. Always been a fly fishermen, before it was vogue. I have seen many come and go. There is one local trip I do a couple times a year on a remote section of the Chattooga River that would make a great show. Not for the faint hearted, I have exhausted every fishing friend I have taken there. Can't get anyone to go and after hearing the stories my wife doesn't let me go it alone anymore, with good reason. Have made the trek and been skunked, but it's the experience and the 111 fish day that keeps me going back. Just food for thought.
Just watched the Pere Marquette episode, we do that trip every year last week of September. What a kick in the pants hey. If someone has never done it they can't even imagine how strong those fish are. I go at it with an 7-9, definitely out gunned. Last year trying to pick off some Brownies managed to land a 15lb Salmon on my 5 on 5x, made my week. Keep it up brother your show is what fills in those days I'm stuck on dry land.
Fish on,
Steve
eastcoasthomes@hotmail.com