November, the month that everyone floods the shallow marshes in search of giant bull reds! November started off strong. Good fish to the boat, everything was normal, and then something happened. We got a few big storms, a couple cold fronts, and it was like the red fish vanished. We began this roller coaster ride of ups and downs with the big fish sightings. Every captain was getting off the water, making phone calls, asking, “sooo how was your day”! That chatter usually has a very straightforward answer, "it was awesome". But this November was a grind. Fish were not being spotted in good numbers in there normal zones. They were here, over there, then nowhere it seemed. The first cold fronts are usually our friend, but not this season.
As a guide, essentially your livelihood depends on success on the water with guests. This can mean some incredibly long nights, wondering what is going on, what can I do better, what can I do different to get my guests on the fish of a lifetime that Louisiana is known for.
AWA took the opportunity to explored new areas of coastline. Pin new hot spots on the map. we found new sandwich shops to make lunch in the early AM roll outs. All for the sake of searching for giants! A whole new set of logistics was born and added to the All Water Angler’s program. What we saw in November only made us better for the future. It was humbling. It was nerve racking. It was stress full. It was good in the end. The fact that red fishing in Louisiana has this preconceived notion that the fish are easy is becoming ever more not the case. If you have bone fished, or tarpon fished, you still haven’t red fished, remember that. They like it a certain way down here, and will make all of us, no matter what end of the boat your on, earn it. Fish hard, stay humble, and cast accurately the first time! As always, enjoy some of the bigs and smalls we brought boat side.
