Some wade fishermen more innovative!

We scouted Calcasieu yesterday in hopes that it was in better shape than Sabine Lake.  We fished a stretch of shoreline in West Cove that looked decent and managed to catch 11 keeper trout.  I called  Johnny Cormier who was fishing the north end at that time and  He had caught a few keeper trout, but said the north end looked pretty bad also.

The water we fished was 54 degrees, but we couldn't get bit on a topwater.  We caught every trout and one other fish that I didn't know about on pumpkin-green Assassin eels rigged on 1/8th ounce jig heads.  We were so excited to be catching fish that we didn't try anything else.

About that other fish.  We ate gumbo with Jim's Mom when we got in and she was not surprised at her son's antics, but was still laughing when we left.  I cannot tell off completely on an old friend, but this was too innovative not to share with all wade fishermen.   

You are still Mom's little boy even when you are 60 years old! He has spent a considerable portion of his life in waders both trapping and in the pursuit of ducks and geese, but never fished in them prior to yesterday.  He only started fishing artificials two years ago as he was convinced that nets or live bait made things much easier.  Getting out of the boat to fish made absolutely no sense at all.

We only had one stringer between us and he would wade over, fish in hand, each time he caught a trout.  I saw him splashing around with a fish that I figured somehow eluded his powerful grip, but never gave it a second thought.  Only after we got back in the boat did he confess that a flounder that he had pinned against his chest came off the hook and fell inside his waders.  He uses the David Thibodaux technique for unhooking flounder both in and out of the boat, which leaves you with a very nasty t-shirt at the end of the day.

I asked him how he thought he could release it if it was too small after two hours in his waders and his answer did not surprise me.  "I could tell the minute it hit bottom and quit wiggling that it was a keeper."  This wade fishing thing might not work out with Mr. Jim!

We postponed today and may or may not get in the rest of the week, depending on the wind.  January weather is tough on the guide business.