Fishing Report: Cold Day in NOLA 12/26

I just got back from visiting family in New Orleans for the Christmas holiday. After seeing my grandmother, aunts, and cousins, my dad and I had the added bonus of fishing for redfish with our friend Rich Waldner. I thought that we were doing great by escaping from two feet of snow in Virginia until we hit the bayou at a "cozy" 40 degrees. 40 doesn't sound bad to most people in Va, but let me assure you, when the humidity is up and you are the tallest thing for 10 miles in a 15 mph wind, it's cold out there.

If you can't tell already, I am going to blame the weather for our lack luster day. We fished from 8 until 4 and caught one redfish on a spinner no less. Not only was the temperature an issue, we had zero sunlight which makes sight fishing for reds nearly impossible. I sighted about 25 reds and a few black drum and sheepshead throughout the day, but we could only see them within about 10 feet from the boat. At that range, our looming shadows spooked most of the fish and the few that I could put a fly in front of were just too sluggish to bite.

While I am a little disappointed that we didn't have a better weather day, I still had an awesome time sighting fish with Rich and my dad. I can't think of two better fishing partners (sorry, Cam). We had plenty of catching up to do and we had a great time chasing after fish in very challenging conditions. I am psyched for my next trip to NOLA after seeing all of those reds in the water and not being quite able to hook one on the fly. I've landed nice ones before and hopefully after boards I can get back down to see Rich about some more redfish.

Fish with Rich

Sorry to break it to you, but this post is not exactly the ego trip you are expecting.  Since I'm stuck in the library this week I'm going to blow off steam by telling fish stories.  Here's one about Rich Waldner.  He's the best fishing guide in Southern Louisiana and the reason that I have such a cool fishing hat.

I am lucky enough to know Rich through my father, the two are old friends from their Marine Corps days.  This connection has earned me first-class accommodations in the "trout room" and "bass room" of the late, great "Camp Waldner."  That's the Ruebism for Rich's home built on stilts alongside the levy of the Mississippi River.  As if staying in a treehouse isn't already cool enough, listening to Rich's 95 year old father (Buck) tell stories of fighting railroad bulls and stowing away in freight cars adds that extra element of danger... but then those are tales for another day.

Capt. Rich at the helm during sunset on the marsh

He calls his guide service "Fish with Rich," but in reality it's almost unfair to use the term "fish" since it implies that you might not catch anything.  Aboard Rich's boat, you are basically guaranteed to catch beautiful fish each time you step onto the casting platform.  It's almost like he can smell the redfish, speckled trout, and bass from miles away and then pole you right to them.  Yes, I said pole you.  Rich has this incredible Dolphin Renegade with such a shallow draft that he can silently maneuver it in mere inches of water with a guide pole.  We catch fish on flies Rich invented and still hand-crafts.  Some of his notables are Waldner's Terminator Crab, Waldner's Mardi Gras Mama, and Waldner's Spoon Fly, which has been fooling massive fish by the boatload for years.  Check out the proof on his website.

Fishing for Louisiana reds is a far cry from fishing my home waters, the mountain streams of Virginia.  These reds range from 3 to 30+ pounds and are found in brackish water (where freshwater meets saltwater).  Basically, I am talking about big time fish in big water.  My blogger profile picture shows me with a 10 pound red I caught with Rich back in 2004.  It took a good 10 minutes to tire him out and land him.  Don't get me wrong, I love fishing for brookies at home, but fighting a redfish is something else.

Rich pulls in a nice red at about minute 2:10

So now you know where I got that stylish ball cap inscribed with my (Capt. Waldner's) name and something about my family's connection to him.  Fishing with him is an awesome experience, and I suggest you dial him up if you are ever visiting New Orleans.  By all means you should do yourself a favor and spend a day on the water fishing with Rich.