Delacroix Report – 5/15/2021

It was a beautiful morning in the Delacroix marsh. We started out early to light winds and decided to head out to the edge of the marsh to work a speckled trout hole that has been producing. By the time we got outside, the winds had picked up to 20 knots out of the east. What started out as a comfortable boat ride turned into a bumpy adventure! We made it to the spot to find the water looked like chocolate milk and knew immediately that we would need to rethink the game plan for the day. Moved into redfish mode and started working some drains on the outside edge area. We tossed live shrimp on carolina rigs to start picking away at redfish. The fish were in the 16-19″ class. We did not find a mother load of reds ganged up, but we picked away at them trying a bunch of spots. We ended up back inside in a protected pond with alot of grass. Was hoping the grass would help clear up the water and it was somewhat cleaner. We finally picked up a few trout to go with a black drum before calling at a day. It goes to show that everyday is a new opportunity and you must remain flexible as the conditions change quickly. Looks like rain for the first half of the week, but the rest of week looks good. Good luck out there this week!

Captain Jeff

Wild turkey hunting report – 5/3/2021

We hit it hard for the last weekend of the Louisiana Wild turkey hunting season. I rained a bunch last week and our road system was super soft and sloppy. We got an early start Saturday morning and slid sideways in 4 wheel drive down the road fish tailing back and forth. It was not the super stealth approach we were looking for, but we made it. We pushed deep into the woods down an old logging road that is seldom travelled by humans. We arrived and sat quiet as the day came alive with sounds. We heard several gobbles on the roost, but they were not close. We started out after the closest bird only to hear a gobble back closer to the truck, reverse course and we closed within a couple of hundred yards only to hear the gobbler on the ground headed toward the neighbors property. Plan B – head toward the distant gobbling action. We got close, set up and called. We called in a couple of hens, but the gobbler did not respond. That sometimes means they are on the way in, but not to be. Off to the next gobbler that was still gobbling on his own. Closed in again and set up, but no response. The chess match was on and we walked for miles to move around to the other side of the gobbling. We had to cross a creek and I walked right past a cottonmouth with his mouth wide open. The snake did not strike me, thank goodness, but it definitely changed to tone of the rest of the walk. We don’t think we ever got in front of the gobbler as he quit gobbling and would not answer my calls. Only problem with walking miles in to chase gobblers is now you have to walk miles to get back to the truck! We drove around and hit another area and slipped in quiet to the edge of a big oak bottom adjacent to a green field. We set up and started calling and again called in hens, but no gobbles. The weather forecasted approaching rain and the weather man was right for once. It poured the afternoon, got worse overnight and was still raining with 25 mph winds the next morning. Hate to do it, but we slept in and called it a Louisiana season. Headed to Missouri this week for the last few days of their season. Good luck out there!

Captain Jeff