SEPTEMBER 2001

September 2, 2001- Today I had Mr. Jerry Favre of LOng Beach, Ms. onboard with his group
from Mississippi. Rick Foley, owner of Turan/Foley auto dealership in Gulfort, Ms., Dean Graham
of Gulport, Ms, and Jerry Levens one of Jerry Favres partners of Long Beach, Ms. They were
looking for a repeat performance of a trip that Jerry had with me 3 weeks ago when his group nailed
73 huge specks all 2-5#. Well as it went, the winds were out of the W/SW at 15-20 knots with seas
2-3' and building, and the trout fishing went bad soon after 7 big mules were in the box. The seas and
the conditions went from bad to worse, and the trout went lock jaw. These trout were all 20-22" and
were slamming presentations of live shrimp 2' under floats in 2.5' of water over an oyster reef out in
Black Bay. We left this area to find some protection behind some islands hoping we would find a
feeding school of trout. This effort only produced a few trout and a lot of bottom feeders like
croaker, black drum, and ground mullet. After a couple of other futile attemps to get on trout, we
turned our direction to the marsh to fish for reds. This proved to be the ticket as we found some bulls
in the 10-12# class ripping our drags and doubling our rods over for a hootin' and hollerin' good time.
These redfish sure saved the day as only a couple of fish were put in the box after our early catch on
the 7 big trout. Also a good number of keeper drum up to 4# found their way into the chest. One of
Ricks' hook-up on a big redfish found his way to the prop causing the line to snap. We watched as
the float surfaced and hung near the shoreline just a short distance away. When we decided to go
after, and possibly capture the escaped redfish, I threw a jighead out and snagged the leader just
under the float and the redfish started a run and the drag was screaming once again. We had thought
for sure that we would be able to get the fish onboard, but apparently the fish had really weakened
the leader by rubbing on shells while he was still an escapee, and broke the leader right at the hook
when we had him right close and ready to net him. Well it was fun anyway. Not all trips can be great
trips, especially when the wind and conditions are not favorable. The main thing is that everyone
onboard has a good time, and I do believe that this was accomplished. We ended the trip with a
good mess of specks, redfish, and black drum. My camera seems to be malfunctioning, as a couple
of our better shots of the big reds did not download. I returned the camera and got a new one.

AUGUST 2001

AUGUST 31, 2001- BIG EASY TRIP-Today I guided a trip for 2 guys in the MRGO (Ship
Channel). Jerry Lee, President of J.W.Lee & Associates in Metarie, La. and Steve Hudson,
President of Allpax Products in Covington, La. were in for a real treat as I took them to some old
favorite spots of mine I used to fish when I used to work in the area. We armed the bait well with a
few croakers and some live shrimp and off we went. First stop we rigged live bait under slip floats
and set the depth at 14' and the corks started a dissapearing act. The first trout on board was a 4#+
speckled trout that was 23" long. We continued to fish in this fashion and some real hefty specks
were soon makin' some pretty good racket in the ice chest. What great fun it is to catch these
monster fish within a stones throw distance from the New Orleans skyline, and best of all within site
of the ocean container yard I used to work in. A short while later I opted to let these to guys stay on
the live bait, and I started titelining some salt water assassins on a 1/4 oz. jighead, and by tossing
up-current and letting the bait settle deep to the bottom before starting to retrieve, the real big Girls
started finding there way into our landing net. Some of these trout were in the 26" class and pushing
up towards the 6# class as they were bloated with eggs and ready to spew at any time.(Check out
photos) We took 8 of the biggest fish and put them on a stringer to shoot pix and the 8 specks
weighed over 39#. we ended our trip early and they had a great time catching over 40 gorgeous
specks 16-26". But I must say that the artificial baits were putting the bigger fish in the boat, and it
sure didn't take long for Jerry and Steve to get in on that. Presentation is everything here. With the
currents running real strong, your live baits under floats and other presentations would swiftly pass by
the strike zone. You must adjust accordingly such as trying carolina rigs with 1/2 oz. weights or
better when the current is strong, and use slip corks when it is not so strong. By the way Steve, I am
so sorry the pics we took of you did not come out good as the lens was still fogged. I guess we will
have to do it again reel soon.

August 25, 2001- Today I had 2 boats working for a great group of folks from Mississippi.
Onboard with me were Jay Gemes from Hattiesburg, Dave, Teresa, Morgan, and Emily
Herminghuysen from New Augusta. Capt. Dave had David and Jacob Weiss of Hattiesburg, and
Danny Sephton of Brandon on his boat. This day was a little breezy and gave us a bit of a bumpy
ride out to Black Bay. Upon our arrival at a rig that I fished yesterday, the trout slam commenced
immediately. Young, 9 year old Morgan had the hot hand today. She was really puttin' some serious
hurt on some real pretty speckled trout. All on board were having a great time hooking up with trout,
sheepshead, and other mixed fish. After putting 30 good 14-19" specks in the box, the bite came to
a screeching halt. After repositioining the boat a couple of times around the rig, and a few more real
good specks coming onboard, we decided to relocate to the California Bay area. This proved to be
a good move as we dodged a serious downpour, and found another good school of specks. The
action here was real fast and soon everyone onboard were on some real nice specks. We boxed
another 45 specks here, with only a couple of undersized fish that were returned to fight another day.
I really enjoy my job, especially when you have kids on board that are having a great time hooking
up with some hard fighting fat speckled trout bending their rods. The look on their faces is priceless
knowing that they are having such great memories stored. With the threat of more bad weather
approaching, we left them biting and headed in with a total of 75 fat specks 12-19", and 4
sheepshead in the 5# class. A great day on the water with a group of real nice folks.

August 24,2001- Today, Matt Glatt, his boss Jim and a co-worker Tim of Covington, La. were
onboard for a repeat performance of a trip they had with me back in June, when we put a serious
slammarama on sow trout. The trip started off real positive with 12 beautiful 18-21" specks coming
quickly on our presentations of live shrimp rigged 2' under floats over an oyster reef that I have been
doing well at lately. This bite would be short lived, and after a couple of other stops in the area with
little success, we hooked it up and made a long run to the south Black Bay area. Our first stop at a
rig that I did well at on my last trip out, produced no strikes, but the next stop we made proved to be
the right one. Immediately, our floats were dissappearing and some pretty hefty speckled trout were
finding their way into the ice-chest. The slammarama was on once again. We stayed on this bite for a
while, then opted to head back to the marsh to try and hook up with some bronze beauties. Our
effort did pay off with 3 hefty redfish in the 5-8# class along with other mixed fish such as black
drum, and sheepshead. We ended the day with 83 specks 12-21", 3 reds, and mixed fish. A nice
day on the water with some real nice guys. Matt has chartered with me for over a dozen trips now in
the 20 mos. that I have been a guide, and as usual, lots of fun and cutting up on board with Matt and
his group.

August 18,2001- Today I had the pleasure of having 2 experienced anglers onboard. Tom & Teresa
Baum of Pascagoula, Ms. had a ball with me fishing in some pretty tough conditions. A 18-20 knot
W/NW breeze would hamper our effort for most of the morning churning up the bay and capping
seas to keep us in protected waters. After locating some fish we commenced a slam on 53 specks
12-22" and other mixed fish including redfish ladyfish and drum. Not a bad days catch considering
the conditions.

August 10 & 11 Delacroix Island, La. Report- This report is from Friday and Saturday. On Friday
I had my wife Jane out for our 10th anniversary. Jane really loves to fish, but doesn't have the time to
fish as much as she would like to. We started our Day at 7:00 out in B/Bay, and fished 4 wells until
9:30 and the trip yielded 37 real nice specks all 18-24". We really could have caught a limit but the
call of redfish pulled us away from the Bay. We fished for reds for about 30 minutes and wound up
with only 4 but one of those went over 30# (check out photos) On Saturday I had Jerry Farve from
Long Beach, Ms. and his group "The Angling Apostles"out for the day. John Hemphill from
Suwanee, Ga., Matthew McIntyre from Woodstock, Ga., and Paul Sabella from Marietta, Ga.
joined in for an action packed adventure out in Black Bay. We got a late start today but upon our
arrival in my area, Matthew hooked up with a real bad bronze beauty of a redfish that wound up
almost spooling the reel. The 25# leader snapped as the beast dragged it along the shell bottom.
Right after that the monster trout slammarama began. They all commenced to loading the boat with
huge trout, all 17-24", with most of the fish over 20". Then Matthew hooked up with another
monster red that spooled a good bit of line but managed to spit the hook. After 2 hours, and a squall
line forming to the west we were forced out of open water, and opted for the protection of the marsh
where we were to fish for reds and trout. But the wind gusting over 20 knots and heavy wide spread
rains, this would only produce a few more fish. These guys where a hoot to fish with, they were
cutting up all morning and all had a great time landing 73 sow trout, flounder and redfish. (Check out
photos) To get in on the great action catching sow trout and bull reds out of Delacroix Island, give
me a call Capt. Billy Bucano at 504.908.4874 YOU WILL BE GLAD
YOU DID!!

JULY 2001

July29 & 30 2001- On Sunday I had a real fun group out in some tough conditions. Janet Trapani-
Hitt, her buddy Annie, and John and Deana Rosetti from Bay St Louis, Ms., were on board. Using
live shrimp 4-6'under floats we managed a decent catch of 35 specks 13-21" and 5 redfish up to 5#.
Not a bad day for the 18-20 knot west wind and stained water conditions. On Monday I had Little
Ray of Little Rays' Restaurant fame along with his buddies Frank, his wife Suzie and their son Jimmy
from Pennsylvania on board to see if the conditions would make for a better day. It proved to be a
windless day and hot as ****!!! The water conditions were not real good but improved as the day
went on. The specks that we were catching were all quality fish but the bit would never stay
consistant. We would catch anywhere from 3-10 fish per well that we visited but the bite would not
get real hot. We worked hard for 45 specks 17-22" and called it quits at noon.

July 21, 2001- On Friday, I had Don Brown, son Kevin ,& Ricky Poyner all from Malverne, Ar.
down for a repeat trip. They had come down last July and we got into a mess of sow trout. This time
the sow trout bite had been way off, so we loaded up the well with live shrimp and went out for
smaller but tastier school specks. Boy we sure had a ball catching our limit of 125 sweet speckled
trout. Kevin and Ricky both got on a great pull on huge Jack Crevelle. Kevins fish took 20 minutes
to land and weighed over 30#, while Rickys' came in a bit sooner and weighed in at around 20#.
What a great day on the water with great action, and great guys. They really made my job easy, as
all of them Don, Kevin, and Ricky were all very good anglers and quite a pleasure to have on my
boat. They left with big smiles, sore forearms, and promises to return next year.

July 20, 2001- On Saturday Pete Barhonovich and his group Drs.Dwight Brower and Bill Weldon
were onboard for a repeat performance they had witth me last year. We were not as fortunate on
this day as we were on the last 2 previous trips. A freak Back-door front had come through the area
and put a hard 20 knot N/NW wind on us to make for a real tough trip. Dr. Brower had the big fish
of this trip landing and releasing a 30#+ bull red. The rest of the day consisted of hard work for a
total of 20 speckled trout up to 3#, 7 redfish up to 30#, 8 flounder, and other mixed fish for the
table. Sometimes nature deals you some tough cards and you just have to make the best of the
situation.

July 13, 2001- I had John Mills and 6 of his clients out for a tough day fishing with real tough
conditions. Neap Tide, dirty water and storms all around the area, I tried to get them to reschedule,
but they really wanted to go fishing. We worked real hard for our fish, and managed a total of 48
specks 12-20", 19 redfish 3-8#, and a real good mess of mixed fish. When the conditions improve,
the awesome action for speckled trout and redfish will resume.

July 5, 2001- Today I fished with 2 great guys in Ryan Pruitt and his buddy Glen both of Baton
Rouge, La. We had a great day catching 65 speckled trout 13-24" and 2 redsfish and a flounder.
We would have surely have taken our 3 man limit, but the weather was building and we had to make
wake. We left the trout and reds biting in order to beat the storm.

JUNE 2001

June 27, 2001- What a difference a day makes!!! On Wednesday I had the pleasure of fishing with
a great husband & wife team in Norman and Diane Norton of Story, Arkansas. After a slow start in
the marsh for reds boxing only 2-@ 18-21", with winds calm all over the area we headed out to the
bays in search of trout. Trout we did find. They showed off their talents boating and boxing nearly
100 trout. 69 specks 12-17" 25 white trout 12-14", and 5 redfish totaled for the day. We had to
quit at 11:00 due to some nasty weather including water spouts high winds and lightning. Fortunately
we made it back to the dock dry.

June 26, 2001- On Tuesday, I had Angel and Jeff Mcgee along with their friends Sandrs and James
from Eunice, La. We had a pretty good start on some real nice sow specks, but were soon blown
out of the area due to some stiff breezes and stained water. Most of the fish we found under birds
inside of protection were juvenille, with a few keepers mixed in. The inside fishing for flounder and
reds was also pretty slow in action. Just a couple of days ago we were slamming flounder and reds
off of this point, and today we did not even get a strike, After a lot of work covering lots of area and
fishing a lot of fish producing spots, we ended out trip with 29 specks,12-22", 2 reds 17-19", and
other mixed fish totaling 40 fish for the day. The fishing was a little slow, but a great time was had by
all.

June 24, 2001- On Sunday I had the pleasure of fishing with 3 great guys from Tennessee. Greg
Parrish, and his buds Dave and Larry fished real hard on a windy day landing 16 huge sow trout 21-
25 inches (Check out pictures) before we were blown out of the bay with 2-3' capping seas. We left
the bay to find some birds feeding behind some protection but they were not to be found. We
crossed the Bay to search the East and N/E quadrants to find them but this proved to be a no pay.
The only thing left to do was to fish the marsh for flounder and reds. After a couple of disappointing
stops, we hit good pay. We discovered a nest of real nice flounder at a point in Grand Pointe Bay
where the tide was really ripping, and with their presentations of live bait under floats in the eddy of
the point, they started a flounder slam. Dave had put 3 nice flounder in the boat (check out pictures)
on 3 consecutive casts, with one weighing in at 4.3 pounds. There was lots of action at this spot and
lots of break-offs on huge doormats. They did manage to box seven flounder, and six redfish, when
all of a sudden Daves' drag started screaming and his rod was doubled over. We all thought it was a
bull red. We picked up anchor as Daves' fish nearly spooled his 10 pound test line. After a 25 minute
battle we boated the behemoth fish that turned out to be a 22 pound Jack Crevelle. We boarded the
fish, took some quick pics and returned the beast to the water. This day was quite a challenge to put
trout in the boat due to the high winds, but these guys turned out to all be great anglers and hung in
there to put some real quality fish in the boat. Total for the Day was 16 huge sow trout 21-25inches,
7 reds 18-19", 7 flounder 1-4.4 pounds, and the 22 pound Jack that ended the trip. Give me a call
to get in on the action for huge sow trout redfish and flounder. YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!
504 908-4874 Great on-site accommodations are available. TITELINES!!!

June 21, 2001- Today I had Jeff Tyler and his 2 sons Jordan and Dalton on board. These guys
came from Cross Lanes, WV to get in on the action. We left the dock armed with only a few live
croaker to test the sow trout bite that has been non-exsistant for the past 3 weeks due to high west
winds, and then Tropical storm Allison dumping huge amounts of rain water into the Black Bay
system, and we also had live shrimp. We boated some real nice sow trout immediately on the free-
lined live croaker presentations, but shortly after we had run out of the croaker. The Big trout would
have nothing to do with live shrimp. The trout that Jeff Jordan and Dalton caught on the croaker were
all in the 3-5# class. After the croaker were all gone we headed to Bay Gardene and commenced a
school trout slam boating all of the fish that Jeff wanted to take back to WV. We continued catching
and releasing trout until thet had enough and headed back to the dock to beat the heat. My next trip
is in a couple of days, and I can assure you that since the sow trout bite is back on, there will be
plenty of live croaker in the bait well.

June 6,7,8, 2001- I had Tilman Self from Byron, Ga. and his group, Tony Jeff, and Alan down to
fish with me for three days. We were all unaware of the storm that had developed so quickly and
moved all of the bad weather into Texas, and La. They were informed on Wed. a.m. of the system
but still wanted to chance the trip. It surely didn’t look too good to be able to fish for Thur. Fri. &
Sat….. Thursday morning we got started in the marsh with 15-20 knot sse winds and gusting. By
mid-morning and winds steady at 20 and gusting to 27 conditions really got tough, I was able to get
these guys on fish. Total for my boat on thurs. was 10 redfish 18-21” and four nice trout 14-16”
along with lots of mixed fish. On Friday, conditions were much better. We started out a bit earlier
and did a serious redfish slam 12 minutes from the dock on our first stop. In 50 minutes we had our
limit of 20 very nice redfish 19-25” and 1 WELCOME MAT FLOUNDER (see pictures). It was a
real treat watching the redfish, as they were in a frenzy chasing and blowing mullet out of the water.
Tilman and Tony really enjoyed the GOOD PULL on these feisty redfish on light tackle. At 7:30 with
winds still down, we started working our way to the perimeter of the marsh were we discovered
flocks of gulls feeding over schools of speckled trout. We immediately rigged up with tandem rigs
and started putting specks in the boat 2 at a time with lots of double and triple hook-ups. No
monster fish here, but the action was great, and in short order we had over 70-12-16” specks
flopping on the floor of the boat. There were 3 other great things on this day and that was we had the
whole bay to ourselves, overcast and cool, and once again….NO RAIN! Total for the day was 20
reds 19-25”, 74 trout, and 1- 4# flounder. What a day we all had, catching good fish and lots of
action all morning. Early Sat. a storm had passed over the Island, and kicked the winds up to 25 and
gusting to 30, so we all decided not to stretch our luck any further, and cancelled any fishing on this
day. All of these guys were excellent anglers and they all had a great time staying at the camp. They
enjoyed the meals that were prepared for them and said they will be back for more in the fall. Give
me a call to book your trip for light tackle action on reds and specks in the beautiful Delacroix Island
Area. YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!! Capt. Billy Bucano 504.908.4874. Great on-site,
full service accommodations are available. TITELINES!!!

June 3, 2001- Chris Scaffert from Carlstadt, NJ, had fished with me last summer and came down
again to get in on the sow trout bite they experienced last year. He brought along his 12 year old son
Kevin, and his Brother-in-law Joe, also from Jersey. The not so favorable conditions that I have
been fishing the last 5 days were still around, and when they arrived at my dock, I told them that the
sow trout bite was off for now and we would be fishing in the same manner as the previous trips.
They hauled in 55 speckled trout mixed with white trout before the seas would build up to high. Once
the southwest wind picked up to 20 knots, it knocked the birds and the trout bite out of the picture.
It was a bit later when we arrived in the marsh and started fishing for reds. By this time the S/W
breeze had gone to 18-22 knots and gusting to 25. This made even fishing in protected water very
difficult. They did manage a few small redfish at first, and continued working hard to put fish in the
boat. Chris had mentioned to me that he had never caught a redfish before, so I was determined to
find a better bite. After some time we managed to find an area where young Kevin hooked up with
a nice 18" red, and papa Chris hooked up with one in the same class. Total for the boys north of the
Mason-Dixon Line was 55 12-16" and 4 reds 17-18". I was proud of the way these hard-working
anglers persisted in such tough conditions and stayed focused. Their efforts paid off in pretty good
fashion considering the elements.

June 1,2, 2001- Kevin Raby, of Alphareta, Ga., his brother Butch Raby of Picayune, Ms., and his
boss John from Atlanta, Ga., were fishing with me for a 2 day hitch. Day one started out with that
pesky west wind and blowing 15-18knots and gusting. The order for the day was to seek out birds
on the perimeter of the bay and attempt to take advantage of a fast trout slam as a neap tide was up
on us. We picked and pecked at small bird flocks and managed an average of 6-7 trout 12-15" at
each flock. The birds and the small schools of trout under would scatter quickly and we would have
to run and hit other small flocks quickly in the building seas to put fish in the boat. These guys worked
very hard to put 38 keeper fish in the boat. There were a lot more juvenile fish around the birds on
this day as strong storms passed over the area the night before staining the water and keeping the
better fish from feeding. This west wind is really putting a hampering on the sow trout bite and
structure fishing out in the bay for good keeper fish has been way off with the conditions of late. After
diverting our attention to the marsh with winds increasing, we managed to find a little action on top-
water baits. After suggesting to John to throw a Top Pup, he experienced a great blow up and hook
set on a nice trout. After carefully negotiating the fish to the net, he landed a nice 20" speck. Soon
everyone was on this presentation, but only a couple of more nice specks were landed. They were
getting some good looks and blow ups but no more trout were taken. We went back to the area
where these blow ups were taking place and threw live baits at them but only one small trout would
be the sum. Then on to the honey hole that we fished yesterday. This move proved to be the ticket to
some pretty good action for a good take on 2 very nice doormat flounder that John took tight-lining a
jig rigged with a salt water assassin, 19 reds, and mixed fish. Day 2 would be much more productive
fishing the birds with tandem rigged soft plastics. All of the guys, Kevin, Butch and John were
hooking up with much nicer trout up to 16" catching two fish at a time, with all three guys hauling in
fish at the same time. We worked hard once again for the fish under the birds fighting 2' seas and
capping. The fish were nicer so we stayed on this plan of action boating 70 trout 12-16" with much
fewer throwbacks. We also ran into a small school of some real nice black drum while anchored.
These brutes were running in the 8# class and really put on a great pull on light tackle. Some more
nice specks were also taken while fishing in this fashion. Once this bite would slow, we went back to
the honey hole for more of the great action we had there the last 2 days on redfish, however the bite
just wouldn't materialize as only 1-18" red came aboard. By this time we had timed out on the trip
and headed in. They went home with a real nice mess of trout filets and redfish on the 1/2 shell. I
gave them some great recipes for grilling the redfish on the 1/2 shell, which, by the way, was an
appetizer for the crawfish in cream sauce served over angel hair pasta that I had prepared for them
on Friday night. We enjoyed the fantastic dinner while watching the LSU/Tulane game as they battled
for the trip to the College World Series. Great company, great food, and a great time was had by all,
and Kevin John, and butch left with firm handshakes and promises to return. Look for the great
action on sow trout when conditions improve and we settle into our summer pattern and when south
and southeast winds return.

MAY 2001

May 31, 2001- Jimmy Creekmore along with his wife Miriam from Jackson, Ms., along with their
pals William and his wife Diana from Yazoo City, Ms. were on board today. We got a real late start
today as they were coming in from a nights stay in the BIG EASY taking in some night life and fine
dining. First lines hit the water at 9:30 a.m. in a pretty good chop while fishing a flock of birds we
discovered. They put a good number of trout in the box, but as seas were building we had to bail out
of the open water and seek out our fish inside of protection. I tried an old honey hole of mine in the
marsh and it really paid off after a couple of dry runs in other areas. This little spot produced a lot of
good action on some real nice specks 15-18" and a good bit of redfish action also. Miriam and
Diana were keeping up with the guys all day even after a crash course in spinning reel casting 101.
They had a great time in the marsh in calm protected waters totaling 42 speckled trout 13-18", 19
redfish 3-5#, flounder, sheepshead and drum in a little over 4 hours of fishing time.

May 30, 2001- Wendel and Charlotte Walker, very good clients of mine, came back for another
trip and brought their pals Lenny from Slidell, La., and Mark and his wife Loriana from Bogalusa, La.
We sure had a boatload of folks, fun , and food, as they put some pretty good hurt on the speckled
trout. Westerly winds were still the thorn in our sides, but they kept plugging boating and boxing 68
specks 13-19", 14 redfish, and a mess of mixed fish including flounder, black drum, and sheepshead.

May 29, 2001- Today I fished with the father and son team of Jimmy and Brad Myers of Prentiss,
Ms. Both of these guys were accomplished bass fishermen, but had ever been on a speckled trout
before. We set out early that morning to change that. Westerly winds 12-18 knots had started to
blow as a weather front had put a big change on our prevailing SE breezes. We started out
knowing that the structure bite out in the Bay was off and directed our attention to the perimeter of
the marsh where we started out tossing live shrimp under floats. Bait was working hard and the trout
and reds were chasing it and blowing it up all over the area. From first cast to last, trout and reds
were bending their rods and when those reds would hit it would be a drag screaming event. On a
three stop shop they ended up with 40 nice specks 13-19" and their limit (15)of drag screaming reds
3-10#. Not a bad day for the conditions.

May 26,2001- Today I fished with Donnie Newman of Hammond, La. and his to clients Doug and
Billy of Gulport, Ms. We had a fine day catching 84 specks 13-22" 6 redfish 3-8# 4 black drum 4-
5# and other mixed fish. The action was fast and furious at time with triple hook-ups on real nice
specks fishing live shrimp under floats. We fished the marsh for the reds and drum. A great day with
some great company and Donnie, Bill, and Doug all left with firm handshakes and promises to return
real soon. These guys were great fisherman and made my job easy today.

May 23, 2001- Today I fished with Joe Hutzler and David Cabiran of New Orleans. We had a
fairly decent day considering the 12-22knt s/w wind and stained water conditions. We started off
with a bang landing a 24" speck that was just over 5# and 6 more almost as large. When the wind
picked up shortly after daybreak the bite went downhill. With only 7 big sow trout in the box we
went iside of the marsh perimeter where we salvaged the rest of the day catching 43 more specks in
the 12-15" class. Water conditions are a big factor in getting on a good sow trout bite. Right now the
winds are westerly and it is putting lots of river water in the area. When conditions improve after
these late fronts are done, look for the slammaramma action on the big girls to rekindle.

May 17, 2001- On Thursday I fished with Don and Ruth White of Pierre Part, La. It was a bit
slower for me than it has been in the recent past but we still caught some monster trout. With little
water movement and a stiff S/W, they boxed 28 specks averaging 20-23”and up to 24.5”, using free
-lined croaker, and 1- 8# red on a spoon. It takes a bit of getting used to a “croaker bite” as quite a
few monster fish did break off due to line fray while working their baits over oyster beds. When tide
is real slack and wind is up, it takes a bit of practice to keep those hard swimming baits from getting
down into the clusters of shell. It wasn’t too long before Ruth and Don were getting the hang of it.
Most of my customers love this kind of “bite”, and will take the quality of fish over the quantity, and
I couldn’t agree more. Don and Ruth said they will be back for more of that croaker bite.

May 16, 2001- I had a great couple of hard fishin’ guys out for the challenge. With less that a tenth
of tidal range and a stiff SSW breeze, the Bay would only produce 7 huge trout for Tom Powell, and
Kevin Mc Kenzie of Mc Kenzie Taxidermy Supply. It was as equally tough on Friday as it was on
Thursday with lots of wind and no tide. But they sure had a great time catching 13 specks up to
23.5”, 4 doormat flounder, and 2 redfish. These guys really hung in there and worked hard for their
fish. Tom, being an avid bass fisherman, also absolutely loved that croaker bite. It sure is a challenge
to get those big 4-6# trout hooked and landed over those oysters. They also left with big smiles and
promises to return. Look for the productivity to once again soar as breezes die a bit and tides return.
On last Sat, Sun, and Tues. My clients have boxed 201 specks averaging 21-22” with over 12 trout
going 5# or better, and many in the 4# class. Give me a call, as I do have a few days left in May and
June, but they are going fast. Great on-site accommodations are available for my clients as well as
non-chartering groups. TITELINES!!!

May 14, 2001- Today I fished with Matt Glatt, and his co-worker Brian, who treated their boss Jim
to a great trip for his birthday. We hooped and hollered alll morning long boating and boxing 70 huge
sow trout. We were back at the dock ay 1:00 and they went home with over 80# of sweet meat
filets. All fish were caught out in the bay freelining croakers. Lots of fun, busted lines and bent rods
made for a very enjoyable trip.

May 13, 2001- On Saturday I fished with Jed Schwing and his group, Leslie, Brandon and
Brandon. These guys put some serious hurt on Monster Specks and reds free-lining live croaker. All
of these guys caught their carreer specks, and Leslie Luquette caught his career bull redfish that
tipped the digital scale at 35.0#. Total for the trip was 68 specks averaging 21-22" and 3 redfish.
We did take pictures and then released Leslies' behemoth red.

May 12, 2001- I had Gerald and Stephanie Molz on board, and their guests Marcus and Stephanie
visiting from Germany. We sure had a Mother of a day putting some serious hurt on huge specks.
We totaled 48 specks averaging 20-22". Look for pics on www.rodnreel.com/Pictures as I delete
them from archived file.

May 6, 2001- I fished with Dr. Sid Smith of Gulfport, along with his buddies Bob, And BobII. We
fished the area in the marsh 12 minutes from the dock and had a great day catching some real pretty
fat speckled trout. We fished with SWAS titelined and under Cajun Thunder floats for our results of
42 trout 13-20" and 4 reds 17-24" with no tidal movement. The good doctor did not want to fish
croaker, just artificial.

May 5, 2001- I had a trip with Bill Roberts of Bayou Lures. We made it out to Black Bay at
4:45p.m. to discover birds feeding on the perimeter. Bill just couldn't pass up this action. Even though
the fish are usually smaller under birds, there are exceptions and sometimes you can really nail some
pretty hefty fish under them. While using 1/2 oz. jigheads and letting the baits sink down, we did not
massacre the fish but in a 1/2 hours time we managed 20 trout 13-16". I said enough of this, we have
live croaker in our bait well, let's put them to use. 10 minutes later we were at my sow trout honey
hole and on the first cast to the last, we were on some real nice trout. The Big Girls were out of the
house. We were only catching male trout but they were nice sized running 18-20". We moved to
another section of the rig were we found a better sized fish with some sows(23-24") mixed in, along
with some bull red action. We broke off on quite a few of these, but did manage to boat 2 of the
bronze brutes in the 10# class. By twilight we had our limit of trout with 25 croakers still in the well,
and the big trout still hitting like freight trains. We were planning to stay and fish the night as well, but
already having a 120 qt. chest topped off and our limit, we opted for the dock. Night trips are always
an option to get out to the Bay and fish, especially in the dog days of summer to beat the heat. Give
me a call to get in on the fantastic action for monster trout and bull reds out in the Bay, or great action
for smaller trout, reds, flounder, and bass, close to the dock in the Beautiful Delacroix Island Marsh.
Call 504-908-4874 YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!! Great onsite
accommodations are available across the street from my slip, with a completely furnished commercial
kitchen at your disposal. TITELINES!!!

May 4, 2001- On Friday I had the pleasure of fishing with Dr. Myron Madden of Slidell, La., along
with his buddies O.C. of Georgia, and Raymond of New York. It was a bit breezy to get out in the
Bay today so we aimed to my little hot-spot in the marsh. The fish here are not all quite as big as the
monsters we have been catching out in the Bay, but they are fat and fiesty and are running in the 15-
22" range. We fished from 7:00 to 11:30 and after our offerings of freelined croaker, they managed
to put 30 specks 15-19", 3 reds 19-22", and a 3 pound flounder and a huge 5# sailcat in the box.
Not too bad considering the easterly winds cranking at 18-22 knots and gusting. TITELINES!!!

May 1, 2001- On Tuesday 5/1/01 Bill Roberts of Bayou Lures repeated a trip with me to get back
out to Black Bay and get back on the monster trout slam we had back on last Friday. It was a bit too
windy, so we turned our efforts to the marsh where we had a great trip catching 30 specks 15-22"
and a 4# doormat flounder. We caught all of our fish freelining live croaker in the marsh. I will be
fishing a charter this friday and will post my report afterwards.

APRIL 2001

April 28, 2001- On Saturday I fished with Ryan Pruitt and his buddy Jay from Baton Rouge, La.
Working top-water baits almost all day, we found a lot of action on 12-15" speckledtrout in the
marsh. After covering other areas in the marsh we found other spots with equaly good action on
specks as well as redfish. Boy! There is no mistaking a blow up on a top-water bait from a redfish.
Especially the 2 brutes that crashed Ryans' top-water bait. These reds were in the 8-10# class, and
on light tackle, you couldn't get a better fight. After a short visit out to Black Bay, and only one
beautiful 22" speck to show. we returned to the marsh and get back on the action we had left. Well
the action resumed with a vengance. The specks were crashing the baits and were out of the water
on a lot of the hits. We called the trip just after 1:00p.m. and totaled 35 speckled trout 12-22" and 2
nice reds for the grill.

April 10, 2001- I fished with Matthew Glatt and his buddy Marty from Mandeville. I have been on a
pretty good trout bite lately just 10 minutes from the dock in an area south of the Garique. After
arriving at the hot-spot, we immediately commenced loading the boat with some pretty hefty trout.
Marty had commented that he had never caught a redfish. Well we were just going to have to do
something about that. "Lo and Behold", his rod was bent over and his drag was screaming. Marty
had just hooked and landed a real pretty 5#redfish. After a few high fives, it was back on to the trout
slam. From 7:00a.m. to 10:00 we had boated and boxed 59 speckled trout 13-20", 2 doormat
flounder, 2 redfish 5-6#, and 1 bass, all fish were caught while anchored and throwing various baits
under floats, titelined, and even some doubles on tandem rigged plastics. Lots of double and even a
couple of triple hook-ups made for a real action packed trip. Some nice trout were taken on
topwaters as well, while anchored. By 10:00 and water movement being non-existant, we went on a
search for some water movement and another bite. After 90 minutes and only a few small trout to
show for that second effort, we opted to hit the dock. What a great day on the water! I didn't even
log 1 hour on my outboard, and probably only burned 7-8 gallons of fuel.

April 7, 2001- Tom Adams, son Tommy, and wife Joanne, from Shreveport, La. read my report
from Thursday, called on Friday to take them fishing today. I told them it would be windy and no tide
but I told them I would probably be able to put them on some fish. We launched at sunrise and I
took them to the area that I have been having success with as of late. We discovered badly stained
water, and no tidal movement as expected. Knowing our work was cut out for us we put three red
fish 17-22" and 6 specks 13-15" in the box after 60 minutes of hard work. Soon after this, the plan
of action was to go east toward Lake John and find better water as well as a better bite. After quite
some time drifting some winding bayous, and producing a few more keeper trout, our bayou drift
opened up into a lagoon with some real pretty grass and lots of bait.(finger mullet, and glass
minnows). Tommys' presentation of a Top Pup, started getting huge blow ups, and the next thing you
know all of us switched over to the same top-water bait. The trout slam was on! From 10:00 - 1:30
we put some real pretty trout in the box averaging 5-6, 14-23" trout per drift. The color of the bait
was the blue/chrome/chartreuse, and the trout were really suicidal on some of these hits. The only
bummer on this particular trip was that Tom and Tommy both lost monster trout that had managed to
break off. Tommys trout had blown up on his bait and had come 2' out of the water. We all saw that
this big girl was at least 27". Big Tommys' fish we never got a look at but it was probably in the same
class. Joanne was pulling her weight using swas' under a float and also a Swimmin' Image. These
guys were repeat clients and showed me once again that they are all excellent fishermen and would
not get discouraged. Without a doubt, persistance paid off big-time today. We totaled 50 specks 13-
23" and 3 reds 17-22". It was a great day in the Delacroix Island Marsh. Great company, great
fishermen, and great music, made for a great trip on this very windy Saturday. Give me a call to get in
on some fantastic top-water action on big spawning trout.

Trout and reds are schooling up at a few places in the marsh right now and feeding on glass minnows,
croaker, and shrimp, as witnessed by viewing the contents of the innerds of our catch. My buddies
Irvin Roy, and Murph Miller, had a real good catch in an unnamed bayou just off of the Four Horse
Lake. They stopped at the slip on their way back from the End of the World Marina, to chat about
their catch and to see what we did. Man did they have some pretty fish, 33 specks with a good
number of them going 23-24". We shared info as to where we both had caught, and off they went. I
will try that area real soon and get on some of that monster trout action. All the fish Irvin and Murph
caught were taken on Catch 2000 in green top and yellow belly. As of yet, I have no bookings for all
of next week. It doesn't matter if the wind blows or not. As a matter of fact, the trout bite we were
on was better when the s/e wind was blowing hard. I seemed to help in keeping the water moving
and fish feeding hard. Give me a call to get in on the fantastic, close-in action on trout, reds, and
flounder.