# Good day



## capthoop (Oct 28, 2007)

With the economy dying down this holiday weekend gave me only one trip. Today Monday September 7th is the close of the Louisiana State waters red snapper season. I told my wife I was going fishing. I wanted to get a pair of good sized red snapper then go check some areas to see how the drop in the river has changed things. It was a beautiful day as I loaded the boat. There were some storms nearby but nothing I could not run around. 










Due to my federal stickers on the big boat I took my bay boat and went hunting for the sun burned over fished treasures. I was also hoping to get an amberjack or grouper before heading in and scouting. Seeing I was alone and meat hunting I decided to load the 50 wide with a deep drop setup. It works well off the seat rod holders.










When I got to my targeted area I saw my friend Fred with his family and friends. They were having a blast and almost had their limit. The little gut in this picture went back.










They were making fun of my setup. I tied up to the rig and dropped down a pair of trout belly baits. They got ripped off almost at once. Put down again and came up with a 6 to 8 pounder. I put it in the live well and decided to try some live mullet I had. They also got violently ripped off as soon I hit the bottom. I then decided to put on a fresh chunk of tuna. The skin stays on and after they get the taste of tuna they go back for it all. I hit the bottom and when I got a tug I reeled a bit. Did not hook it. Dropped back and another hit. This time the rod tip almost hit the water. I was thinking a grouper. I kept the rod in the holder. Why should I hurt myself. This was a heavy fish. It was not an amberjack because it did not try to get back to the rig. Had that been the case I was prepared to let the rig line free and back away from the rig. Being alone makes things a bit more challenging. I'm up for that.










Once to the top the expression on the boat next to me was beautiful as were these twin 29 inch red snapper. I released the one in my live well and was instantly done with them. My amberjack rigs I thought were on the boat were no where to be found so I headed in for some redfish action. 

On the way in I saw some surface action and made a few casts. One bull red was enough for me to continue on. I went into a nearby bay and noticed the lack of fish in the usual areas. Looks like they are moving into the fall pattern. I left that area all together and made a long run. Just me, no customers to produce for, so my time to learn. I saw one guy fishing with his kids. He said he got a few but it was slow. I continued to the place I wanted to check. It was almost dead low and a lot of water was out. Not good fishing conditions in these back waters. The catfish and sting rays were around to accept my offerings.










I liked what I saw. The water is cleaning up and the fish are moving into the places they should be. My first redfish was a beautiful 26 incher. I thought it was a lot bigger the way it fought but it made the slot. 










I bounced from place to place on both sides of the river. I managed a limit of redfish but there were a lot of small fish and trash fish. What I saw was promising for a good fall season. A storm developed nearby late in the afternoon so I had to run in. the winds were quite strong but I only got a very small amount of hard hitting water before I was able to get out of it.










As I was fueling up in Empire we had a visitor come by looking for hand outs. It is only about 4 1/2 feet long so not on the wanted list at this point. I told them they should not feed the alligators.










It was a very productive and informative day on the water. Looking forward to a good fall season. Ended with a bountiful basket of fish. 1 sheepshead, 2 red snapper, 5 redfish, and 2 flounder.










Life is Good!
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM


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## 2bbchinit (Aug 27, 2009)

Nice basket there!!


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## cobe killer (Apr 13, 2008)

awesome report!!!!


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