# Trip Of A Lifetime- Venice, LA. (Lots of Pics!)



## mdrobe2

Many of you know I booked a 3 day charter in Venice, LA. for me, my dad, my best friend from high school, and my brother in law. We were slated for a yellowfin tuna trip the first day of the trip, with the option for a rig fishing trip on day two and an inshore trip for day three, unless we decided to fish the YFT each day. We were going to make up our minds after day one of tuna fishing. We booked with Captain Kerry Milano of Outer Limit fishing charters. (http://www.outerlimitcharters.com/index.htm). I was pretty excited to fish YFT from Kerry's 33 Contender with twin 350 V-8 Yamaha's...










I was also excited about the packageKerry offered- you stay at his condo and heprovides food and alcohol- $125 a night per person- cheap in my opinion, considering Kerry can flat throw down in the kitchen- thesecond night we were there we had grilled redfish on the half shell. Those of you who haven't heard of this dish need to know it is basically filleting the red and grilling the fillet scale side down- awesome. Captain Kerry is a down to earth dude- here he is hamming it up for the camera with the grilled half shell reds. Those fish were swimming less than 8 hours before they hit the grill.










I even had Captain Kerry do a sheepshead that way- I think he thought it was pretty funny that we ate what he considers a trash fish- we were laughing about the fact that we eat mullet in FL too.

Well, we all know what the weather has been like the last three days- wind, rain, then some more wind and rain. I was in Venice from Sunday to Wednesday so you know what happened- we could not go offshore due to high seas, even in a 33 Contender. 










That picture was taken from Kerry's tournament edition 24 foot Pathfinder (Yamaha 250). He took us fishing in that weather at our request- that's what kind of guide he is. We were going in at that time out of concerns about the front, but we got a good shot on the way. We also caught 15 keeper redfish, a flounder, and a trout, all at the first spot Kerry took us to. 










My buddy Adam was reeling in and he commented that "some weird fish followed his bait to the boat." I saw that it was a sheepshead and it was still trying to eat his bait at boat side. Well, Adam pulls his bait out of the water and all he has left is a shrimp shell. I holler at him to put his bait back in and the sheepie proceeds to eat the shell and take off. Adam jacks the fish up and lands it. My brother in law (chief operating officerof an investment firm)refers to Adam (airline pilot) as an idiot savant at this point. I proceed to crack up. Two pretty accomplished guys making fun of each other just got me laughing.

My dad, who was not too fired up about even going on the trip (at first), got excited about the action and seemed to have fun. Odd that he introduced me to fishing yet doesn't love it like I do. He's a very well rounded guy and smart as hell, but he hasn't forgotten his angling skills. Here he is getting rained on and opening a can of whoop ass on all us younger anglers...










Needless to say we were bummed about the weather and not being able to tuna fish, but we were very excited about our accommodations. We did not know what to expect when we booked the trip, so we were thrilled to learn that Kerry's condo is waterfront, and the boats were tied up right there at the condo on the dock. 










We were able to maximize our fishing even with the bad weather due to Kerry's set up. He also had a special treat for us- his 10 week old lab puppy was staying at the condo with us. If you don't love lab puppies you don't belong on the forum!



















Tugboat Milano was a ton of fun! (And a handful)

Day two dawned and it was still too rough to go offshore, but that didn't stop Gary from demonstrating the proper way to travel on a Contender running the mighty Mississippi to the pass to check out the seas...










We decided to fish inshore again and Captain Kerry did not disappoint. We fished the same rigs and bait- corks with jig heads tipped with dead shrimp, and we caught our limit of reds, and the fish were bigger on day two! We released a lot of fish over the 27" size limit, and we still managed to limit out with 20 reds, not to mention countless catfish. Kerry taught me how to flip a catfish with his hook remover- pretty sweet.










I managed to land the biggest red of the day- 30 inches...










Here's Gary with a multi spotted red...










Me with our 20 redfish mess...










Kerry's fish camp (client heaven)










Kerry's boat is NOT under powered- twin 350's- quiet as a mouse...










Optimistic anglers head out with a committed captain and rain gear...










Anglers making the best of the weather...










Adam with a nice red...










Dad puts a bend in his rod...

The reds were bulldogging around and getting into the grass on the points we were fishing but we horsed them out with Power Pro- one had me totally stuck in the grass but eventually swam out of it and I ended up landing the fish. Kerry says the same thing has happened with 100 lb. plus tuna getting into the rigs he fishes. They caught 7 YFT's and 15 blackfins the night before we showed up and the weather went bad!










24 Pathfinder tournament edition ready to go. First time I fished on a boat with a power pole and it was great! Sure wishI had come up with that idea!










We didn't tell Kerry that Gary is an awesome chef, but I think he figured it out when Gary threw down in the kitchen and helped Kerry with his outstanding cajun potatoes. We ate them asa side dish two nights in a row and they went quick- I went back for thirds. Gary also helped out filleting the fish, and his food saver was the hit gadget of the trip. If you don't have one, get one. 










Bottom line, we had an awesome time. Captain Kerry was great. The number one thing I look for in a guide is ability to put a client on fish, and we caught the sh!t out of the fish both days. Kerry ran the boat far both times in poor weather and at his own expense, and we fished two points and waylaid the fish both times. I was shocked at Kerry's ability to read water quality. He is awesome. And, the fish don't spook like they do in dock lights here. We caught red after red and they never left. The guys all said they gave the trip an eleven out of ten, so we tipped Kerry well and vowed to come back SOON! I can only imagine what the next post/trip will be like when we actually get to do the tuna and rig fishing I had planned for us. Thanks for reading and please reply with comments. If you want to go call Kerry at 504-915-9991, or e mail him through his web site. Tight lines all and thanks again for reading...*
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## Deeplines

That sounds like one vaction that went great despite the weather. :angel

Thanks for the report, and a great one at that. :bowdown


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## mdrobe2

Thanks for the reply Deeplines! I love it when people respond to a post with some feedback!


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## Murphy's Law

Good report Mike :clap Hate to hear ya'll couldn't get into the YFT but it looks like the reds kept ya'll busy.


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## H2OMARK

Dad Gum, a trip like that with friends and family to top it off. I'd say you will reflect with fond memories on that one for a long long time. Great pics and post.


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## curtpcol

GREAT POST & Pics- Sounds like you guys had a wonderful trip. Even though your dad doesn't like to fish as much as you do he will be talking about this trip for a long long time. Too bad about the weather but looks like a lot of fish for the taking.


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## mdrobe2

Thanks again to everyone that replied with comments. So many people read posts on the forum but never comment! I always try to comment on posts I read- especially ones that have not had any replies. Example- my post on my tripletailcharter has like 2000 views and maybe 30 replies- that means less than 2 percent of people replied, but I enjoyed reading the replies from those who did!

I also wanted to metion that Kerry does cast and blast charters during hunting season- teal hunting followed by marsh redfish. Sounded like fun to me. This post is not a commercial for Outer Limit Charters, butI wanted to talk Kerry up since I know a lot of us go to LA to fish and hunt. Also, by replying I did the following... BUMP TO THE TOP!


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## Corpsman

Great report!


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## Ultralite

just got back from the field and found this...i thought about you guys mike with all that weather...secretly hoping ya'll would somehow get out there and load up so you could bring me back a bag of tuna steaks...oke...looks/sounds like ya'll spanked 'em:clap fine report and thanks for sharing...


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## Travis Gill

Kerry is a great guy. Glad yall had a good trip


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## 401 Cay

What an awesome trip! Looks like the weather just gave you an excuse to go again for tuna! Great report!


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## Georgiaboy

awesome trip and great post. thanks for sharing.


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## David Ridenour

That's one for the books for sure! Thanks for taking the time to share your great trip with us. Too bad on the YFT but it's a great reason to go back.


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## mickanole

Man that is awesome! I have really been wanting to do an inshore trip over there for a while.

What is his website and are prices listed there, the staying at the condo looks like the ticket for sure. 

edit.(nevermind I got so excited reading the post I forgot to look at the first part)

Jealousy rules my world.


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## BlueWater2

That was some great reading and pictures to boot !!! Thanks for the post. Havnt been to the rigs yet but hope to soon.


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## mdrobe2

Thanks very much to everyone that offered feedback.I enjoy sharing the stories of my trips with y'all. However, my post was not entirely accurate- the redfishI was holding in the picture does not appear to be a 30 inch fish. I do not want to lose any credibility, so here's the actual pic of my 30 inchfish...I guess I just got confused with all the pics.


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## mdrobe2

mickanole- Glad you found the web site in my post. Kerry's phone number is there too. His e-mail address is [email protected]. The condo is DEFINITELY the way to go fish Venice. We watched the gators at night from the deck while the guys smoked cigars, and both the inshore and offshore boat are tied up right there steps from your condo so the anglers can choose what they want to fish for each day. It also allows you some flexibility to work around the weather, which we definitely had to do. Kerry was game to go offshore for YFT in the rough seas but we just decided it would not be fun. A wave over the bow of a 33 foot boat gets your attention. The rate for the inshore trip is $650. If you use live bait you have to buy it but we didn't need any live bait. Kerry bought the dead shrimp we fished with and we obviously caught fish. He also pays for the fuel on the inshore trips. Offshore trips are $1000 up to four anglers- $1200 up to six anglers. Offshore trips also require that the anglers pay for the fuel, which can run from $500 to $1000 depending how far you have to run to find fish. He offers overnighters- I think they run about $1300. Kerry cooked for us each night at the condo- we had jambalaya and fried redfish. It was all good! Only other expense I can think of was a tip for the guide. Tips are generally 10 to 20 percent of the trip, but it's up to you! Make sure you post a report for us when you get back!


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## sc23

Mike,



Nice fish, and glad you had a good time. Nice pics. 



Wish I was there.


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## Fishfinder

you can always rely on the reds to bring your spirits up, good job







:clap


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## mdrobe2

We are going back to Venice Sunday to fish Monday and Tuesday. Captain Mike Ellis tells me the tuna bite has been slow, with a good day being 3 fish. We are going to snapper fish after we make bait so we get some meat then tuna fish the rest of the day. We are staying at Cajun Fishing Adventures lodge in Buras and fishing with Relentless Sportfishing. Report to follow!

http://www.cajunfishingadventures.com/index.html

http://www.relentlesssportfishing.net/


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## minkmaster

Is the water just too warm for the tuna this time of year or is it because the Mississippi has run so dang high and pushed mud out into the gulf.


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## bond007

nice report....maybe one day I'll make it out their...:usaflag:usaflag


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## stringle

Wow, great read and photos. I had to laugh at your reply of being confused because of so many pictures of fish!! Sounds like an annual trip in the making???


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## konz

awesome report man!


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## mdrobe2

It was definitely an annual trip in the making.I am going to post a report in the offshore reports from out of the area section now. We slayed them over the last few days. Stay tuned...post will be up in an hour or so. Takes a while to type it up and post the pics, but suffice it to say we wore the fish out.


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## REEL STAMAS

> *minkmaster (7/17/2009)*Is the water just too warm for the tuna this time of year or is it because the Mississippi has run so dang high and pushed mud out into the gulf.


 'B'...


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## mdrobe2

Bumping to the top and looking for PFF'ers that want to go charter in LA...


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