Dirty dancing w/Silverwonders down Delacroix way

TEAM JO-JO:

The Long-Awaited Two-Pass Fishing Trip

For some time now, Big Mike—one of the regulars at Team Jo-Jo’s Fishing Curriculum Sessions—and Oneofthepack have been planning a Two-Pass Fishing Trip. But as it often goes in the world of fishing, life, weather, and circumstances had other plans, keeping this adventure just out of touch.

However, at our last Fishing Curriculum Session this past Saturday, we put our foot down, pulled out the calendar, and blocked off March 18, 2025, as the official day to make this long-overdue trip a reality. No more delays, no more “next times”—it was finally happening!

Our destination? None other than our very own version of Disney World for anglers—Delacroix Island. A place where the marshy waters whisper secrets of the past, where every cast holds the promise of a trophy fish, and where the pursuit of the elusive Silverwonders & Redwarriors fuels the fire in our souls.

Aboard the Bay Flat Sr., fully stocked and prepped for battle, we set our sights on making this a trip to remember. With rods rigged, reels ready, and a game plan in place, it’s time to put our skills to the test, embrace the thrill of the chase, and soak in every moment of what promises to be an unforgettable day on the water.

Stay tuned for the full trip report—because you know we’ll have stories to tell, lessons to share, and maybe even a few surprises along the way.

SIGNS:                            

·      Monday night card game a blood bath for Oneofthepack, down 2 “C” notes, but managed to negotiate a 1 “C” note lost.

·      Late night as we had our traditional breakfast at Waffle House, got home at 12:45, to bed around 1:30, up at 4:30Am for our 5:30 meet up at Waffle House in Chalmette

·      Big Mike waiting for me, me like that type first mate.

·      Big Mike be traveling light quick load of his gear and we on our way,

·      Made as top for some ice on way down

·      Check point Alpha water in canal; at junction down 10-12” this is not good for anybody.

·      Check point Bravo Reggio canal, tide falling

·      Reached home of Bay Flat Sr, gave me 30 second safety speech, re: crossing Hwy & open space round Bay Flat Sr, mention 5 have already felt in.

·      Teamwork had Bay Flat Sr loaded up and ready to go.

·      Huston we have a problem with no water on slip, decided to go anyway.

·      Yamaha Dream Machine fired up with ½ turn of key, backed the big girl out, had enough water to just do that.

·      Made as top at Lionel for go juice, did not want to run out of gas while running all the shallow water we would be running around in.

·      Off to Team Jo-Jo spot # 51K to start our day, water was turning up everywhere we ran.

CONDITIONS:

·       Perfect

·      Wind, S.S.W. 1-2, S.W. 2-3, E.S.E. 6-7 S.E. 14-17 mph

·      Water status / conditions: Calm, little ripples, slight chop, heavy chop.

·      Sky, sunny & clear

·      Temp, Jumpsuit on all day, cool it be

·      Water level, down 12-14”

·      Water Temp ,  63.5 F

·      Salinity,  0.4

·      Specific Conductance  897 

·      Pressure,  30.24  R

·      Water clarity on a scale of 1-7, a 1, bad it be

·      Mississippi gauge:  8.89’

·      Caernarvon Outfall: 897 ft3/s

·      Tide, falling, slack, started to rise, perfect it be

·      Peak tide, 03:46  L  0.36’

·      Peak tide,  18:07  H  .98’

·      Major Feed Time:  10:17 / none

·      Minor feed time:   08:40 / 22:51

·      Tidal Coefficient:   68

·      Fish Activity

·      None Low actvitiy it be

·      Boats out and about 4 in area we fishing

·    ONEOFTHEPACK’S REPERTOIRE OF TECHNIQUES / STRATEGIES      

·      Be safe.

·      Have fun.

·      This is me daily therapy for ALL me aliments.

·      Put some run time on the Bay Flat Sr and the Yamaha Dream Machine

·      Gather Intel for future trips, and to share with fisherperson, (on Facebook) to help assist them in their choice of areas to fish, lures to use and presentation of same to the elusive Silverwonders.

·      Catch what catch can.

·      Learn what learn can.

·      Introduce Big Mike to all that Delacroix had to offer, but he did not know Delacroix, he knew every spot we went too.

·      Learn the do’s & don’ts of fishing a very , very , very low water day

·      Try to find clean water

·      Bring home so fishes for Big Mike’s family.

·      Find a spot  # with the seven fundamentals / criteria of catching:

1 WIND AT YOUR BACK: (Don’t a factor today, did pick up some later in day, but it helped push us around drifting while popping cork our way around the various lakes we fished.

2 MOVING WATER: (Perfect, falling, slack, then came in don’t get any better than that.)

3 WATER CALRITY: (This criterion was our challenge for the day, water dirty all over, at best a 1 on a scale of 1-7.)

4 HOLDING FISH:  (Team Jo-Jo spot 51K 1-t, 51A, C, 57, 58A, R7A 2-t, R7B, C, R7, called it around 11:40 time to go water to dirty)

5 PATIENCES: (Needed plenty dirty water takes of the confidence out of me, but we hung in there for as long as me could take it.)

6 SKILL: (Poppin corks)

7 LUCKS: (Did not run aground, made it home without calling SeaTow)

·    Oneofthepack’s repertoire of Techniques / presentations:

·      Anchor up cast & retrieve slowly along the bottom, with a twitch every now and then, tight lining…………………………………Nothing

·      Drift with the wind cast & retrieve (DWWC&R)……………With popping corks all fish caught this way)

·      Oak River Troll (ORT)……………….Nothing.

·      Reverse Oak River Troll (RORT) ………..DID NOT TRY

·      Oak River Skim (ORS) ……………DID NOT TRY

·      Cork ……..Popping corks 30-36” deep

·      Lake P Troll (LPT)…………….Did not try.

·      Drop shot: Did not try.

·      Dead bait……None

·      Live bait………………None

·    Oneofthepack ‘S repertOIRE of LURE DU JOUR:

·      3” H&H Purple Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head with gold hook……………Did not try

·      3” Chartreuse Glow Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook………….Did not try

·      Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook……………This color used, all fish caught with it.

·      Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 3/8 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY

·      Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 1/2 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY

·      Salt Strong Power Prawn (added 10-25-24) matched up with: Did not use:

§  1/16 oz. Nothing

§  1/8 ox:

§  ¼ oz. jig head :   

§  3/8 oz. jig head :    

§  Tandem Rig:           

·      Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with 3/4 oz. round lead head w/ 2 trailers, ……Did not try.

·      Tandem rig, ¼ oz. round H&H jig head with gold hook, matched up with Matrix Shad Lemon Drop …..Did not try.

AREAS / SPOTS / NUMBERS ON THE MAP FISHED:

Team Jo-Jo spot # 51K 1t, 51J 1t, 1r, 51 A, C, 57, 58A, R7A 2t, 7B, 7C, & R7, called it a day at 11:40, water to dirty for me.

OUR REWARDS:

·      Lived to fish another day.

·      (4) Silverwonders, 3 Miniwonders

·      (1) Redwarrioer, Bull type

·      Enough water to launch the Bay Flat Sr

·      Lots of fresh clean air in our lungs

·      Being on the water with one of the best fisherpersons me know, that be Big Mike.

·      Lessons learned:

§  The water level gauge below 5 feet should be a no go, we had 4.2’, like no water slip dry had to use truck to pull Bay Flat Sr into slip

§  Water dirty all over from Four Horse all the way to Grand Lagoon

§  Bites no happen

§  I had to use FORD transporter to pull Bay Flat Sr over mud and into slip, also had to hold it in place until me could pick with slings. All me  normal routes / paths where good to run even with real low water that we had

§  Some days you “Don’t got to go to know”

·      Best fishing trip of my life, until the next one.

FISHERPERSON OF THE DAY:

Oneofthepack was saved from being e skunked, (again) by a 10” Silverwonder that wanted to commit suicide, it was a struggle, but what a beautiful day to be on water.

Big Mike caught 1st fish, biggest fish, most fish, dominated Redwarrioer division, and excelled in the Silverwonders category. And a big plus his past fish catching stories superseded all me trips since 1974.

Big Mike fisherperson of the day, in a big way.

SUGGESTIONS:

Me just could not make it happen today, use all me wits, knowledge and luck but it was not going to happen today, better luck next time.

The water is dirty all over. Suggest do your honey dues for the next 3-4 days .

PONDER OF THE DAY:

“The fish is not so much your quarry as your partner.”

Q&A:

Is there a way that you fish for dirty water that produce results, other than going to Kenny’s Seafood???????????

TEAM JO-JO’S future stratagem:

Sunday journey with Big Tyrone, we planned this one on our Saturday get together, until then:

Good Fishing                                                         

Team Jo-Jo & Oneofthepack

釣り先生

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