New Year day journey MRGO / ICW

Stanley Fink
Jan 2
6 min read

TEAM JO-JO:

Big Rudy & Oneofthepack rested up some for our previous trip, we knew New Year eve partes where going to take its toll on us, but we both subscribed to the theory that whatever you do New Years Day you will do all year, so we knew we had to make a fishing trip and catch at least one fish.

We will let it be known by one, let it be known by all Team Jo-Jo did in fact fish today and catch some fish, so 20254 will be a fishing & catching year for us.

SIGNS:

· Looking forward to 2025

· Once again me fish at table contributed .60 of “C” to fishing hole.

· New Year Eve dinner at Nathen’s with AO & S good food, great company, lovely conversations

· Stopped at Daughterofthepack’s for a few to celebrate New Year eve, a quick one.

· In bed for 9 PM

· Up at 4 AM for meet up 5:30 AM at Waffel House in Oak Harbor

· It be a very cold morning, had to fight back the urge to get a big bowl of grits at Waffel House, me 15 minutes early did not think me had enough time .

· Big Rudy on time, loaded up we on our way.

· No wildlife sightings along Hwy 11 or 90

· Had (3) boats waiting to launch at Gulf Outlet

· Fishermen’s Friend Bu Tony in the house offering BIG lively live shrimp for bait, he be open ½ a day.

· Big Rudy backed down the Bay Flat Jr, on pull and she be fired right up.

· Off to MRGO to start our day 1 of 2025 fishing and hopefully catching.

CONDITIONS:

· Perfect

· Wind, N.N.E 17-19 , N. 15-17, N.N.E. 10-12 mph.

· Water status / conditions: slight chop to heavy chop

· Sky, sunny & clear snowbird day

· Temp, 43.7 F wintry morning, rain jacket off around 10 AM

· Water level, down 4-6”

· Water Temp , 56.1 F

· Salinity, 4.2

· Specific Conductance 7390

· Pressure, 30,31 R

· Water clarity on a scale of 1-7,

· Mississippi gauge: 6.76’ R

· Caernarvon Outfall: 795 ft3/s

· Tide, falling slowly.

· Peak tide, 01:55 H 1.57’

· Peak tide, 13:08 L .20’

· Major Feed Time: 11:47 - 23:28

· Minor feed time: 07:45 / 18:01

· Tidal Coefficient: seventy-six

· Fish Activity

· Very High Activity

· Boats out and about, 35 – 40 boats Happy New Year’s Day

· 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 Jr and the Yamaha Nightmare 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.

· Start new year , (2025) off right.

· Fish & catch, (At least one fish) New Years Day

· See if the big girls are still in honey hole.

· Check out ICW to see if fish have shown up yet.

· Bring home some fish for Yana!

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

1 WIND AT YOUR BACK: (This criterion was our struggle for the day and this trip, N.N.E.15-17 mph wind kept driving us into rocks, had trolling motor going on all the time to keep us off rocks. We were moving so fast it was hard to get the right position, angle, retrieve of our jerk baits. But we kept at it to fulfill our quest of today, one fish on 1-1-2025)

2 MOVING WATER: (Tide moving slowly, hard to tell with all the wind)

3 WATER CALRITY: (7 plus in MRGO, six plus in ICW)

4 HOLDING FISH: (MRGO rocks & ICW rocks)

5 PATIENCES: (in Honey hole at 6:47, first (NMR) Silverwonder at 8 AM, had a short burst of hits along rocks, moved on to Lake P Troll caught a couple, moved back to MRGO rocks caught a few more, then moved on to Michaud slip, then to ICW , ICW looking good had plenty of action.)

6 SKILL: (Jerk baits, Lake P Troll, caught all fish)

7 LUCKS: (Started New Year (2025) off right, fishing & catching in our future for the year)

· Oneofthepack’s repertoire of Techniques / presentations:

· Anchor up cast & retrieve slowly along the bottom, with a twitch every now and then, tight lining…………………………………DID NOT TRY

· Drift with the wind cast & retrieve (DWWC&R)……………Jerk baits technique / presentations (6) caught.

· Oak River Troll (ORT)……………….Did not try.

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

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

· Cork ……..DID NOT TRY

· Lake P Troll (LPT)…………….(11) caught 2 MRGO, (9) in ICW.

· 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……………Did not try.

· 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:

§ 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, ……Caught (11)

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

· Jerk Baits caught six.

AREAS / SPOTS / NUMBERS ON THE MAP FISHED:

· MRGO (8) big Girls not at home

· Michoud Slip nothing, looking good but no bites, perfect for N.N.E. wind.

· ICW (9) nice Silverwonders, Lake P Troll technique

· The Pen, nothing, water looking good a six plus clarity, but Redwarriors not at home.

· Sopped fishing around one fifteen

OUR REWARDS:

· Lived to fish another day.

· (17) Silverwonders, 4 Miniwonders

· Got our first day of fishing in for the New Year

· Carefree relaxing, trip had we, hope this will f0llow suit all year of 2025.

· Being on the water with one of the best fisherpersons me know that be Bog Rudy

· Lessons learned:

§ You can party hardy and still get up early and make a fishing trip.

§ (NMR) Silverwonder were MIA today, they are not in our honey hole.

§ Other fisherperson also believes what happens on New Year Day happens all year, they had 30-40 boats out and about.

§ Silverwonders are in ICW.

§ Water clarity a seven in MRGO, and a 6- in ICW)

§ Fisherman’s friend only open ½ day today

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

FISHERPERSON OF THE DAY:

Me think we got this one, tied in Jerk Baits division, dominated Lake P Roll category, me got a good night sleep, being motivated to catch on day one of the new Year added to me powers of the day.

Big Rudy being the party animal, was celebrating the New Year late into the 1-1-25 morning / day of the new year, He looked like he was ridden hard and put up wet. And when me saw him take out part of the parking lot , (which I have done too) as he came in, me knew it was going to be a good morning on the water. Me just think this trip was a fluke for me to take honors, but there is the rest of 2015 to concentrate on, but day one be mine.

SUGGESTIONS:

Action at trestles still going on, Big Ron sending me pictures of his five# plus Silverwonders, and boxes of same, made me think it might be time to head back that way.

Getting good reports from all over Like P, Lake B, Lake C, Hopedale, and me love Delacroix, hard to pick the area you want to fish.

Have a good 2025 fishing & catching, enjoy your journeys, have fun, and be safe.