A Look at the Hurricanes Effect on Gulf Coast Fishing
More Louisiana Fishing with Captain Jeff Poe
Editor’s Note: After Hurricane Katrina hit New
Orleans, the fishermen at Lake Calcasieu near Lake Charles,
Louisiana, still had good lives and enjoyed outstanding
fishing. The storm brought in plenty of speckled trout
and redfish. Many of the tourist areas along the Gulf
Coast had shut down, but the fishing business boomed.
However, anglers knew that good times generally didn’t
last, and bad times might follow. Four weeks later,
Hurricane Rita jumped right in the middle of Lake Calcasieu.
Although most people around the nation remember Katrina
and its devastating effort on New Orleans, the anglers
at Lake Calcasieu never will forget Rita. But, on the
heels of Rita came some of the best trout fishing Lake
Calcasieu has had in years. We’ve talked to two
fishermen who guide and operate businesses on Calcasieu
– Captain Jeff Poe of Big Lake Guide Service and
Kirk Stansel of Hackberry Rod & Gun. Let’s
listen to their stories about what happened and what
you can expect this summer and fall, if you’r e
planning a fishing trip to Lake Calcasieu.
“Even right now in June 2006, the fishing’s
unbelievable,” Captain Jeff Poe reports. “I’ve
been fishing and guiding on Lake Calcasieu for 25 years,
and I’ve caught more trout since this April 1
than I’ve caught in any other year that we’ve
fished the lake. From what I’m seeing, the trout
seemed to have gotten off an extra spawn because we’re
catching lots of little trout that are 6- to 8-inches
long. Most of the fish we’re catching in the schools
will weigh 2- to 4-pounds each, depending on the size
of the fish in the school. But, I’ve been amazed
at how many schools of small trout we’ve seen
this year. We’ve also had a great spring run on
flounder this year, and the redfish numbers seem to
be about the same as always. If our area has good weather
this summer, I expect us to have one of the best years
we’ve ever had with speckled trout, redfish and
flounder. I believe Hurricane Rita has been like a restocking
program at Lake Calcasieu because fishing has just gotten
better. Storms
are bad for the people and the coastline, however they’re
really good for fishing. Our biggest problem after the
storm hasn’t been fishing, but rather having housing
for our guests. We’re fortunate; we got our housing
rebuilt by mid-November. Our bookings have been full
since the storm. Too, we’re having trouble finding
enough highly-qualified guides to take the people out
fishing. So, if you’re planning a trip to Calcasieu
this summer or fall, you need to go ahead and book now.
Since the fish have come back after the storm, so have
the fishermen.
“Another advantage to the storm is that it really
has cleaned-up the marsh for duck hunting. I haven’t
had any type of debris problems in my marsh since my
marsh is north of the intercoastal canal. If this region
has a cool winter, we’ll have a great cast-and-blast
season where you can duck hunt in the morning and fish
for speckled trout and redfish in the afternoon. Even
t hough
Louisiana hasn’t set its duck season yet, cast-and-blast
has become so popular that you may want to go ahead
and book your hunting and fishing for the fall. Yes,
we had a terrible year last year because of the storm.
But the hurricane also made our fishing better than
ever.
Anglers have learned about our outstanding fishing.
If we don’t have a bad storm during the warm months
of 2006, we should have a very-productive fishing season.”
For more information on fishing with Captain Jeff Poe
at Big Lake Guide Service, call 337-598-3268, or go
to www.biglakeguideservice.com.
Tomorrow: Kirk Stansel on Calcasieu Fishing
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