Fishing In Venice, Louisiana
Venice, Louisiana is almost a three hour drive from my house. The small town is at the end of the road in Louisiana. Highway 23 follows the west bank of the Mississippi River on a narrow sliver of land. People who live this far south in our state are used to evacuating their homes when hurricanes make it to the gulf. We arrived just after dark Saturday night.
The Cypress Cove Marina, was our choice for lodging, it is a newer facility complete with a hotel and store. We ate at a local restaurant called Barbara's Place. Over some gumbo and fried seafood, we met our guide, Captain Jesse Parker. Captain Jesse promised us we would catch fish the next day.
After a good night's sleep, we headed for the store where we were to meet Captain Jesse. John and I had to purchase a fishing license. The morning was beautiful. As you can see from the photos, the sky was orange with pre dawn colors. The air was cool and damp and a light fog rested on the waters. I could hear water lapping against the dock, the purr of boat motors warming up, gulls and pelicans squeaking and honking, and voices of expectant fishermen.
As the sky continued its kaleidoscope of red and orange color, we sailed out of the marina and out to the Mississippi River headed for its mouth and open water. The first 15 minutes or so took us through varying degrees of fog concealing and revealing land and other craft. The 130 HP Honda boat motor pushed us quickly through the smooth, glassy water and its hum was hypnotic. We traveled through corridors of cane and passed different structures in the water. Some were for navigational purposes, and some were Oil Company related. We saw every kind of boat from shrimp boats to tankers. Flocks of pelicans flew lazily along the grass that sprouted out of the gulf. In the early morning light the colors were quite vivid and I felt very lucky to be alive and to be seeing such beauty.
Approximately 45 minutes from the marina, Captain Jesse stopped the boat and dropped anchor some 100 feet from an oilrig. This rig was near lock 69. The oilrigs are good places for fishing. They are essentially a man made reef. We fished using open face reels and live shrimp. The technique was to hook a treble hook just behind the shrimp’s horn, cast toward the rig, then raise the bait off the bottom and reel a bit. Hopefully a big red fish or trout is attracted to the activity and bites.
We did well at the rig. I caught all of my fish there, (5 fish - 4 trout and one big red fish.) John and little Roy put Big Roy and me to shame. They caught more than twice what we did.
True Fish Story: The one that got away, but came back.While fishing at the rig, I hooked a big one. I didn't know how big, because he got away. It is exciting to be holding a fishing pole that is bending in half. He wasn't the kind of fish you just reel in - he was a fighter. Captain Jesse was giving me instructions, “Do this, don't let him do that.” He would laugh, his dry sense of humor was coming out and it was hard to tell what was real advice and what was teasing, but it was fun. The fish headed for the front of the boat and I went with him. Poles were being passed over and around me as I hurried past the others and trying to avoid the anchor rope Captain Jesse warned me about. Then I got hung up in the trolling motor. This fish was going around the boat like a prospective buyer. Still tugging and struggling and hoping, but it became apparent the fish was hung up in the anchor rope. Then the worst feeling of all, the pulling stopped and the lack of tension on my line confirmed the line had broken. "Damn," I said, "I wish I could have at least seen how big he was." The other guys were disappointed too, but that did not stop them from teasing. Guys tease constantly and our good-natured teasing was part of the fun.
After a couple of hours, Captain Jesse announced we were going to another spot, “So pull in your lines.” I said, "I am going to give it one more cast to see if I can catch that big one again." We all laughed at my words, after all, what are the odds of catching the same fish twice? Working the shrimp on the bottom for the last time payed off. I got a hit and I could tell by the pull that I had another big one. This time he headed for the back of the boat. "Don't lose this one," Captain Jesse said rubbing it in and putting some good-natured pressure on me. I reeled and the fish pulled out more line, but the fish finally tired and he was netted. There are emotional moments in the process. The initial hooking of the fish is exciting, and then nervousness sets in, as you don't want to lose the fish. Once you see the fish and it is a big one, you become even more nervous, because you are so close, but there is little satisfaction unless the fish makes it into the boat. When the fish is in the net, there is relief, joy, and pride. This emotional rollercoaster happens quickly and it is a real rush.
Roy caught a bigger red fish later in the day, but this was the biggest one at that point, probably 15 to 20 pounds. As the captain was taking the hook out of the fish, he noticed it had another treble hook in its mouth. It was the same fish that broke my line an hour before. As we left the spot, I felt pretty good. The one that got away came back and I got him.
The weather was beautiful. The early morning ride out to the rig was chilly in the damp, cool 30 mph air. Once stopped, it warmed quickly. The temperature was mid 70's and the sun burned. I have the red face and neck to prove it.
The next spot we fished was around the reeds. The red fish seek shelter in the reeds and one way to get them is to cast up in to them and reel back out. Because we were getting low on shrimp, we switched to lures. I never got another bite, but John and Roy kept reeling them in. They each caught some nice fish. Roy got the biggest red fish.
We eventually got enough fishing in us so we headed home. We were back at the marina by 2:30 PM to make it an 8-hour trip. The boat pulled up to the cleaning station. This area was designed for cleaning fish. There is a nice counter with water to clean the fish and electricity to power the electric fillet knife. The fish were transferred from the boat to a cart, then to the cleaning table.
On the other side of the cleaning table was the water. Pelicans gathered awaiting fish scraps, which were thrown by the fishermen cleaning their catch. Captain Jesse enlisted John to help with the fillet process. The scraps not thrown to the pelicans were piled on the dock. There was a huge pile of fish carcasses, which would later be fed into a grinder and thrown back into the water.
After that, it was back to the truck for the ride home. It was fun and unique for me. I loved being out in the "wild." All in all, we saw turtles, alligators, hawks, pelicans, egrets, fish, and nutria, even cows. Not a bad way for two fathers and two sons to spend a November weekend in south Louisiana.
Until the next time
John Strain
Thursday, November 25, 2004 at 12:01AM 
