There is an indescribable feeling I get when I first notice the arrival of autumn here in south Louisiana . It's something in the air. I'm not talking about one of those faux- called air masses the weatherman teases you with that bring the daytime temps all the way down to a balmy 85º. The nights get cool enough for two tee shirts, football is here, there are more ducks in the marsh and the fishing is about to reach its zenith down in the coastal marshes of Louisiana. This all happens just in time for the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club's Fall-n-Tide Kayak Fishing tournament near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Fall-n-Tide is the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club's autumn event and this was the second year we've held it. The weigh-in headquarters were down in Venice , LA where the road stops at the Mississippi River Delta. Participants were allowed to fish all through out Plaquemines Parish on the west side of the Mississippi river below New Orleans . It is an endless maze of marsh grass, Roseau canes, and oyster beds; it's truly a key component of "sportsman's paradise". We had 50 contestants this year from seasoned fishing guides to first time "newbies". Participants came in from Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , and Florida . There as a "meet and greet" jambalaya supper Friday night, as well as a "catch and eat" fish fry following the weigh-in. Fishing was the best it has ever been and a good time was had by all; if not "caught" by all.

4:10am OCTOBER 13 th 2007 VENICE LA:

I woke up after long night of jambalaya, sharing a drink or two, and trying to discern the latest scoop on the fishing situation. We were off to the fishing grounds forty minutes north of the motel where we headquartered. We worried the night before about stiff winds but awoke to virtually undetectable winds. Things were looking good. Upon arrival at the launch we were pleasantly surprised to find a good 2-3 feet of visibility in the water. The clarity was nice. Needlefish and school trout were marauding anything in the vicinity of the marina lights. It appeared that we FINALLY had the type of conditions you pray for when planning these things.

Our "combat launch" off of the large pieces of broken concrete that line the bank was fairly treacherous. After a few near-broken ankles and re-barb impalements we were off the bank and paddling off into the darkness. Twenty minutes later the marsh island silhouettes begin the block the lights from oil platforms I was using to set my course. Our one-mile paddle was coming to an end. By the time we reach the islands the wind has picked up to something just shy of ten knots. Not bad, but a little more than we needed to keep the bugs off. I position my kayak at the back of a small cut between two clumps of Roseau canes. The wind is pushing the water right over a submerged hump where a small island used to be before the eye of Katrina came through this very area. For a good thirty minutes I cast my all black SuperSpook® lure and got nothing but the miniscule slaps from needlefish in the dark. My confidence in the location I had chosen started to wane and for a second I consider paddling back across the bay about a mile into the newly arisen headwind. I thought to myself " Oh well, if I get skunked I can always blame it on the fact that three of my tackle boxes flew out of my truck when I hit a pothole.

The Sunlight was starting to fill the sky with a perceptible glow and for the first time I could actually see my bait. I cast out past the cut and BAM!!! Fish on!!! The lure must've hit him in the mouth. He started peeling off line and the drag was singing its melody. Uh oh. I have a problem... the cut is so narrow he's pulling around the canes. I have a split second decision to make; do I pull up the anchor and go for my first Cajun Sleigh Ride of the day, or risk loosing him around the bend? This is tournament day so I quickly decide that I'm going for a ride. So after my initial super-careful-quiet-stealth paddle into position I'm getting pulled right through the spot I tried so hard to keep from disturbing. ARRRRRGH!!! Oh well, it turns out that after I land him I learn that he's a decent size redfish, and he's got several spots to boot. That might come in handy for the most spotted red category. a quick count shows 8! (Although later at the weigh-in I would try to argue for a ninth!) In my traditional tournament day fashion I kept him in the net until I have him securely on the stringer. After ruining that spot I moved 40 yards over to a similar cut where I caught two more reds and 16" trout. A few throws later I cast out and gave a few twitches to bear witness to one of those famous topwater teases you love to hate. The kind where your eyes try to convince your mind that yes they did indeed see a 3 foot long trout just dolphin jump over your lure. The kind were the fish in question was probably so old and wise, she just grey-hounded your bait to prove to the rest of the fish that you would cast to that same spot for another hour. Well it worked, but unfortunately not to any of the desired results.

This is when my depthfinder saved me. It was about 7:30 a.m. and the topwater bite was all but extinct. There was not a cloud in the sky, and I can never seem to get fish on top after the sun is 10º above the horizon. I employed my next tactic as I started drifting and rainbow casting plastics to locate the fish. nothing. Then as I am drifting I see out the the corner of my eye the depth go from 3' to 8' in the most unexpected area I could have guessed, right next to a small clump of sea grass which was apparently getting it's foundation remodeled! I positioned myself off to the side of the deep cut. I felt the bottom with my paddle; mix oysters. So I started casting waiting for my presence to be forgotten again. I took about 15 minutes for the spot to produce a bite, although it felt longer, but when it did it was a nice 18" trout that I welcomed to the stringer. For the next 10 minutes I would catch one of her sisters every three minutes or so that seemed to get 1/2 and inch bigger every time. After a while I looked at my stringer and discovered that I had three reds and seven trout! Not too bad! I cast for a bit longer and "doink" I get a hit but it's a little dink trout. Oh wait! No. this fish is brown and big and flat! My mouth begins to water and my concentration goes into overdrive almost at the same time while I begin playing out a few troubling scenarios in my head recalling the last few flounders who got the better of me and my boat side manners. Finally, after a couple of agonizing runs under the boat I welcomed the flounder to the net with shaking arms and a convulsing chest! After10 kayak fishing tournaments I FINALLY caught and landed a CAJUN SLAM!!!

WARNING:

You are now being exposed to the inner workings of how an idiot's brain works:

So, I have my redfish (w/ 8-9 spots), my nice trout, and my nice flounder. At this point I'm wondering what prize I'm going to pick up at the winners circle. How sweet it is that I'm finally going to win a tournament this time after coming in 4 th place two times in a row and runner up to winning a kayak last time. Should I even bother fishing the rest of the day? etc.

So I decide to make a phone call to see how some of the other guys are doing. Very first guy I talk to, he's got a slam too and it sounds bigger than mine. And to top that off he's seen another guy close by with one too. Hmmmmm. it may not be a runaway victory after all. I fished a couple more hours landing 3 more reds and a couple of trout, but all the reds were the same size as the ones I had already. I got to the weigh-in where ten of the fifty contestants weighed in Cajun Slams. After all was said and done I took 4 th place by a few ounces and my "leopard red" fell short by several spots as the winner's redfish came in with eleven spots. Oh well, what can I say? That's fishing. As it turned out we had extra prizes so I was awarded a nice prize for the second largest Specked Trout. In the end, getting to fish the marsh all day in close to ideal conditions and getting pulled around by fish that are filling up your fat stringer, well, you can't beat that with a stick my friend. It was a great tournament and a great day! I can't wait to do it again!

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