Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Great Trip to Calcasieu Point

We had 4 of us from LKFC in Lafayette- me, Robert, Luke and Mitch-meet up at the Rayne McDonald's at 5 AM. We headed to Lake Charlesand met with BJ at the Calcasieu Pt Landing. We were all preparedfor the cold weather but in reality we were peeling off clothing w/in30 mins. Winds stayed fairly calm most of the morning and it wasquite comfortable. Water looked decent considering the 20-30 ktwinds the day before.

We all headed south from the point and poundedthe banks and drop off in the channel. Luke and BJ focused on asmall bay towards Turners Bay. Water was very low throughout due tothe previous day's winds and tide.

We all caught some quality fish and had a great time-Robert- 3 reds, 1 BlackBJ- 5 RedsLuke- 2 Reds, 1 DOORMAT FlounderMitch- 4 Reds, 1 blackieGreg- 4 Trout, 2 RedsLuke's flounder was one of the biggest I've seen in a while. Wecaught mostly on gulp and endura shrimp, purple cocahoes, and liveshrimp. Overall I thought the spot is great and Ithink everyoneagreed we would like to get back to the area soon. Within a 4 milepaddle there are plenty of opportunities to fish marsh, drop offs,open water and small bays. Thank you BJ for showing us the area. Let's do it again soon.



Thanks to Luke Beslin for the photos

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

LKFC Moving In The Right Direction

Good stuff is happening w/ the club as of late. I am destined to offer a truely valueable kayak-fishing experience for the members of Acadiana at a reasonable cost w/ some organization. The club has made great strides in the past 2 months. We've elected board members, became a legal non-profit, opened a checking account, created a logo and have a membership package for $30 highlighted with a year subscription to the LA Sportman Magazine (regular $24.99). LKFC is also offering discounted gear to it's members: fishing shirts, hats, t-shirts and stickers. Also worth mentioning that I think we've started this club out on the right foot as we've organized all this in a matter of 5 months. 2 of those months were a waste, no thanks to Gustav and Ike. All-in-all we're a pretty darn active club- meeting twice per month for a meeting and again for at least 1 club outing.

We had our club outing this past Sunday at Cypremore Point. 7 members and 3 guests. Guest activity is starting to ramp up. The fish vanished from the immediate point area that day I feel. We launched at Robert Mitchell's camp, a member of LKFC, near Hammock Bayou. That front messed things up and made for a tough day. Several of us scratched which is unusual. Water not salty enough and was dirty brown. Some of us fished the cove and others went to the Hammock. Had 1 guest, Mitch Labbe, w/ 5trout and a red around Shark Bayou but he wasn't in the tourney. 1stplace was Luke Beslin with a 19 1/2" Red and 2nd was Robert Mitchell with a 12 1/2" trout. 3rd place was weakest link (lightest stringers) split between 4 members. On the bright side, beautiful day out on the water. Did not have to mow, etc... I understand from a friend that the trash pile was ON while we struggled to catch. 2 other reports from different parts of the bay were positive (Redfish Point and reefs in SW Pass). The water quality was much better at the TP, birds were working by 6:30 AM, tons of boats and fish being caught.

We also had a trip to Dulac, LA in October where we all caught some good fish. John Williams wrote a story about it and no one could have painted a better picture. You can read about it on his blog here. Also check out Catch Cormier's blog about LKFC on his website. He writes for the flyfishing column for the Louisiana Sportsman, http://www.laflyfish.com/

Nov is usually a great month for Vermilion Bay and this year is proving no different. I hope to get out there in the power boat before it's too late. Stay tuned...

Monday, September 15, 2008

Washed Out

Well we ended up scrapping all of our Sept kayak fishing trips no thanks to Gustav and Ike. A Grand Isle trip was tentative for Nov and that is unlikely as well. We'll just have to move it elsewhere. Toledo Bend may not be a bad suggestion to make. Should make planning our fall events a challenge considering the basin will be a mess. According to the LDWF preliminary reports, Henderson's fish kills are as high as the Katrina and Rita hurricanes. Apparently the anoxic water will continue to spread south increasing fish kills.

We've set our regular meeting date for the 1st Tue of every month at Pack and Paddle. This October meeting we'll hopefully get club officers voted in and get at least 1 outing planned. We need the additional leadership to help keep things moving in the right direction.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Fall Activity Scheduled

We had a great meeting August 19. The heat of August had things stale for a little while. We discussed quite a few places that we could go to this fall. We talked about having a family club outing where we could bring the wives and kids for a day event. We ended up scheduling a September fishing trip on the 13th. Location TBD. We'll just wait to see where the fish are biting the week of...

The following weekend we've scheduled a Club Campout/Shootout at the north campsite at Sherburne WMA. We will camp out Fri Sept 19 and fish the next morning. Campsite is on the water so we'll just drop our kayak in the river, Little and Big Alabama I believe.

We also scheduled an October family event. We're leaning towards Lake Fausse point. Big area, lot's of area to fish, plenty of shade. Family friendly, rest rooms and a water park for the kids.

Lastly, we're working on a November club overnight trip to Grand Isle. Can't wait.

Till next time,

Greg
LKFC Founder

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

1st Inaugural Outing a hit

We had an excellent outing July 26th at Big Alabama in Sherburne WMA. Just 2 days after our first introductory meeting of 15 folks, 12 showed up for the group fishing expedition. All in all we had a great time catching bass and panfish from the 'yaks. I'm sure the concept was new to all the regular power boaters who were forced into idle speed for a good mile or so considering we had the south end of Big Alabama completely covered w/ LKFC fishermen.

At any rate the club has experienced tremendous inquiries and growth since our featured article in The Daily Adversiter. We're up to 28 members signed up on the yahoo groups page. Since the outing we've had an off-schedule trip planned between a couple members to Big Lake last weekend. I hope to see the activity and interest continue within the club. It's been a great experience already and I can't wait for our first saltwater trip. Our next meeting is scheduled for Thurs Aug 14 @ Pack and Paddle in Lafayette, 6 PM.

Friend helping friend

Friend helping friend
Greg tows kayak to Christopher for safe launch