We Done Got Some Plans!
For quite some time, I have been searching and asking if anyone knew of a place within a decent driving distance from my home to go fishing without a boat. There is certainly no lack of water around. Yet, places where I (the general public) can get close enough to a fishable spot from the bank are not readily apparent.
Last week, I finally learned off some possible places to fish for speckled trout, redfish, and do some crabbing at the same time. I wanted to zoom off that day and check it out, but other plans had been laid. Well, tomorrow's weather forecast indicates that it will be partly cloudy with a high termperature of 83 degrees in this area.
Two days ago, I asked my wife if she wanted to try to get off work and go with me. She loves boiled seafood. She quickly said yes, and tomorrow is the day. We are not going to push it and head out super early, but we are not going to be too slack either.
I Done Bought The Chicken Legs
Today, I purchased a few thing that I did not have in my collection of fishing tackle which is mostly geared toward bass fishing. While at the store I picked up a few groceries and other items we needed for around the house. Jumbo packs of chicken legs were on sale. I purchased one. If you are thinking we are going to fry chicken to bring along for a picnic lunch, your on the wrong bayou. The chicken legs are the crab bait.
The nice guy who told me about his fishing hole said he had caught a few crabs last weekend, but the water was a bit murky from a recent rain. So, while we are fishing tomorrow, my wife and I will be trying for crabs. We will not be using crab traps or even lift nets. We will be going about things the old fashioned way.....with a simple length of twine.
I asked my advisor if he had been using chicken necks, as many do in this simple form of crabbing. He quickly answered, "No. No, I like to use chicken legs, they last a lot longer. It might just be me, but I like to use legs instead of necks." Therefore, I plan to follow his lead and tie off each chicken leg to a length of twine. The other end will be looped around a stick shoved into the moist earth. Every few minutes we will pull each of our legs in very slowly; slowly enough to keep anything that has latched onto the leg will keep hanging on. When it gets close enough to see without pulling it completely out of the water, I have a long handled net to quickly dip up any chicken-eating crab.
Fishing Too
In between checking the crab lines we will either be fishing for speckled trout or reds. On our way down, we will stop at one of the dozens of bait shops and ask what the specks have been hitting on. The answer will most likely be shrimp. We will use them on the shad-rigs I purchased earlier. After I cast out my shad rig, I will probably have a stiffer rod rigged up with a jig or a gold-spoon spinner bait with a plastic body rather than a skirt and cast for redfish.
We will cross the Mississippi River to the town of Chalmette by ferry. Once across, we will head further south toward Poydras, Violet, and Braithewaite. The directions I have been given are for an area not too far out of the small town of Poydras. However, if that does not work out we will head further south toward Reggio and maybe to the end of the road at Delecroix.
It would be super to bring home enough crabs to boil for dinner. If we could land one decent-sized redfish, we could fire up the pit and put the two filets on the grill, skin side down.......seasoned with some Tony Chacerie's..........HONEY HUSH!
If it turns out we have to go through a drive through at a burger joint on the way home, I am confident the trip will have been a success. After all, a day outdoors in Southeast Louisiana....fishing and crabbing....spending that time with my wife....forgetting about other things for a while.....Yes, I am confident the day will be a success.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 27
Great Lori, now you've got me salivating for crab. I'll have to head up to my friend's cabin in Washington state soon, where crabs abound in the lake. There's nothing like a great crab feed fresh from the water. Throw in some steamer clams and fresh oysters doused in lime juice and horseradish, and I'm all over that like two hens in a bug farm.
(Thanks for inspiring my comment here b>Mariana! Yours gave me a good laugh, especially following all of Robb's "done got" pronouncements. Good stuff.)
Its been a while since I have been myself. I am sure we will have a nice day........all I have to do is remember who is in charge.
No, we don't use crab pots. This is a low tech operation and probably a different type of crab than you are used to. However, one time on the Beverly Hillbilllys, I did see Jethro ask a Cop if he wanted to join him in smoking some "Crawdads." Not at all sure what this weird character meant by "crawdads," the officer asked him, "Just how do you smoke crawdads?" Jethro's enthusiastic answer to the suspicious officer: "First we have to get a little pot!"
Thanks for stopping by and axing me to let ya'll know how the trip goes.
Don't plan ideas in my head.........you know I'm "thowed off." But, if you change your mind, and you want to be fishing instead of wishing, I'll ax her.
Thank you so much. Yes, our state is indeed rich in natural resources. I am writing this since we arrived home from our trip. We had a great day. Before today, I had never been to the area around Hopedale, LA. Not only are most of the structures not yet replaced, much of the area still looks like it must have once the water receded over a year and half ago.
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I know the type of "romantic" to which you refer. Its the type that resides in the mindset, in the planning, anticipation, and doing, no matter the outcome. As for a full report, that should be forthcoming as the trip has already been made. As for a hint: There will be more trips in the near future. You say you "wooed your wife steelheading......" My wife calls me "steelhead!"
Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to R/C.
Thanks for reading. Yes it would have been great if you guys would have caught enough keepers for the pot, but it sounds like your day was big success in accomplishing its main goal. Thanks again for stopping by!
When I was a girl, we didn't have much money, but my Mom loved to alwasy be sure we had something "fun" to do, so we spent almost every weekend camping, fishing, crawfishing or crabbing. Of course, back then we could throw the crab nets over the pier at Lake Ponchartrain and find crawfish in just about any muddy hole (tho the oft sighted snakes gave me the creeps). My favorite aprt was always watching them "purge" in the bathtub.
The good ole days...tubbing down the tickfaw, swimming in the lake...long before any of us knew just how polluted the waters were.
The Crab Report vanished into thin air in one of those computer glithes that occur for some unkown reason. I think it went to the same place that washers and dryers send the missing socks. It will probably be rewritten in the near future. For that matter, several articles could emerge from the trip. However, what I am anxious to learn is where and when in the past did ya'll go tube-ing on the Tickfaw? We used to go camping and float the Tickfaw all the time when I was a young'un!
Driving in snow would be foreign to me! Yes the crabs really hang on as long as you do not pull them all the way out of the water, or startle them by moving too quickly. Its best to have the net in the water before pulling the crab near the surface. He/She just doesn't want to let go of a nice fresh chicken leg. They don't come along everyday. However, I must admit, this is a very low tech method which, of course, lowers the numbers for the pot. Hopefully, the report of the day will be posted soon. Thanks for reading. Maybe one of these days I can take you crabbing in the Louisiana marsh and you can take me to see the farm and the peach blossoms.
I hoped you enjoyed banging on the table and are able to give the restaurant a five-star rating. I have acquired some crab nets for our next trip. We will move up one spot on the "technology" ladder in crab-catching.