Kayak Fishing Venice, Louisiana

We have just returned from our latest shoot—an extremely successful trip to Louisiana. Jim and Jameson Redding of Jackson Kayak headed to the Gulf town of Venice in the southernmost part of the state to hook up with Brian from Seaguar and the folks at Mexican Gulf Fishing Company.

Day 1 success on The Pale Horse

High winds courtesy of Tropical Storm Emily threatened to end the trip before we could even get started. After examining the forecast and weighing our options, we decided to keep the kayaks on shore spend our first day on the water learning the fine art of yellowfin fishing from the safety of our charter boat, The Pale Horse. In the span of just a few hours, we beat up on nine monster tuna and the guys felt confident that even with high winds, they could handle the big fish in their kayaks the next day.

With Emily looming on the horizon, we hit the water early knowing that our window of opportunity to fish from the kayaks would be short. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect; within seconds of hitting the water Jameson was hooked up and Jim quickly followed suit. The guys spent the next hour dealing with their first two lunkers from their kayaks. As soon as they were landed, fresh bait was dropped and we hooked up a second time. Jameson, burnt out from two big battles with yellowfin, handed his paddle over to Brian. Unfortunately, he lost his first bite and before he could drop a second bait the thunderstorms hit and we were forced to make a run for the shore.

The rain didn’t stop for several hours and the forecast threatened two days of unrelenting storms. With the dismal forecast, Brian decided the best course of action was to call it a day and head home. With footage to capture and hope for another break in the weather, the rest of the crew geared up and waited for the storm to pass.

Within a few hours and with a little bit of luck, the storms shifted and we saw our window to hit the water without a guide or a camera boat. In the end, Jameson and Jim landed nine beauty slot redfish and the guys rocked a ton of awesome tips and banter.

Next up, we’re headed back to Belize and Belize River Lodge with our good buddy Damon, where we’re hoping to hook in to some permit, bonefish, and tarpon.