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Tackle Trap
The Tackle Trap crew needed a little getaway so we piled up and headed south to Lafitte, Louisiana where our buddy Cpt. Chet Hebert (pronounced A-Bear for all you non-coonass speakers) was on the fish as usual. We arrived LATE that night after the drive down from Boaz, Alabama to find a "houseboat" ready and waiting for us. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was MUCH larger and nicer! It was a great place to stay with plenty of room, very clean, and even had satellite TV!We managed about 3 hours sleep and woke the next morning a little before 5am to find Cpt. Chet already tied up on the dock of the houseboat ready to roll. We stopped off at the local marina for a little fuel for the boat and a few snacks, and off we went in search of some Reds! This being my first trip in search of the Reds, I was more than excited about hooking into these "legendary" fighters and brought a little gear down to test their might. My choice rod was the new 2012 GLX 894 JWR paired up with a bone stock Daiwa Lexa 100SHL spooled with 50lb braid. It didn't take long to put it to the test…
Shortly after making a few casts, the first of MANY "bull reds" picked up the bait more lightly that I'd have expected and the fight was on. Both the rod and the reel performed flawlessly and I was pleasantly surprised by the power and smoothness of the stock drag on the Lexa! The power and sensitivity of the JWR 894 GLX didn't fail to impress either. These reds made surge after surge under the boat and the rod did it's job and then some. Impressive!
After a long day of rib-bruising hooksets, we headed back to the dock to tally the catch, snap a few photos, and have a few beers while we watch Cpt. Chet and Little Chet masterfully fillet up a large pile of fish.
Later that evening, we drove around to take in some of the sights and sounds of Lafitte, LA. This is definitely the kind of place I'll return to spend some more time!
We all went out to dinner at a little hole in the wall called Voleos that came HIGHLY recommended by Cpt. Chet. As usual, he was dead on. Everything we ordered was superb, cooked beautifully, and absolutely packed with flavor. I ordered the Eggplant Pirouge and it was delicious!!
The next morning, we decided to go give the Speckled Trout a try and I managed what I'm told was a pretty big one for the area we were fishing. They were fun to catch of course, but nothing like the hard fighting Reds…
I was more interested in setting the hook on those Reds, so we went back for some more drag screaming action. Guys, I've always heard how hard Redfish fight, but I didn't really "know" until I hooked into a bunch of these brutes. I'm a bass fisherman first and foremost, but after getting a taste of the power of the Redfish, I can absolutely understand why guys are addicted to it…
We all had a GREAT time and Cpt. Chet and his MUCH better half Jo went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed and that we felt like family when we were there. The fishing was outstanding, the service was top notch, and we each carried back a lot of delicious fish for the freezer.
These guys know their way around a fillet knife! I can say that I'm officially a huge fan of Redfishing! There is absolutely no doubt that we'll be making another trip down to fish with Cpt. Chet again. It won't be soon enough!
If you've ever wanted to go Redfishing, look up our friend Cpt. Chet Hebert at http://chetsfishingcharters.com/ and check out our photo album of this incredible trip!