(^88) FLYLIFE
was fascinating to see schools of mullet
with big reds casually swimming below
them. Every now and then there would
be a loud splash and one less mullet,
with the rest of the school carrying on
as if nothing had happened.
BLACK DRUM
The other fascinating quarry we chased
is the black drum – they are closely
related to the redfish and can grow to
considerable size. The second morn-
ing we had one swim past that would
have been in the 50 lb class; the wake
it pushed was visible from a few hun-
dred metres away. Unfortunately that
fish was not interested in our offer-
ings. Brian said they don’t normally eat
when they are on the move, and the
best opportunity to catch them is when
they are lounging around. Brian also
explained that the cast for black drum is
even less intuitive than the one for the
reds: the best way to get them to eat is
to cast the fly as close as possible and
ideally let it drop down right in front of
their eyes. Then, once they see it, wait
for the gills to flare and strike. Appar-
ently they have very poor eyesight and
a number of strange worm-like feelers
under their mouth — all suited to rum-
maging on the sea bed looking for any
tasty morsels.
Even though they appear dark in
pictures, and are called ‘black’ drum,
the first one we came across was sur-
prisingly visible as it sat in about two
feet of water. I made a quick cast, the
fly almost slid down its nose and that
seemed to wake it up. It moved forward
ever so slightly, I saw the gills flare and
after counting one ‘Mississippi’ (forgive
the pun) I set the hook and it was on.
It put up a dogged fight — shorter runs
but more stubborn than a red — and
Brian secured it with the boga-grip and
lifted it up for a picture. That was when
I was able to truly notice how ugly and
smelly they are: the slime left a smell
on my clothes that lingered for the
rest of the day. This only added to the
charm of a different but engaging fish.
I managed to catch one more during
the week but I need to go back for a
battleship sized one.
Being less than two hours from New
Orleans has its positives as well — even
though it is too far to base yourself
there for the fishing, there is a good
chance that at least one day during the
week will be blown out, so after wak-
ing up to wind and rain and waiting
for a few hours, we called Brian and
he suggested a visit to the war museum
in NOLA. The museum was quite easy
to find and proved to be an excellent
experience, as confirmed by its rating
on Tripadvisor.
From the museum it was a pleasant
20 minute walk to Canal Street and
into the French Quarter, where we
were able to partake in shrimp po-boys
for lunch and beignets and coffee at
the Café du Monde for dessert. The
walk down Bourbon Street during the
day was a bit confronting, but at night
time it’s alive until well into the early
hours of the morning. Kelvin and I
managed to experience it on our last
night after the week’s fishing was com-
pleted, and all I can say is that we did
manage to catch our flights home the
next day, just... FL
Bull head.
Postcard
... continued
Ugly but fun.Gentle release.KELVIN NG