Louisiana Coastal Fishing Scene Going Strong at Lake Calcasieu

Hughes Andry lifts a heavy speckled trout as

Mike Bonadonna unhooks another. 

* * *

Guide Brett Stansel lifts a 26-inch Louisiana

speckled trout that took a Corky suspending bait.

LOUISIANA INSHORE FISHING AS HOT AS THE SUMMER SUN

Summer has arrived on the Gulf Coast with the fish attacking soft plastics in western Louisiana's protected inshore waters.

Heavy fish, full stringers, salty air, golden sunrises and clean, green water.

Great Louisiana angling adventure as usual.

No news there, unless all you're reading is the bad news of the offshore oil spill far to the east.

Surely, the oil spill news is bad. The petro-disaster is real, relentless and seemingly endless. The oily sheen that is the spill’s trademark shares those same characteristics.

What the oil spill is not, though, is everywhere.

The western portion of the Louisiana Gulf shoreline, a stretch of more than 70 miles between the Texas border to Lake Calcasieu south of Lake Charles, has escaped with minor impact. Geography, weather and currents get the credit.

Certainly, that's good news on the salt marsh shores around the fishing village of Hackberry, 15 miles inland of the narrow Gulf inlet that marks the entrance to the Lake Charles Ship Channel.

At the legendary Hackberry Rod & Gun Club, discussion of the oil spill is constant table fare and a topic close on the minds and in the hearts of club spokesman Capt. Buddy Oakes and his staff of more than a dozen full-time fishing guides.

“We all have friends and family who are living with the oil every day,” Oakes said as a group gathered at the lodge dining room for lunch. “It’s hard to see this happening to anybody.”

Reality being what it is, life and business go on at Hackberry R&G. Certainly, the club and the region have taken their share of hits. The lodge is new and modern, a replacement for the familiar landmark facility wiped out by Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Also familiar among saltwater anglers on the Gulf Coast is the club’s reputation for putting hungry fish and hustling anglers in the same boat.

I made an afternoon trip out of Hackberry R&G with Capt. Dave Darnsteadt and Mike Bonadonna, vice president of Sportco Marketing, along with Hughes Andry. Bonadonna and Andry represent Shimano fishing products, which we put to the test for seven hours and hundreds of smooth casts.

The high-tech Shimano medium-action spinning tackle I used weighed less than 10 ounces, including the line and lure, The lightweight gear made a great impression on my casting arm, and it managed even the largest redfish with ease.

The speckled trout were in assault mode all afternoon. We finished with 27 trout up to 27 inches long and reeled in and released more than a dozen redfish, all keepers to 24 inches long.

Our fishing was within a 15-minute boat ride of the dock in front of the lodge, which was the final ingredient in a user-friendly and fruitful day on the water.

The next day started with a 4:30 a.m. call to breakfast. My boat, guided by Capt. Brett Stansel, pulled away from the dock at 5:15, first light. In the boat with us was then president of American Rodsmiths, Bob Brown.

We fished for five hours and were in aggressive trout and reds from the start. The action slowed about 9 a.m. but the fish continued to bite right up to the last cast on the local favorite Hackberry Hustler soft plastics and gold spoons. Our mixed bag included a 2-pound southern flounder that hit Brown’s fast-moving Hustler.

We also threw MirrOlure Top Dogs topwater baits and the company’s line of soft plastics, including a Texas classic, the Corky suspending baits. MirrOlure acquired the Corky brand last year.

The visit ended under a hot, clear Louisiana midday sky with a look back at the lodge on the edge of the bay. We had a two-hour drive to Houston ahead of us and a couple of great fishing trips behind us.

The motto of the Hackberry Rod & Gun Club is, “Ya should been here yesterday.”

Well, we were, and it paid off handsomely in new acquaintances, renewed friendships, good fellowship and a few filets for the skillet.

And there’s always tomorrow when, regardless of influences beyond the bayou, the fish will be biting in Lake Calcasieu and the guides at Hackberry Rod & Gun will be in hot pursuit, led by “Pooh Buddy” Oakes. I look forward to the next visit.

* Online see hackberryrodandgun.com, shimano.com and mirrolure.com