Gumbo. Alligators. Mardi Gras. Katrina. Beignets. If you’re not a fly angler, these are likely some of the thoughts that come to mind when conversation turns towards Louisiana. However, if you’re amongst a group of anglers, there’s a good chance that the conversation sounds a little different. Redfish. Marsh. Strip set. Greg Dini. Redfish.
There aren’t a lot of reasons that a tourist would venture further into the abyss of the Mississippi River Delta than New Orleans…unless you’re an angler-tourist. Fisherman from all walks of life make pilgrimages to the marshland beyond the lights of Bourbon Street and the scream of the French Quarter’s jazz bands to immerse themselves in the Delta’s fishery. The redfish of the marsh are a great equalizer — they don’t care how new (or old) your boat is, if you have a homemade PVC or state-of-the-art carbon fiber push pole, or if you have a $100 fly rod or a $1,000 fly rod. They treat everyone with the same fly-crushing aggression if the presentation is is good enough. Although anglers all over the coastal South throw flies to redfish, few are able to make a reasonable argument that there is a redfishery anywhere else on Earth that rivals the marshes of the Mississippi River Delta. Better yet, the Delta marsh is equal parts beautiful and productive.