Spontaneity: "I have a fly fishing addiction"

Time/Date: 0750, 25-Sep-10
Location: my kitchen

As I mentioned in the last post, I somewhat spontaneously booked a plane ticket. Here's the back story.

Due to that oil spill thing in the Gulf, much of my reading material concerned the spill (& the chemical dispersants) and its effect on Gulf fisheries. I kept reading up on the region and saltwater fly fishing in general, which turned into being inundated with information on bonefish, tarpon, permit and redfish. Warm climates and awesome fish. Hmmm.

Who's a fishin' fashion icon? This guy

In summer Bugslinger released their R3 shirts, with proceeds going to one of the guides' associations in Louisiana. The guides lost almost all of their bookings due to the spill. Good enough cause for me; I ordered three.

Side note: I'm a fan of groups fundraising with sales of shirts, etc. I have to wear something, it might as well be for a decent cause. Alzheimer's Society (who have come to my door 6 times this year), take note; you have some potentially cool slogans: "I remembered to put on this shirt; support Alzheimer's research!"

This past Wednesday, I grabbed my Fly Fusion destinations issue and randomly flipped open a page. A picture of a redfish. Damn it. I had redfish on the brain for the rest of the day. Later on I sat down to do some geo data work (it's coming, Matt!!) and decided to check out Expedia for airfares...out of curiosity.

Within two hours, I had the plane ticket to New Orleans and a guide booked for two days of chasing redfish on the fly.

Redfish propaganda...again

I contacted Uptown Angler and they booked Capt. John Iverson as my guide. It turns out Capt. Iverson was the guide featured in a recent article in the ezine This Is Fly. I just found this out yesterday. I take that as a really good sign.

A lot of the trouble guides are having with their bookings are misconceptions on the extent of the spill on the flats & in the marshes. The fishing season is on & they're ready to put you onto some Reds. The guides in this video tell it better than me.

That's my tale of the lengths I will go to feed my addiction. I'm not proud (actually, I am).

I'll do a separate post on the saltwater rod & reel I'm setting up for the trip...and surprisingly, it's a cheap & easy setup.

Here's some geographically-appropriate music: