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Saltwater

Fish tagging

February 28, 2012
Fishing, Saltwater
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One thing I like to do if I plan on releasing the fish that I catch is to tag them. It can be quick and simple if you have everything you need handy. Being in a kayak complicates things a little, but not enough to deter me. LDWF and CCA Louisiana have a joint program called the Louisiana Cooperative Marine Fish Tagging Program that you can sign up for and they will send you everything you need to start tagging. This data is then used in tagging studies and they will update you when a fish is caught that you’ve previously tagged. I have yet to have anyone recapture one of my fish and I think I have tagged around 50 fish.

Along with the tags you receive a tool to insert the tag into the fish and a form you will need to fill out and send back to CCA Louisiana. They also give you a pen and a Rite in the Rain pad. I usually fill the form out at home and use the Rite in the Rain pad to jot down my notes. You will need to measure the fish and identify the location you caught it with GPS points. You can use a GPS or do what I do. I use Google Earth once I get home and locate where I was at. It shortens the time I have the fish off the water. There is a spot on the form to identify weight, I don’t believe it is required, but you can weigh the fish as well. Then there are some general questions about what type of lure you used and how the fish took to the release. I have found that I tag more fish when everything is handy, so I keep the kit in a ziploc in my dry hatch or in my milkcrate. I also keep the fish in my net in the water when I’m jotting down notes.

Check out this program if you currently catch and release fish from time to time, I know they could always use more taggers. It is free and you don’t have to be a member of CCA. I believe it is open to any marine game fish species, so tag away at specks, reds, flounder, cobia, tripletail, whatever. Click on the link below for more info.

Louisiana Cooperative Marine Fish Tagging Program
Tony Berrigan, Coordinator
Contact
P.O. Box 87353
Baton Rouge
Louisiana
70879-8353
1-800-567-2182
(225) 952-9204

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Fat Tuesday fun

February 21, 2012
Fishing, Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Music, Saltwater, Video
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Took advantage of the Mardi Gras holiday and the good weather and headed to the marsh to try to sightfish for reds. The drive down was shaky to start as I narrowly avoided three deer on the side of the road who decided to cross just as I was about to pass. I swear they do that on purpose. Once Zebra came on the radio though I had a good feeling about today’s fishing.

Met up with Blake, his dad, and two of our friends from New Orleans who just got kayaks. Blake gave me a fly he tied up to use for the day. I don’t recall what pattern it was, but it just looked fishy. That fly ended up being pretty damn effective. I caught 7 reds, 2 sheepshead and a black drum on it. That’s a cajun slam in my mind. Sightfishing was pretty decent throughout the morning, with a number of fish tailing and some sunshine here and there. Wind was never an issue as it laid down all day. Clouds rolled in after lunch and made sightfishing pretty tough. The first red I caught was my big fish on the day, 28″.

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A couple of other interesting bits. Early on I was throwing a new 4pc TFO BVK 8wt. I got this BVK because TFO couldn’t replace my TiCr, so they stepped up and gave me a BVK to replace it. They called me to tell me this when I sent in the TiCr for warranty work. I was bummed I wouldn’t get my TiCr back, but looking forward to using the BVK, which is all the rage these days. It is light and I guess fragile too because it broke during the fight with my 2nd red. I don’t think I did anything out of the ordinary to cause it to break – it just broke while under sustained pressure from a 25″ red. The drag on my reel was loose and all line was clear. The rod just snapped right below the ferrule for the top section. This time I remembered to bring a back up rod, the trusty Redington Crosswater. This rod has landed dozens of redfish without problem. TFO has a solid warranty, so I’ll give the BVK a shot at redemption, maybe I just got a lemon?

I also fell in today. First time ever in the marsh. It has happened a few times on rivers, moving water. Unfortunately I wasn’t filming, because I’m sure it would have been hilarious to witness. Anyways, I went to sit down but forgot I had my fly rod in my seat. This was the back up rod, so I didn’t want to put all my weight on it. I sat up to slide the rod forward and get it out of my seat, but I guess I put too much pressure on one side and I went over the other way. The Coosa flipped as I fell out. The only thing I think I lost is the suction cup mount for the GoPro, everything else floated or was leashed. It was pretty funny, I’m glad it was warm out today. Water temps didn’t feel that cold. Just goes to show you, it doesn’t matter how stable you’re boat is or how good your balance is, one mistake is all it takes and you’ll be in the water.