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A few weeks back I saw that the 3rd annual “Best of Louisiana Outdoors” was accepting nominations for this year’s categories.  I’m not sure that I even knew about the first two years of this deal, but somehow it came across my social media feed this year.  I got registered on the site and started giving nominations where I saw fit and I got to the “Best Redfish Angler (Non-Professional)” and thought, “Eh, what the hell, I’ll throw my hat in the ring.  Surely they won’t let some jackass that nominates himself into the finals” – well wouldn’t you know it, they totally did, though I suspect that in order for me to make the finals someone else must have also nominated me and to that person, or persons I guess, I am quite honored.

Thus begins my global campaign.  Under the Lagniappe category you can now cast your vote for yours truly as the “best” redfish angler in the state of Louisiana.  You’ve got to register before you can begin voting and I have no idea whether or not they will spam the hell out of those who register, but it would amuse me to no end to see my name there, so get out there and rock the vote.

It’s been a few months since I last caught a redfish, but don’t let the time off fool you, I can still catch them better than anyone else in this state, so allow me to stroll down memory lane to provide some evidence as to why I’m deserving of your vote:

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This short film from JK Media House was put together from a trip they took down here late last year.  They had a great week of fishing and filming with John from Pack & Paddle and Eddie and Lisa from PAC Kayak Rentals. I think I remember Jameson telling me this Spring that their Louisiana trip was the most fish they’ve ever gotten on film – which was music to my ears.  We are truly blessed down here in kayak angler’s paradise – come see for yourself.

For the last few years the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club and Massey’s Outfitters have gotten together and offered one of my favorite kayak fishing events, the Massey’s BCKFC Fish Pics Tournament.  It’s an 11 month long CPR style (catch-photo-release) tournament that starts on Jan 1st of each year and is free to members of the BCKFC.  It has two divisions, one for conventional tackle and one for fly fishermen, and each division winner is awarded a kayak at the end of the year.  You heard that right, a tournament with essentially free entry awards two kayaks!  Other awards are also given out for the biggest fish in each category – redfish, trout, bass, and flounder.  I love this style of tournament because now every trip becomes a potential winning trip.

Last year I started off hot, catching some big redfish in January.  This 42.25″ red was good enough to land me the award for biggest redfish in the conventional tackle division.

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In the fly division, I took home 2nd place overall with the help of a 35.5″ redfish also caught that same day in January.

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My bass and my trout weren’t the biggest, but they were enough to eek out a 2nd place finish.  They were both caught during my week long stay in St. Bernard in October.

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This past year was the most participation that the tournament has ever seen, which was around  40 people total, so as you can tell, it didn’t take much for me to place.  It’s a shock to me that more BCKFC members aren’t taking advantage of this opportunity and submitting fish from their trips.  Maybe this year the tournament will see even more growth.

For more information on the Massey’s BCKFC Fish Pics tournament or to start competing, sign up to become a member at www.BCKFC.org.