By Shannon Williams
I recently took a little trip with my hubby! We have very different travel styles and habits so we both take our “own” vacation, he goes hunting and I cruise. Then we travel together several times per year. We try and go to places that both will enjoy, but for the past two years one of our together trips has been to go fishing in Louisiana. He also makes sure that there is a spa day somewhere for me and I always go out on the boat at least one day. He put together this trip and I have to say he did outstanding! We drove to outside of New Orleans for the first part of the vacation as we were going to go fishing in the marsh of the Mississippi Delta.

Since I have married this man, he has talked about the poor boy sandwiches at Darrell’s in Lake Charles, LA. I really did not pay much attention as it was just a poor boy sandwich, but I was wrong. We stopped on our way there and I got to experience first hand this poor boy sandwich. We got a little bit of a scare, as when I looked it up to get the address, the app I used, said it was closed on Monday’s and it was a Monday. We were meeting two other couples, who would be fishing with us. We attempted to text them, but got no answer. So, we just went to see if they were waiting in the parking lot. WELL, they were open on Mondays and the parking lot was full and it not even 11:30 am. Luckily, they had gotten us a table and were all waiting for us to get there so they could order. They had several types of poor boys, I assumed it would be the standard fried shrimp, but they had a roast beef one. I had one of those years ago in New Orleans and it was so good, but I have not had one since. The roast beef was the one they were known for, so it is what I ordered. WOW, the bread was so good and the meat had a great taste and was swimming (and I mean in the deep end swimming) in its own juices, a little homemade mayo and it was a delight. I ordered a small, but so wished I had ordered a large, as I wanted to have a midnight snack on that sandwich later that night. I saw what all the hype was and will know go out of my way if I get anywhere close, I might even just go for a Sunday drive, it’s only two hours!

On the road again to Delacroix in Saint Bernard Parish, which is somewhere outside of New Orleans and out in the middle of nowhere. We arrived at the fishing camp, which was not bad for a fishing camp, it had all of your basic needs and was clean and roomy. Since we were the youngest couple as far as age, we were assigned to the bunk beds. I was so glad to see that we both could have a bottom bunk, as I did not want either of us to have to crawl up to the top. The other couple who we shared the bathroom with were very easy going, so it was not bad at all.

We were up early the next morning to meet the guide. I dressed in several layers and had my rain gear with me. We knew it was going to be cold, wet and windy, so we did our best to prepare. As long as the boat was not moving I was fine, but getting out to the place we wanted to fish was so cold and wet. I did not think about where I picked to sit on the boat and was in the open with no wind break facing the wind as we went well over 50 mph to get to the good fishing. I had a Big Yeti cup full of hot tea and it warmed me up. Each time we go fishing with a guide, I have to learn a new way to fish. Full disclosure, I am not a fisherman, I enjoy being on the boat and enjoy some fishing, but am not experienced or a diehard sportsman. We were fishing in water that was only a couple of feet deep and with a different type of pole than the one I use in Crystal Beach. The guide told me to jiggle my pole every 5 seconds to let the fish know I was there. Well, I just did not do so good on that system and twice got my lines messed up with someone else on the boat. All of the others, were indeed good fisherman and took it very seriously, and I did not want to get in the way of them fishing. I would fish for a bit, then just enjoy all there was to see way out there. Our guide was very informative about so much, and I asked as many questions as a bored 2-year-old! I asked about the black dot on the tails of the red fish, why we were using dead shrimp instead of live and so many other questions. I think the guide was glad when I decided to read a book!

The winds died down a little and we found a few spots, and the guys were on the fish. I love watching the hubby get a fish, he is just so happy and having so much fun. That day he caught the second biggest red fish that he had ever caught! That made the wind and the cold worth it, to see him fight to get it in the boat and he grin afterwards. As the day was winding to a close, the guide yelled for me to come up to the front of the boat. He had hooked a fish and wanted me to reel it in! That was not an easy task, but I got that fish in the boat by myself and was very proud of that fact. I would not say that I caught him, as I did not, but I played a part in it and it was fun.

The ride back to the marina was windy and the rain had started, the guide went as fast as he could to get us in before the big rain that was coming. I was very glad when one of the other females decided that she would not fish the next day and I said I would stay at the camp to keep her company. What we both really wanted to do was not get up some earlier and not be cold and wet all day. The guys had a good day without us and I enjoyed not getting out in the rain and wind.

We had taken our vacuum food sealer to make sure we got all the fish home in good order. So, the evening was spent getting the fish ready for the trip home and to be enjoyed at a later date. We had brought all kinds of food with us, since there was not a restaurant near by, so dinner that night was cleaning out all of the food we had brought so we did not have to pack it and take it home. We were up early the next morning for a big breakfast, loading the car and the drive back to Lake Charles for the second part of the week to be spent at the Golden Nugget; more on that next week. I have attached a couple of pictures of Paul’s big fish and the one that I reeled in. I told Paul to start looking for a place for next spring! I just hope the weather then will not be as cold LOL.

[Mar-15-2022]