Last Saturday my wife, Deborah and I decided to make a road trip down La. 1 to Grand Isle. She’d been cooped up for a little over a week and she needed some “outside” time so we decided a trip to the barrier island was the perfect destination to spend a day getting there and back.

We had a few destinations in mind and one of the ones was to watch for the “road warriors” – the people that fish on the roadside. My route to the island usually takes me to the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Gramercy and then to La. 3127 and it didn’t take long to spot a few of those hardy souls fishing for supper.

All along La. 3127 there are small canals dredged into the swamp. At each one that had enough water to hold a fish, someone had a “slaughter” pole with heavy line and one goal in mind – slinging choupique on the bank.

Our journey takes us to Hwy. 190, heading south through the community of Des Allemands known as the catfish capital of the world. This year’s event will be held July 10-12 on the grounds of St Gertrude Church. Just like our Jambalaya Festival, plenty of food will certainly be on hand along with a cooking contest.

The short stretch of Hwy. 90 between Boutte and Bayou Lafourche also sports several roadside fruit stands that has local honey and home made jellies and jams. There are also swamp tours available if an airboat ride is what you’re looking for.

The turn south on La. 308 takes the ride down Bayou Lafourche that’s lined with shrimp boats, tugboats and even a few fishermen who were trying to catch some bluegills. It’s amazing how at this point, folks will be catching freshwater fish and just a few miles downstream or down highway, the quest will be for speckled trout, redfish and the sort.

After leaving Golden Meadow, the road follows Bayou Lafourche until Leeville and the heavy duty fishing really begins. There are a couple of culverts that pass under the road and that’s a natural gathering point for bait and fish. These popular spots are always occupied and this day was no different.

The bridge in Leeville marks the beginning of the marsh so from this point until the end of the bridge that crosses over to Grand Isle, the road warriors are really out in force. Some bring small boats and kayaks but the majority just hoof it and carry all they need in a car or truck.

Market shrimp is usually the bait of choice and is a good one as it attracts different species of fish. The one downside is that it attracts lots of undesirable specimens on the end of your line, like hardhead catfish. You can usually tell a popular fishing location by the corks hanging from guide lines and electrical lines that dot the marsh from breaking off after getting hung up.

Three bridges cross canals on the road that offer plenty of parking and fishing accessibility so they are very popular hot spots. I made a stop at the first bridge and talked with two parties that came in from Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Denham Springs.

Both had fished in the surf on Grand Isle that morning and because of high winds and the fish not biting, they elected to finish their day along the road. The Baton Rouge gang had driven in that morning and were heading back, so they were making a one day trip. Most of the road warriors do it that way. They’re a hardy bunch.

I even gave it a try myself and blew the opportunity to catch our dinner for Saturday night. I stopped at the second bridge and spent about 20 minutes casting a V & M plastic cocahoe minnow glow with a chartreuse tail. On my second cast I hooked a really nice trout, got it to the top of the water and it threw the bait. I broke another one off and caught one that was undersized. Oh well.

The bridge over Caminada Pass was the last spot and like always, 20 or so people were on each end fishing their hearts out. The John Duhe family was fishing on the south. He and his four boys caught some channel mullet and a few white trout but the best thing was those boys were just having fun.

A good road trip wouldn’t be complete without finding a really good eating spot so we stopped at our favorite local establishment, the deli at the Kajun Sportsman at the corner of La. 1 and Fourchon Road. Located upstairs in the convenience store, you’ll find fresh seafood prepared by those “bayou” ladies that have worked there for years. The oyster po-boys are the best in the world.

So if making a good road trip with the one you love, meeting new people while fishing a little and eating a great oyster po-boy isn’t quite enough, there’s more. On our way home we stopped at The Seafood Shed just outside of Golden Meadow, right along the bayou. Shrimp 12 to 16 count were priced at an unheard of $2.50 per pound, so we stuffed our ice chest with 40 lbs of those beautiful shrimp and enjoyed our ride home. Oh yeah, we also picked up some fresh blue berries at one of the fruit stands.

So the next time you head to Grand Isle, remember the road warriors and remember to keep the slack out and set the hook hard. So until next time have fun in the outdoors, be safe and may God bless you.