(Not So) Deadliest Catch

Billy Crews and Mike Gautreau
(Trip Report by Billy Crews)

DAY 1

The plan was simple enough:  Day 1 - Leave the office a few hours early, pick up Mike, load up his party barge with crab traps, bait, and a few beers, then drop the traps in the water near the mouth of Blind River.  Day 2 - Pick up traps and (hopefully) enjoy an evening crab boil.  There was no plan for the darkness that came in between the two days...

Our expenses for Day 1, which included the fuel, bait, and beer would total near $75.00, so we were hoping to catch $35.00 worth of crabs.  Loaded up, we left Matt's (Mike's brother) safe harbor in their co-owned, partially homemade party barge and sipped on a few as we cruised the Diversion Canal towards Blind River.  I worked on baiting the traps as Mike navigated the water and cranked out a few tunes.  We had heard reports of crabs showing up in the river, so our plans was to drop a full compliment just on the down river side of lower Alligator Bayou.  Mike idled the bank as I dropped each trap every 30 yards or so.  Once they were all in, we verified they were lined up with each float marking the location.

With plenty of daylight available, we decided on anchoring at the river's mouth in Lake Maurepas.  Since we had a few extra turkey necks left over, we made use of some twine and set out a few baited lines.  Over the next hour we would check the lines and haul in a small crab every fifteen minutes or so, but none worth keeping.  By 7:30PM we noticed the sky had gotten mostly hazy with a few bruised looking clouds showing up on the northern horizon.  We decided to pack it in after giving the traps a quick check. 

Neither one of us paid attention to the route as we headed back up river and we unknowingly passed up our cache of traps.  As the weather was very close to threatening, Mike was ready to keep heading in, but I managed to convince him of otherwise... (not a smart move on my part).  By the time we reached the first trap we could hear a little rumbling a few miles out.  By the time I checked the second trap we started seeing a few fireworks in the sky.  At the third trap I realized my mistake and that all hell was about to break loose...

I dropped the last trap, noting that each had one or two crabs, but none that were size worthy.  Mike made an abrupt U turn and up-river we went.  The party barge gave us all she was worth, but in the end we would fall six miles short of our goal.  We sprinted along the river as the sky hurled down bolts of
lightning over and around us.  Blowing through the NWZ at the Blind River Bar, we would only manage another half of a mile before meeting with a wall of water.  Right before the rain hit, Mike spotted a boat house on the south bank which ended up being the only shelter in a one mile stretch.  Easing her in, we lashed the barge to the pilings and then made a quick survey of our situation:  Fuel - check, battery juice - check, beer - uh-oh, we have a problem.  Although we were secure shelter-wise, we had managed to exhaust our compliment of six beers for the trip.  It was now just past 8:PM and for the next hour and a half, Mike and I sat back on a covered patio swing and watched Mother Nature display her wrath.

We would make a few phone calls and texts as the evening went on; we wanted our families and friends to know we were OK and out of any immediate danger.  We even sent a few texts requesting aid in the form of beer, but none came.  By 9:30PM, even though the rain and wind has subsided, there was still a pretty good show in the sky going on.  We verified by phone that the radar indeed showed a break in the storm cell, but another was lined up right behind it and heading our way (which explained all the lighting still coming our way).  Before leaving, Mike managed to get a burner hooked up to a propane bottle going (provided by our unknown host) and we each took turns warming up and drying our clothes.  A little drier and a little warmer, we gambled on the tidbit of radar beta and, based on our own observation, decided to make a run for home.

Although it was pitch dark, the home sites along the Diversion lit up the bank while the night sky would give us a bright picture of what lay ahead every thirty or so seconds.  Although we ran down the canal  as fast as possible, we played it safe by each wearing a life-jacket.  We finally arrived at Matt's house around 10:PM.  After lifting the barge out of the water, Mike and I headed home with us each getting in around 10:30PM.

Of course, the traps are still out there and need to be hauled in, but those plans are for Day 2...

Here's a little running in the weather vid:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuRNPovjQ0w

Day 2
With a good night's rest followed by most of the day spent working; Mike and I headed back out on the Blind to retrieve the traps.  Being it was Wednesday, we were greeted by nearly three dozen bass boats as they blasted their way to their individual fishing spots, all competing in the Canal Bank Wednesday Night Bass Tournament.

The weather was as near perfect as could be for June in SoLA and we both enjoyed being out of doors as compared to the evening before.  We found our traps in no time and Mike did a perfect job of lining up the barge as I hauled in the catch.  Except for one empty trap, we averaged three crabs per pick up with most being no. 2 in size and a handful of no. 1's.

With time and good weather to spare, we decided on navigating the entire length of Alligator Bayou.  I had not been down the bayou myself in over a quarter of a century, and nothing seemed familiar as we made our way north.  The bayou water was dark and glassy, and we had it all to ourselves until the very end.  Mike took his time cruising the smaller water-way and I occupied myself taking the occasional picture of the postcard-like scenery.

We finally hooked back up with the Blind and continued our trek north, noting that the number of bass fisherman was also increasing in the same direction.  Halfway down the Diversion, we made a short stop to visit at a friend's home while making small talk with some fishermen competing in the evening's tourney.  Although the sun was close to setting, the bass fishermen were beating the water pretty hard, all hoping to pick up that one extra largemouth.  With nothing to do but clean up the barge, Mike and I decided it would be fun to go to the weigh-in at Canal Bank.  We did just that, and a little more, by inviting ourselves to the chicken stew prepared for the tournament competitors.

DAY 2.5
A picture is not worth a thousand taste buds...