It has been almost two years since Brian Griffin attended Hahnville High School. After graduating in 2010, Griffin enlisted in the Marines and is now stationed in San Diego.
Griffin scheduled a two-week vacation during the Mardi Gras holidays to spend time with family and friends, and to enjoy some great New Orleans food and party at the parades.
But while in St. Charles Parish, he also wanted to take a fishing trip to Lake Cataouatche.
“After spending a long time away from home, going fishing is a great feeling. I love to be home and on the water during Mardi Gras,” Griffin said. “If we don’t catch any fish it’s still going to be a great day.”
Launching the boat around 11 a.m., we headed out to the cuts along the north shoreline of Lake Cataouatche. A cold front had pushed through the area and dropped temperatures to the low 40’s.
The water level at the Pier 90 boat launch was also very low. Checking the Davis Pond Diversion flow on the website, it showed the diversion was running around 1,500 cubic feet per second, which was a good indication that catfish were at the cuts.
Rigging three rods with earthworms to fish on the bottom live-bait style, we set them out in the cold and fast moving water after anchoring. Once the rods were set, we began our wait.
“This is all we have to do?” Griffin asked.
It wasn’t long before one rod bent over. Griffin picked it up and set the hook.
“This is a nice fish!” he said.
Once in the boat, we re-set the rod and began to wait. Again, another rod bent over.
“Man this is a big one!” Brian cried out. He quickly put the large catfish in the boat and another rod bent over.
“I can’t believe this, I feel like I’m on a charter fishing trip,” Griffin said.
He reeled in the second big catfish of the day. Within an hour, we had caught seven nice catfish and decided to move to another location for bass and sac-a-lait. With the water being cold and low, we could not find clear water in the La. Cypress Canal. Around 3 p.m. we called it a day. Fresh fried catfish was the order for supper.
It was an honor to take Griffin fishing. He is a member of the 3rd Amphibious Assault Tank Battalion and earned a rank of Lance Corporal.
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