General Information

Whether you like fly-fishing or spin casting, the flats, bayous and bays of south Louisiana’s rich marsh holds red fish, speckled trout, blackdrum, sheephead, flounder, crappie and bass in abundance. It is not uncommon to catch limits of several of these species in the same morning.

If deep sea fishing is your passion let us set you up on a trip out of the mouth of the Mississippi, where you are likely to catch red snapper, grouper, black, yellowfin tuna, amberjack, cobia, wahoo and marlin, just to name a few.

The marsh and wetlands in and surrounding Woodland Plantation are truly a sight to behold and experience. Lush with an incredible diversity of flora and wildlife, the area provides visitors an opportunity to become immersed in the unspoiled beauty of Southeast Louisiana. 

Sample day.

FISHING DAYS

A made to order breakfast is served in Spirit’s Hall usually starting around 5:30-6:00AM. There are coffee makers inside the common areas of each guest house if you are an early riser and would like to start a pot of coffee. While you are finishing up breakfast, your guides will arrive and begin prepping boats and gear. Your bagged lunches will be placed in the dining room.

DON’T FORGET TO TAKE YOUR SACK LUNCH with you and give it to your guide to be placed in the boat cooler.

Depending on conditions, guides usually drive ten minutes south of the Woodland to a private boat launch in Port Sulphur. Guides may drive as far south as Empire or Venice, or take the ferry at West Point a la Hache to the march on the east side of the river. From the launch, anglers run anywhere from ten minutes to over one hour to begin fishing. Enjoy a full day of sight casting to Southern Louisiana Redfish and Black Drum! Lunch is taken in the boat. The fishing day is usually 8-9 hours long and anglers are typically back at the Woodland Plantation between 4:00-5:00 PM.

Accommodations

The Big House, featured on all bottles of Southern Comfort for 75 years, is a raised Creole cottage with Greek Revival features, broad porches front and back, key hole designed French doors and is authentically furnished with fine antiques.

This historic building, circa 1834, has nine guests rooms, all with private baths. You will feel as though you are stepping back in time when you walk into this authentic antebellum home.

Our other buildings, each with their own unique charm, are the Magnolia Store, the Little House, the Overseer’s House and the Old Slave Cabin.

“Spirits Hall”, formerly St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, circa 1883, was moved to Woodland Plantation in October 1998 from Homeplace, Louisiana, 14 miles south of Woodland and restored into a beautiful dining and reception hall. With vaulted barrel ceiling, chandeliers, gothic stained glass windows, mahogany bar with arched panels and Brazilian cherry wood floors, Spirits is truly an exquisite, soothing and historic building.

Now restored to its original grandeur, the building comprises 4,000 square feet. While you are visiting Woodland Plantation and Spirits Hall, make sure you try their signature beverage, Woodland Punch.

Cuisine

In this corner of the world,  the food isn’t just good, it’s historic.  Many of New Orleans’ recipes have been around for 100 years or more and it blends several influences such as French, Spanish, African, British, to name a few.

Fresh Louisiana oysters are served year round in Spirits Hall as well as traditional Cajun and Creole favorites. Seafood gumbo and fried bread pudding are two of our specialties as well as fresh fish. And don’t forget to try the Woodland Punch!

Some of the typical meals are: BBQ Shrimp or Crab Cakes, Seafood Gumbo or White Bean & Duck, Fish Pontchartrain or Pork Loin with Southern Comfort Sauce, Corn & Crab Chowder or Red Bean with Andouille, Ribeye or Delta Chicken and Bread Pudding or Pecan Pie.

The Fishing

If you have been hearing stories about how good the fishing is here and all the legendary redfish caught in this waters, it is high time you come. South East Louisiana offers world class fishing where anglers set their limits. 

Some of the species you can expect to catch besides the well known red fish are: speckled trout, blackdrum, sheephead, flounder, crappie and bass.

The marsh is a huge labyrinth of small islands, channels, ponds, bayous, bays, and flats that seems to go on endlessly to the Gulf of Mexico. There are a couple different sections on the marshes where, depending on the area, there could be more fish or bigger fish and guides choose the areas depending on the weather conditions for the day. All fishing is done from the boat since the  surface of the bottom is muddy and therefore, not hard enough to wade. 

A regular day fishing starts early in the morning after a hearty breakfast. Lunch is on the water and normally you stay all day in the water until 3 or 4 pm when anglers come back to the lodge to enjoy drinks and traditional meals. 

Gear and Equipment

RODS:

For Spring and Summer:

A nine-foot, eight-weight rod is the standard universal redfish rod used by the vast majority of all anglers during the spring and summer months.

The ideal redfish rod also has enough feel in the tip section to allow for more delicate and accurate presentations at very close casting ranges.

For Fall and Winter:

Starting in late fall, the big bull reds begin moving into the marsh. As the weather gets cooler anglers will have more and more opportunity for redfish in the twenty or even thirty-pound range.

Although an eight weight can get the job done in many circumstances, we encourage anglers to consider a nine or ten weight rod to handle these huge trophies properly. 

REELS: 

Reels should be anodized corrosion-resistant saltwater models that will hold a full fly line plus the appropriate amount backing. Reels equipped with high quality, smooth, drags are essential to prevent break-offs from the powerful runs of a hooked redfish.

FLY LINES

100% of all redfish applications require a standard weight forward floating line, so do not bother with bringing any sort of sinking lines. We suggest the Redfish taper lines by Scientific Anglers or Rio. Nearly all presentations are at very short distances, so anglers want a heavy front tapered fly line for a little more assistance turning over heavier flies in windier conditions. Fly lines can easily break on debris or oyster beds so make sure to bring additional floating lines as backup.

Recommended Clothing

For Spring and Summer

-Lightweight shirts, preferrable long sleeved to get sun protection.

-Proper fishing shirts with chest pockets for storing.

-Quick dry fishing shorts with pockets.

-Confortable sandals or rubber soled shoes.

For Fall and Winter:

-Long underware for layering.

-Multiple tops and bottoms to rotate during the week.

-Fleece jackets and vests.

-Warm, water resistant socks.

-Confortable rubber soled boots.

All year round:

-Lightweight rain jackets.

-Polarized Sunglasses.

-Hat.

-Sun protection.

-Boat bag to carry tackle and gear.

-Sun gloves/finger protection.

-Pliers.

-Insect repellant.

-Flashlight.

IN ADDITION

We offer our customer service without any additional cost, where you can clear up questions about our different destinations, the organization during the pre-trip or any query that arises in the middle. Traveling with Pointer is always the best option.

And this is very important: By purchasing your trip through us, you are elegible to get extra gift and rewards, like a voucher open for 3 years for 50% off in your accommodations on your next Fly Fishing trip to Argentina in one of our lodges, you can choose between Trouts in Northern Patagonia or Golden Dorado in the Paraná river.

Also, you could get a voucher open for 3 years for 100% off accommodations on your next Dove Hunting in Argentina staying in one of our wonderful Lodges.