Fishing for Redfish in Louisiana

Legendary Louisiana Chef Paul Prudhomme passed away recently. We will remember Prudhomme because he was the driving force for popularizing Cajun cooking around the world. His most famous dish was Blackened Redfish. It became so popular, in fact, that commercial redfishing was banned in the 1980’s for fear of the redfish becoming extinct.

I had the opportunity to cook a redfish fillet recently with fish my daughter-in-law’s family caught on a fishing trip to Lake Pontchartrain. I used Chef Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning Blend to cook the redfish.  On this fishing expedition the family caught one redfish and several black drum. Although commerical redfishing is limited, sports fisherman can catch a several of the fish with a license. Here’s the proud fisherman and his grandfather with the redfish.

Parts of southeastern Louisiana are on the water and canals of Lake Pontchartrain. My daughter-in-law visited her parents in Slidell, Louisiana, which is east of New Orleans very close to the Mississippi border. Their home is on an inlet from the lake and backs up to a canal. Their fishing boat is moored in their backyard! Here’s Dylan fishing from the dock. What a great life!

The family likes to fish and this was an expedition to take the young grandson, Dylan, along. You need an early morning start to go fishing as this is when the fish feed. Here the group is close to the entrance to Lake Pontchartrain fishing under a railroad bridge which transverses the lake. Many times the family will continue out the Rigolets Pass and into Lake Borgne close to the sound of the Gulf of Mexico by the Mississippi Border.

Here’s another picture of the group.

Redfish or red drum is found in the coastal regions and marshes of Louisiana. It is a saltwater fish and can be fished year around. If you visit Louisiana, a guide service can be hired to take you fishing in the marshes and Gulf of Mexico. Many of these services are located west of New Orleans in Houma and the Grand Isle area. It is an interesting experience; you are in another world.

The family went fishing this summer, too. It was another successful expedition. Here’s Kristy and her son, Cameron, with a big redfish catch.

Here are redfish from this summer’s trip.

Redfish is hard to find in restaurants and grocery stores; there are many substitutes available in grocery store freezers. Any flaky, lean white fish can be used such as tilapia, catfish, orange roughy, speckled trout, black drum and mahi mahi.

The recent fishing trip’s catch was mainly black drum.

After the fishing trip comes the real work–filleting the fish. Grandfather hard at work at this job.

They graciously gave me the redfish fillets.

Redfish is well worth the effort. The fish are mild, flaky and almost sweet. When prepared properly, they melt in your mouth!

Thanks, Kristy for a great fishing trip and the photos.