Welcome home, Mike Wood

The picture of Mike Wood above means:

a.  The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is about to stock trout in area lakes
b.  Fishing from a wooden canoe is cooler than fishing from a bass boat
c.  Mike has retired from his Director of Inland Fisheries job for the LDWF and has been in Idaho trout fishing.

The answer is c, although b is probably true, too. If you guessed a, please drink plenty of water and go to a cooler place.

Congratulations to Mike, who began his career with the LDWF in Monroe and actually worked on the fisheries at Lake D’Arbonne while still a college student. Throughout his 37-year career he’s dedicated his life to making fishing in our area more stable and productive. And now he’s going to get to enjoy it himself from his home in West Monroe.

Now that he’s home from Idaho, anyway.

“I ran out of money and had to come on back home,” Mike told me yesterday. “ Here’s a couple of pics of the fish we caught.  The one with the red jaw is a Yellowstone Cutthroat.  They are only found in that particular area.

“I had to fish with fly tackle.  You can’t imagine how fast I can turn a neat reel full of fly line into a triple overhand sheep shank with a Bimini twist.  Couldn’t tell you how the trout taste.  It’s legal to keep some, but taboo among the locals.  They’re way more into the process of fishing than the product.  It was fun anyway. If I’d had a box of crickets, I think I could have caught a lot more. Retirement is nice so far. I just got off the Teton River (SE Idaho). Caught a few trout… Saw a moose… and some of the most gorgeous scenery on God’s green earth.  Oh yeah… the temp was 43 one morning.”

Mike’s next adventure will be putting what he’s learned in his career to work for individuals. He has formed a fisheries consultant service. He will be good at it because he has a knack for combining scientific data with good common sense. If you’ve got a lake or pond and need some direction, give him a shout. You can reach him at 318-376-3474 or at mikewoodservices@gmail.com He may not guarantee his work, but I’ll guarantee you can’t find anybody better.

Don’t wait too long. These 100-degree days may get to Mike and the trout may start biting again somewhere….