Fishing Trip to Venice, LA

Brent and Brock planned a nice Spring Break trip this year. Their vacation began Sunday with a stopover in Charlotte to visit with the Rosenfeld family. The above picture looks familiar, but with a different cousin! Maddox and Brock played so nicely together. I heard that Maddox refused his nap that day so he could play more with Brock! 

The two left out early Monday morning as they had a long trip ahead of them. Charlotte to New Orleans, Louisiana maps out at 10.5 hours and 750 miles. 

Driving along the Gulf.... Bay St. Louis, MS

After arriving at the hotel late, the two crashed into their beds pretty soon after arriving. (This would be Brock's #1 hotel - he ranked them at the end of the trip as they stayed in three total!)

The next morning, they met up with another fisherman! Uncle Brian flew in Tuesday morning (he was the smart one and flew one way) to join the fishing adventure! The best way to start a day in New Orleans - enjoy some beignets!! 

After a nice healthy breakfast, the trio walked over to explore Bourbon Street. I think Brock's "long drive hangover" was hitting him at this point. 

The guys decided to move along as they had a big fishing day ahead of them... and if you can imagine, they had another 90 minutes south to travel to the fishing spot - Venice, Louisiana: "The Yellowfin Tuna Fishing Capitol of the World." 

I think Brent really liked this pre-game fishing experience. They got to watch the boats unloading their haul - weighing up some monsters and displaying them on the racks. 

Finally, fishing day! They departed Venice Marina at 7am, traveling 15 miles down the very end of the Mississippi River, then another 25 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. 

It was cold and foggy and choppy on the way out. The boys hunkered down on bean bags in the back of the boat. 

It didn't take too long for them to catch some good ones.... but then a REALLY good one hit Brian's reel!

Video of Brian's catch: (Part 1 and 2)

Brian's jumbo yellowfin weighed 90 pounds!! 

Brock caught some fish of his own! 

That Bonita was a good 25 pounds and was used to catch the bigger yellow fin. They are not good eating fish - too oily - but they make great bait!!

Along with a few yellowfin, Brent caught a big one too!! 

It was just the wrong species!! That's an 9-10 foot hammerhead shark! 

Alas, time to head in!

The fisherman with their haul!

After a long day fishing, they drove as far as Gulfport, Mississippi to stop for the night. The next day was another long day in the car, but at least he had Brian to help drive part of the way. After stopping in Charlotte and dropping off a good portion of yellowfin and blacken tuna, we still had plenty of fish for us! Vacuum sealed bags for the win!