Where: New Orleans, Louisiana
When: fall
If you like: the outdoors and sports, food and drinks
Why you should go: The famed French Quarter and the wild South Louisiana marshes may be miles apart, but Travel Creel Hospitality’s concierge approach to fishing travel makes for a seamless adventure. Travel Creel pairs trained chefs—co-owner Joshua Schwartz among them—with handpicked local fishing guides and curated lodging. “Like me, our other chefs were tired of the restaurant scene and spending years behind the door with little interaction with clients,” says Schwartz, who launched the company five years ago. “Our people really want to take care of the folks enjoying their food, and we’ve all figured out that fishing folks are the ones we want to do our best for.” The company also offers trips to Oregon, California, Colorado, Puerto Rico, Maine, Mexico, and the Bahamas.
Fishing in the vast marshes of Louisiana is just as good as its reputation and more diverse than many imagine. In addition to giant bull reds staging nearshore or crawling through skinny water, fishing for jack crevalle, sheepshead, and other Gulf fish is outstanding. “We do have the traditional scene of redfish crawling the banks,” Schwartz says. “But during this time of year, there are also big groups of fish on the outside of the marsh, chasing bait and boiling and blowing up the water all around the boat.”
G&G tip: If you’re ready to test your fly casting skills, book a day stalking the “bayou permit,” a.k.a. sheepshead on the fly. “They can be pretty spooky,” Schwartz says, “and it takes accurate casting. But chasing those things has the same kind of bayou flair that we try to incorporate in every aspect of our trips.”
