It started out as a trip to the Gulf Coast.

Then it wound up an all-day outing and a trip with three legs.

I asked the family, Why not?

We can go to the coast for some surf fishing, then head over to the fishing pier in Cameron to test the jetties and on the way home, stop off at Hog Island Gulley to see if the water is moving and the redfish are running. 

Pretty simple.

It’s easy to find some fishing fun in Cameron Parish along La. 27 and the Creole Nature Trail.

No need for a boat.

Just pack a few rods and reels — some of those “inexpensive ones everyone can throw” closed faced spinning reels — grab a couple of pounds of shrimp — head on, head off, doesn’t matter — and head out.

That’s what we did.

First stop was Rutherford Beach.

Not many out that day. A few playing in the water, but none fishing.

Beach was nice. Camps were to the west of us and nothing but an unpopulated beach to the east.

We opted a little way down the beach from the swimmers.

All but one of our five jumped into the water — which had a green color, clear about 8 inches down and salty. Waves were coming in, but mainly breaking just about at the shore.

Wading out to about chest deep we began to cast. Hardheads hit first, but once we got the bait down we began to pick up some long-whiskered gafftop catfish (official name gafftopsail catfish).

Had a couple we kept (they are pretty good eating especially when fried).

Water was warm — not hot — and it was a pleasant morning.

Even had a bull redfish on. Lost it about 10 feet away when it popped the line.

Lesson learned — always have line that is a little stronger than what you have on your reel.

About noon we headed to the fishing pier.

There’s a fee for the use — $5 for adults, $2.50 for senior citizens and kids younger than 6 free.

The pier is on the east side of the ship channel just short of where the jetties (large rocks) begin. There were a few fishermen on the pier, but they were leaving as we arrived. Said they had caught some flounder earlier.

A couple of hours there and we had two flounder — caught tossing up against the rocks and pulling slowly away. At times flounder can be finicky and you have to taunt them.

One flounder was almost the size of our ice chest lid.

The lone non-fisherman in the gang then decided to get active and took a walk toward the beach for a peek at a large concentration of birds that was right on the coast.

There must have been a 100 or more in the gathering — pelicans as well as all types of shore birds.

Back on the pier, the others were being entertained by several porpoises that would run right alongside motoring tugboats, dashing into its path and then out and even coming completely out of the water, turning flips.

Soon after the fish aerobics, we left headed for the ferry and the last leg of the trip, across the ship channel and up 27 to Hog Island Gulley.

I’ve had success there before with redfish, but this time the tide was pushing the water out of the marsh at such a rapid pace that it was hard to get a lure down to the fish.

None of the fishermen there were having any luck and most began to leave shortly after we arrived.

It didn’t take many fouled hookups until we tired and were homeward bound.

The next day Sammie Faulk, who serves as president of the Creole Nature Trail district board, told me I had missed one thing: “You didn’t crab,” he said.

“We have a lot of places down here where you can try a lot of things — fishing, crabbing, picking up shells, walk into the marsh — there is a lot to do.”

Those three legs my gang did run down last week were fu,n but I think next time I’ll just do one leg a day.