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Typically, a \\u201cfish story\\u201d is a tall tale about \\u201cthe one that got away.\\u201d It\\u2019s usually told by a person relaying details about a peaceful day spent fishing on placid waters when the most exciting thing that happened was a fish that could have been dinner swam away.

Like so many things, it\\u2019s different in Louisiana.\\xa0Here, fish stories include hurricanes. Salt water intrusion. Fishing camps being flooded and destroyed. And \\u201cthe one that got away\\u201d is more likely to be an insurance claim that was denied.

Here, people in the leisure fishing business are not your typical fishermen. Or typical businessmen. They\\u2019re larger-than-life characters who are equally adept at battling the elements and battling FEMA. And who can manage balance sheets and change bedsheets.

Fred Lewis has been an actor in a bunch of Hollywood movies, including Blaze with Paul Newman, and Tin Cup with Kevin Costner.\\xa0In 2003, when the only way to go fishing in Venice Louisiana for longer than a day was to stay at the one available fishing camp, Fred had a houseboat towed in from Alabama. Eventually he started renting it out to other folks.

Before long, Fred had 5 houseboats docked at the Venice Marina. He\\u2019s sold one, and his stepson, Steve Brantley, has two.\\xa0Fred\\u2019s company, Venice Houseboat Rentals, keeps the houseboats rented out pretty much continually. They all sleep six to eight people.\\xa0It\\u2019s no exaggeration to say, Fred has almost single-handedly created a short-term-rental leisure-fishing industry in Venice.

Even closer to New Orleans, around 30 minutes south of the city, you can go fishing in Barataria.\\xa0There you\\u2019ll find another impressive renaissance man, Theophile Bourgeois.\\xa0

Theophile is the front man of a popular New Orleans-based band, called Them Ol\\u2019 Ghosts. He\\u2019s a tattoo artist who founded an Uptown New Orleans tattoo shop - Oak Street Tattoo. And in Barataria he\\u2019s the owner of Bourgeois Fishing Charters.

Bourgeois Fishing Charters is anchored in a 10,000 square foot guest house that sleeps 52 people.\\xa0They have their own fishing boats, four charter-boat captains, two full-time cooks, a housekeeper, a reservation department, and even their own seaplane.

In New Orleans we have a number of terms for activities that are unique understatements.\\xa0For example, \\u201cgoing to hear music\\u201d typically refers to a night out that involves a whole lot more than just \\u201chearing music.\\u201d\\xa0\\u201cGoing by my momma\\u2019s\\u201d can refer to anything from stopping by for a crawfish boil to painting your mom\\u2019s house.

Similarly, in most parts of the world, \\u201cGone fishin\\u2019\\u201d evokes a kind of mental health day: A temporary checking out of daily life in favor of a slice of solitary, silent, self-reflection.\\xa0Here, \\u201cGone fishin\\u2019\\u201d - along with the terms \\u201cGoing down to the camp\\u201d and \\u201cGoing duck hunting\\u201d - typically refers to group undertakings in which the activity of fishing, camping, or hunting is inextricably bound up with socializing.

Whether you tend more toward the serious fishing or serious fun end of the spectrum, there\\u2019s a spot for you in Barataria or Venice.\\xa0Theophile Bourgeois (Toe-feel) has you covered in Barataria and Fred Lewis has you covered in Venice.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at\\xa0NOLA Pizza\\xa0in the\\xa0NOLA Brewing Taproom. You can find photos from this show by\\xa0Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

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