Accommodations
Season
Species
Ideal for
Conservation
Experience Louisiana's Fantastic Year-Round Fishery Aboard a Historic Vessel
Located on the edge of the Biloxi Marsh, the Dogwood Lodge is a historic vessel originally built for the US Coast Guard as buoy tender on the upper Mississippi River. It was later purchased by a cruise company and converted into a multi-day vessel for river cruises. Staying on the vessel while being guided by some of the best guides in Louisiana will equate to a complete Louisiana low country fishing experience! You will literally be able to step right off the vessel and onto your guide’s skiff to start your day on the water! This trip is all about trading scenes of the big city for scenes of shrimp boats, alligators, and the unique landscape of the Louisiana marsh. And while stunning copper-colored redfish will be your target species, you’ll also have opportunities to catch black drum, sheepshead, jacks, alligator gar, and more! Fly fishing the Louisiana marsh is truly a fisherman’s paradise!
Accommodation Details
Lodging Details
The Dogwood Lodge is located just past the Breton Sound Marina in Hopedale, Louisiana on the doorstep of the Biloxi Marsh. Hopedale is about 1 hour southeast of New Orleans. This location offers quick and easy access to some of the best inshore sight fishing for trophy redfish due to the almost year-round water clarity and endless wild marshes.
The vessel features a lounge area known as the Mississippi Room on the second deck with comfortable seating, a widescreen television, and a bar for socializing. There is also an outdoor seating area to enjoy your morning coffee or evening drink while taking in the sights and sounds of the marsh. The lodge offers 6 private rooms, each with 2 twin beds, a private bath, and an air conditioning unit. The rooms are named after the rivers the boat has traversed throughout its past. The dining room seats 12 guests for meals and can also easily convert into a meeting room for corporate retreats and training sessions. The two open decks on the vessel provide space to relax and absorb the magnificent surroundings.
Food and Beverages
Anybody who has visited the deep south knows that good food is part of the draw and experience. Your stay at the new Dogwood Lodge will be no exception. Southern and Cajun cuisine will be on the menu every day. Packages include a hot breakfast before your guide trip, sack lunches along with snacks, soft drinks, and water on the guide boat, and then appetizers and dinner back at the lodge. And don’t forget about the complimentary bar on the vessel. If you desire any alcoholic beverages with you on the guide boat during your day of fishing, you must bring them with you. The lodge legally cannot provide alcoholic beverages to take with you on the guide boats.
Non-Angling Activities and Options
For non-anglers accompanying anglers to Louisiana, or for those looking to take a day off from fishing, there is an endless number of activities and attractions that are available when visiting Louisiana and the greater New Orleans area. In New Orleans itself, take advantage of numerous history and heritage tours, enjoy the city’s world-famous cuisine, explore the famous nightlife on Bourbon Street, visit museums, shop, take in a professional sporting event, enjoy area festivals, and much more.
Internet / Communications
Wireless internet access is available on the vessel in the upper deck lounge area and most cell phones work while on the property.
Travel Details
How To Get There
The physical address of the Hopedale Marina is 7600 Hopedale Hwy, Saint Bernard, Louisiana 70085. The Dogwood Lodge will be the last boat on your right prior to the end of the road. Airport shuttles can be arranged at an additional cost, but it is highly advised to rent a car and drive on your own. Drive time from the New Orleans Airport to the marina should take about 1 hour.
Arrival and Departure Details / Times
Check-in time is after 3PM on arrival day. It is also requested that guests arrive before 7PM which is when all guests at the lodge usually sit down for dinner. Late arrivals should plan on eating dinner before they get to the lodge. Check-out is before 11AM on departure day. If guests are fishing on their departure day, bags must be packed and moved out of rooms before heading out for their last day of fishing if the lodge has new guests arriving that same day.
Documents Required
Louisiana charter fishing license which can be purchased online in advance over the phone.
Travel Arrangements
Yellow Dog provides airline reservations ad ticketing assistance through etcTravel Group, and a full-service airline logistics agent that can help with booking airline tickets, hotels, rental cars, and more. You can click here to request a quote or contact Yellow Dog for more information at 406-585-8667. etcTravel Group offers dedicated support services for all Yellow Dog clients. Service fees may apply when booking or researching tickets, and etcTravel will discuss this with you prior to sending quotes.
Travel Tools
– Airline Ticketing
– Moon Phases
– Rent This Rod
– Trip Insurance and Emergency Evacuation
– Global Rescue Membership
Fishing
General Information
The Biloxi Marsh is an estuary network of 210,000 acres of coastal wetlands located on the eastern side of Louisiana which borders the Gulf of Mexico that can be fished almost year-round! Crisscrossed by bayous and canals, dotted with innumerable lakes, bays, ponds, and lagoons, it provides a rich variety of habitats offering some of the best redfishing anywhere, with Dogwood Lodge is located only minutes away from it all!
When fishing the vast, beautiful marshes of the coast of southeast Louisiana, the exact waters where you’ll be fishing during your guide trip will depend on the time of the year, as well as the general weather and water conditions during the time of your stay. Typical areas where the guides will take you will offer outstanding opportunities for shallow-water sight fishing for mean redfish. Louisiana redfish can offer as challenging an angling experience as any other game fish out there. That said, they also love to eat flies in shallow and will often time do so incredibly close to the boat! It’s all about the eat!
The Hopedale area can be fished year-round and hold an amazingly large and healthy population of redfish. The redfish share these beautiful areas with abundant and diverse birdlife, alligators, numerous species of turtles, sea otters, raccoons, dolphins, and many species residing both below and above the water’s surface. Southeast Louisiana’s vast marsh ecosystem is an amazing place and truly one of America’s most impressive saltwater fisheries.
Rates and Terms
Package Rates
Remember that Yellow Dog’s services are completely free! When you book a trip with Yellow Dog, you never pay more than when you book directly with the lodge.
2023 Pricing (based on double occupancy)
3 nights / 2 days = $1,580.00 per person
4 nights / 3 days = $2,245.00 per person
5 nights / 4 days = $2,910.00 per person
6 nights / 5 days = $3,575.00 per person
7 nights / 6 days = $4,240.00 per person
Single occupancy rooms are available for an additional $75 per person / per night
What’s Included:
- Lodging
- Guided fishing
- Breakfast and dinner at the lodge
- Bag lunch, sodas, and water during guide trips
- House alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at the lodge
- Rod/reel, all flies, and all tackle provided by the guides
What’s Not Included:
- Airfare
- Airport transportation (can be arranged at an additional cost or rent a car)
- Gratuities for guides and lodge staff
- Fishing licenses
- Alcohol during your guide trips
- Lodging taxes
Dogwood Lodge (Hopedale, Louisiana)
TERMS AND CONDITIONS – CANCELLATIONS
Receipt of deposit and/or final payment is acknowledgment that registrant has read and accepts the deposit, cancellation, refund and responsibility clauses for these packages. A deposit of 50% per person is due at the time of booking for all trip packages and reservations, and final payment if due 90 days prior to arrival. All trip cancellations must be received in writing, and sent to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, LLC. For all cancellations outside of 60 days of scheduled trip date, a refund or full trip credit (minus a $100.00 per person Yellow Dog cancellation fee) will be issued. For cancellations inside of 60 days, no refunds or trip credits will be issued. If a cancelled package is resold by either the lodge or by Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, then a refund will be sent minus a $100.00 per person Yellow Dog cancellation fee. In the case of cancellation by the client, both deposit and final payment may be transferred to another guest or angler for those same (original) dates if facilitated and arranged by the client. If any of your guided fishing days are cancelled by the guide due to weather, then you will be issued a trip credit for unused portion of your trip or missed fishing days. Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures strongly recommends that anglers and guests purchase travel insurance for this trip.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW YELLOW DOG GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND CANCELLATION POLICIES
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