Visit the Photo Place

Duet's Cajun Resort a sportsman's paradise

Outdoors: Louisiana destination offers hunting, fishing, charm

Date published: 1/15/2004

CAPT. DANNY DUET was but a youngster, maneuvering his pirogue boat through the marshes near Golden Meadow, La., when the shadowy figure beckoned him over to a patch of dry ground. The man spoke two phrases--riddles of a sort--then vanished.

Duet (pronounced Doo-way) had encountered the legendary "Marsh Man." Those of us around the table had just feasted on crawfish, shrimp, oysters, huge blue crabs and more, but goosebumps formed as we listened to Duet tell his story.

I wanted to interject, "Time out, skipper; you mean we're hunting in a haunted marsh?" but sensed it wouldn't be the macho thing to do. So I quietly resolved to sleep with one eye open and hope that severe snoring spooked spooks.

Duck hunting in 8,000 acres of some of the finest marshland south of New Orleans, superb fishing, that famous Louisiana food, and now some Cajun storytelling--man, laissez les bon temps roulez (let the good times roll).

The Marsh Man's messages were a mystery until years later, when Duet was in the Army's 101st Airborne Division and found himself in a surreal situation in Vietnam. Sorry, but you'll have to visit the Duet's Cajun Resort to hear the rest of that story.

It takes an accomplished storyteller to rivet the attention of a camp full of outdoor writers. As a small sign on the lodge wall observes, "Hunters, anglers and other liars gather here," and we were all experienced hunters and anglers.

Others in camp included Gary Garth of Kentucky, a contributing editor for Field and Stream; John Felsher, outdoor editor of the Lake Charles (La.) American Press newspaper; Jim Zumbo, Outdoor Life magazine's longtime hunting editor and host of the Jim Zumbo Outdoors television show; Linda Powell of the Remington Arms Co.; and Karen Lutto, a public relations representative for Walkers Game Ear and Kahles, an Austrian sporting optics company. She lives in Henrico County.

The camp is currently water-based, accessible only by a 15-minute boat ride across Catfish Lake and through a maze of marsh channels. It's about 35 miles from the Gulf of Mexico as the duck flies.

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Date published: 1/15/2004