Louisiana Cast-and-Blast: Splitting Ducks and Redfish Between Four Buddies

You're in a mud boat at 5:30 a.m., pushing through a maze of marsh grass somewhere south of Lake Charles. The guide kills the outboard and the silence hits—nothing but wind in the roseau cane and the occasional splash of something unseen. Then the first flight appears, a line of pintails silhouetted against the pink eastern sky, banking toward your spread.

Six hours later, you're standing on the bow of a different boat, sight-casting to redfish tailing in shin-deep water. The guide spots a copper flash at 2 o'clock. You strip line, make the cast, and a 27-inch red inhales the fly like it owes him money.

This is the Louisiana cast-and-blast: ducks in the morning, redfish in the afternoon, and a level of sensory overload that makes you question why anyone does anything else in January.

It's also a logistical and financial puzzle. Two guides, two sets of tips, two species to process, four buddies with varying interest in hunting versus fishing—the expense splits get complicated fast.

Let's break down what this trip actually costs. For more on coordinating group trips like this, see our group hunting trip planning guide.

The Trip: 3 Days in Southwest Louisiana

We're pricing a 3-day/3-night trip for four hunters/anglers based out of the Cameron Parish or Lake Charles area. This is the classic setup: hunt ducks every morning, fish for redfish (and maybe specks) every afternoon, sleep in a lodge, and eat too much Cajun food.

The Hunt Package

Louisiana duck operations typically offer morning hunts with guides, decoys, dogs, and boat transportation included:

Typical morning duck hunt: $250-350 per person

The Fishing Package

Afternoon redfish trips are usually booked separately (though some lodges bundle them):

Typical afternoon trip: $200-300 per person (half-day, 2 anglers per boat)

Most flats boats hold 2 anglers comfortably. For a group of 4, you need 2 boats—or rotate fishing days.

The Combo Pricing

Some outfitters package the cast-and-blast together:

3-day combo at $475/day: $1,425 per person

Bundled packages usually include lodging and meals. We'll use a mid-range all-inclusive at $500/person/day for our calculations.

Lodging

If booking separately, Louisiana hunting lodges range widely:

Most cast-and-blast packages include lodging. If not, budget $150/night/person for something comfortable.

Licenses and Stamps

Louisiana requires separate licenses for hunting and fishing:

Hunting (non-resident):

Fishing (non-resident):

Combined licenses: ~$250 per person

You can buy Louisiana licenses online through the LDWF website.

Getting There

The Lake Charles area is served by Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH). Alternatives include Houston Hobby (3 hours) or New Orleans (3.5 hours).

Flights:

We'll budget $325/person for flights.

Rental Vehicle:

You'll need transportation from the airport to the lodge and potentially between hunting and fishing locations.

Budget: $90/person

Fuel:

Guide Tips

This is where cast-and-blast math gets interesting. You're tipping two different guides—sometimes more if the lodge rotates staff.

Duck guide tips (15-20%):

• $300/day hunt × 15% = $45/day
• 3 days = $135 per person

Fishing guide tips (15-20%):

• $250/half-day trip × 15% = $37.50/trip
• 3 trips = $112.50 per person

Total tips: ~$250/person

Some hunters tip higher for exceptional days. If your duck guide put you on limits three mornings straight, 20% is appropriate. Same for the fishing guide who found tailing reds in tough conditions.

Ammunition

Louisiana marsh hunting is often fast action—pintails, gadwalls, teal, and wigeon working the spread constantly.

Budget: $90/person

Processing and Shipping

Cast-and-blast trips produce two types of product: ducks and fish. Processing is usually included in packages, but shipping is on you.

If shipping home:

If you're driving, just pack a good cooler with ice and frozen gel packs.

Budget: $100/person (average for shipping)

Meals and Extras

All-inclusive packages cover meals at the lodge. Budget for:

The crawfish étouffée at a Lake Charles restaurant is non-negotiable. Budget for it.

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The Full Damage Report

Here's what a 3-day Louisiana cast-and-blast actually costs per person:

Round it to $2,800-3,000 per person. For a group of four, that's $11,200-12,000 total.

The Range

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The Cast-and-Blast Expense Split Puzzle

Here's why Louisiana trips create accounting nightmares:

Different Interest Levels

Not everyone in your group values both activities equally:

• Hunter A: Lives for duck hunting, fishes to kill time
• Hunter B: Serious angler, hunts because it's part of the package
• Hunter C: Wants to do both equally
• Hunter D: Skips the afternoon fishing one day to nap

Do you split everything evenly? Or does Hunter D pay less because he skipped a fishing trip?

Common approaches:

1. Even split regardless: Simplest. Everyone pays the same whether they fish every afternoon or not. This works if the group agrees upfront.

2. À la carte: Each person pays for what they use. Complicates the math but feels "fair" to some groups.

3. Hybrid: Core package splits evenly; optional add-ons split among participants.

Most groups go with option 1—it's cleaner, and the per-day variance is minimal.

Two Sets of Tips

Duck guide and fishing guide are different people. Tips need to go to the right person.

The cash problem: Four guys, two guides, three days = six tip transactions. Someone always forgets to hit the ATM, someone only has twenties, someone tips light.

Solution: One person collects tip money from the group before the trip. Tip in cash, in envelopes, at the end of each day or the end of the trip. Then add the collected-and-distributed amount to the expense log.

The "I Caught More Fish" Problem

This rarely comes up with duck hunting (everyone shoots into the same flock), but fishing can get weird:

• Two guys per boat means different experiences
• One boat might hammer reds while the other struggles
• Does the guy who caught 15 fish pay the same as the guy who caught 2?

Answer: Yes. You booked the guide, not the fish. Some days you're the hammer, some days you're the nail. This is fishing.

Processing Complications

Two species means two types of processing:

If processing costs extra, split by what each person brought back. If Hunter A limited on ducks but caught zero fish, he pays duck processing only.

Shipping is individual—each person ships their own cooler.

The Deposit Situation

Cast-and-blast packages often require 50% deposits months in advance. One person's credit card carries $5,000+ until the trip happens.

Track this. The person who floated the deposit for six months deserves to be paid back promptly—ideally before the trip, definitely immediately after.

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Why Louisiana?

The Sportsman's Paradise nickname isn't marketing—it's geography.

The duck case: Louisiana's coastal marshes winter 5+ million ducks annually. The West Zone (Cameron Parish, Vermilion Parish) sees pintails, gadwalls, teal, wigeon, and mallards in numbers that dwarf most other states. Limits are common with competent guides.

The redfish case: Louisiana's inside waters hold redfish year-round. January fish are often schooled up and aggressive. Slot-sized reds (16-27 inches) are the target; bull reds over 27 inches must be released. Speckled trout add variety.

The combo case: Almost nowhere else can you legally shoot pintails over decoys at sunrise and sight-cast to tailing redfish at 2 p.m. The proximity of world-class duck marsh and world-class flats fishing is unique to coastal Louisiana.

This is why people pay $3,000 for three days.

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Booking Notes

When to go:

Peak duck and peak fishing don't perfectly overlap. Early January is usually the sweet spot—full duck migration, active redfish.

How far in advance:

• Premium lodges: 6-12 months
• Standard operations: 3-6 months
• Last-minute: Sometimes available, limited selection

Weather contingencies:

Louisiana weather changes fast. Fog cancels duck hunts. Cold fronts muddy flats and push redfish deep. Wind kills both activities. Book with operations that have backup plans—flooded rice fields when the marsh is blown out, deep-water specks when the flats are unfishable.

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The Settle-Up

A Louisiana cast-and-blast generates more expense categories than almost any other hunting trip:

• Lodging (if not packaged)
• Duck guide (if not packaged)
• Fishing guide (if not packaged)
• Licenses (two types)
• Tips (two guides)
• Flights
• Rental car
• Fuel
• Ammunition
• Processing (two species)
• Shipping
• Meals
• Drinks
• Incidentals

Multiply each category by four people, track who paid what, figure out who owes whom, and do it all while trying to remember whether you covered the second fishing tip or just thought about covering it.

This is not a legal-pad-at-the-bar situation. This is a "someone better be tracking this in real-time" situation.

When you land back home with a cooler full of duck breasts and redfish fillets, the last thing you want is two weeks of Venmo confusion. Log it as it happens. Settle up clean. Start planning next year's trip.

New to waterfowl hunting? Start with Your First Duck Hunt to know what to expect.

Plan the trip. Cast the line. Split the tab.

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