Born and raised in Louisiana, Moe and Eric Newman grew up fishing in the Pelican State. In 2014, the husband and wife team opened a lodge on a lark—“got a boat for inshore,” says Eric, “and a boat for offshore,”—and hit the water at open throttle. These days, they run Journey South Outfitters out of Venice, Louisiana. One of the finest operations on the Gulf, it combines Eric’s nonpareil cooking with Louisiana hospitality and world-class fishing.

DAVE FASON: Eric, what was the motivation for getting into the outfitting business?

ERIC NEWMAN: I was in the restaurant business for a long time. I started working in restaurants when I was in high school and worked in them through college until I was in my late 30s. I loved it. I didn’t so much like the hours, [though], and I always had a fishing problem. So, this is a perfect fit. I get to fulfill my fishing itch and my culinary itch all in one. It’s kind of the best of both worlds.

DAVE FASON: Absolutely. Moe, you’re one of the only female charter captains out here – how did you get into that?

MOE NEWMAN: I was raised on the water with my mom and dad every week, and that’s what we did ever since I could remember. In my early 20s, I was like, “Dad, I want to be a guide, but how do you do it?” As a recreational angler, that was the big question. And then, when I met Eric and found his fishing addiction was just as great as mine, it all just fell into place. I got my captain’s license when we worked for the state, and we covered so much water doing research. It helped expand my knowledge of offshore and inshore fishing. So, when we started our lodge service, we both had very extensive backgrounds. It made sense for me to be a full-time guide, not just a captain.

DAVE FASON: As lifelong Louisianans, tell us a little bit about the resilience needed to survive down here. How many times have you had to rebuild?

ERIC NEWMAN Our personal house flooded in 2011. That was tough because you lose most of your belongings, but we got through it. Hurricane Ida was a bit tougher because it was our business and residence. A double whammy. Not only are you trying to pick up your personal pieces, but you’re also trying to figure out when you will make money again.

MOE NEWMAN: It’s in our blood. You’re raised on hurricane seasons, always being prepared for it.

ERIC NEWMAN: People are like, “Man, I can’t believe you’re going to keep going back,” but you go back because of days like today. You go out there, and you catch these big, beautiful bull reds on top-water baits. I mean, the Mississippi River Delta, there’s no other place like it in the world. This fishery is one of the best fisheries in the world. And people here are very passionate about the outdoors and food. People don’t cook here because they’re just trying to put a meal on the table. People take ownership of their gumbo and their étouffée, and their jambalaya. Everyone here is very passionate about their way of life.

MOE NEWMAN: But when you do have a disaster come and set you off track for a while, you just build back better and hope when the next. one hits, it’s not as bad. You do it because you love it. That’s what keeps you down here. [You] build back because it’s where you’re born and raised. It’s what you know.

DAVE FASON: What’s this rebuilding process been like?

ERIC NEWMAN: It’s been very challenging just because of so many things that have happened. COVID had a big impact on it labor-wise, material-wise. And then we did not have the general knowledge. I can tie a knot, and I can cook for 500 people in my sleep.

MOE NEWMAN: But I don’t know how to take out drywall or how to frame. Thankfully, we have many friends that do know a lot.

ERIC NEWMAN: Not just friends—clients and people we had never even met were coming down here, taking time out of their lives and their jobs to bail us out. We would not be where we’re at if it wasn’t for people being awesome. There’s no other way around it. In the big scheme of things, man, you get frustrated, and you lose sleep. But we have an incredible little business, we got the best partners we could ever dream of, and we got incredible support staff, as in clients and friends and everything.

DAVE FASON: What do these storms do to the local communities, and specifically, how do they impact the culture of the state?

ERIC NEWMAN: That’s the scary thing. A lot of these little coastal communities that we have been focusing on to go do our Operation Cook Dats, they’re low-lying areas where it’s very hard to get insurance. Financially, it could be impossible. So, a lot of people don’t have insurance. And the oil fields are down, and commercial fishing isn’t bringing in the money it used to because of all the imported seafood. So, it’s scary when these storms hit—[you worry] that people will throw in the towel.

MOE NEWMAN: Especially the older people because they’ve been through it one too many times. It takes a toll. The photos, the memories. But how everyone comes together when these devastations do happen. It’s amazing. You see people come from everywhere. The Cajun Navy just shows up. No one knows them, and they’re down here helping gut people’s houses, tarping people’s roofs, evacuating people from flooded areas. Louisiana works together, they rebuild together, and they go through hardships together. That’s what Louisiana is about.

DAVE FASON: What do you guys think could be done to ensure that these communities continue to exist and these traditions evolve?

ERIC NEWMAN: I think [folks] coming here to support them. That can help. A lot of people probably never heard of Golden Meadow, Louisiana, or Pointe-aux-Chenes. But they’re probably eating the seafood that comes from there.

DAVE FASON: Tell me about this trailer that you built. What was the initial goal, and how has that goal shifted?

ERIC NEWMAN: A friend of mine offered to build me a cooking trailer if I cooked for 700 people at the grand opening of his boat factory. He said, “You get the Traegers, and I’ll build it.” Being a food guy and loving food, I always wanted a trailer for fun events. To say, “Hey, let’s have a big cookout. Let’s get together and enjoy food and fellowship.” So that was the whole point of getting the Traeger trailer built. Well, while it was under construction, COVID hit, and everything got delayed. There were no more big events, and it sat in a warehouse in Miami for months. It collected dust for a while, but when we evacuated during this last storm, we packed the Traeger trailer full of venison and stuff. All the freezers were down the middle. And when shit started hitting the fan, we said, “We need to cook for people.”

We had no idea there was damage at our place at the time. We knew it was not going to be pretty. Cell phones and power went down. We didn’t know that we received a foot and a half of water throughout the lodge. But we said, “We’re going to do something good. [We’ve] got this trailer sitting here, we’re going to cook for people, and we’re going to use this badass trailer that we built for something else.”

MOE NEWMAN: It was a blessing in disguise.

ERIC NEWMAN: It was. It was meant to be.

MOE NEWMAN: Operation Cook Dat, pulling around, cooking for communities where a hot meal goes a long way. We didn’t even understand how important a hot meal was. Folks would come up to us at noon and say, “Oh God, you don’t know how good a hot meal is. We’ve been eating sandwiches and canned food.” And it just warms their heart.

DAVE FASON: Talk to me a little bit more about Operation Cook Dat. What does giving back mean to you both?

ERIC NEWMAN: Operation Cook Dat is basically me and Moe, and a few volunteers. We’ve focused on these little coastal communities because I don’t think enough people do. I’m not knocking big cities and all that, everybody needs love, but we wanted to focus on places where people basically make a living off this estuary and the [surrounding] bodies of water. We’re all tied together in the same industry. We’re all in it together if it’s rec, charter, or commercial fishing. I focused Operation Cook Dat on those areas, because I’ve spent some of the best days of my life in these areas on the water or in the woods.

MOE NEWMAN: Food brings togetherness. You say, “Oh, I’m cooking.” Everybody and their mama are coming. That’s how it is. It’s just a reason to get together.

ERIC NEWMAN: Yeah, give them a big old plate of hot food and they’ll be lit up like a Christmas tree. Hell, man, that’s awesome.