|  P.O. Box 26231 New Orleans, LA 70186 Local: (504) 284-3316 Email: captainbrian@lycos.com  The majority of the more than 350 fishing guides in Louisiana are natives, born and bred in the Bayou State, and probably learned art of angling from their fathers or grandfathers at a very early age. Capt. Brian Epstein is an
interesting exception to that rule.Epstein, who hails from New Jersey, got his start in the industry while working as a deckhand on offshore charter boats in the late 1970s on the Atlantic Seaboard. On weekends and holidays the enterprising young deckhand made extra money baiting hooks and rigging lines for customers who targeted bluefish, cod and whiting while fishing over wrecks. To Epstein, a middle school student at the time, this didn't seem anything like work. To be out on the open water, catching fish and making dreams come true for clients, was downright fun. And soon other captains and deckhands took notice that young Epstein had developed a knack for the sport.  At the age of 19, while attending college, Epstein received his captain's license and began running charter fishing boats for other charter businesses off the New Jersey Coast. And he soon became one of the top guides in the area. There were many times, Epstein said, when he felt that this would be his life's calling. But all of that changed when he took a vacation to New Orleans in the late 1980s, ironically, to take a break from fishing.At that time, Epstein claimed that he knew nothing about fishing in Louisiana. "It was one year in August, the end of the season," he said. "And I really came to New Orleans to get away from it." Epstein and a friend decided to come to New Orleans after watching a PBS special on the Crescent City, and decided that it would be an interesting place to visit. The food, clubs, architecture and multi-cultural influences were the things that drew them to the Crescent City. Not the fishing. As Epstein stepped out of a taxi, a hotel employee couldn't help but notice his fishing shirt. The employee then started a conversation about fishing, and Epstein's life was changed forever.  Even before he experienced the fishing, Epstein immediately fell in love with the city. And he later decided to attend law school. And soon, he and the hotel
employee became fishing buddies and best friends."He showed me the marshes around Oak River, near Delacroix," Epstein said. "So I towed a 14-foot aluminum boat down from New Jersey and began learning the area."  In small increments, each time venturing out a little further, Epstein became a scholar of the marshes. And soon even the old salts at area launches were
noticing. Here was this newcomer, a Yankee no less, in a boat that was downright
odd looking, who was catching more fish than anyone else around.
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