Doc on April Fishing

Spring, as the saying goes, has indeed sprung. The quality of April fishing is highly dependent on the amount of rainfall and accompanying runoff that occurs. Less rainfall is usually conducive to better fishing, both because water temperatures and turbidity are not adversely affected by cold and muddy runoff waters. In all probability, we have seen the last gasp of winter as water and air temperatures will now begin a fast-paced climb to their seasonal midsummer highs several months away. Trout have already made their appearance on the front beaches, and their numbers will grow with each rising degree in water temperature. By the middle of the month, front beach fishermen will be taking trout on topwater plugs and baits with regularity; and by month's end, the popping cork and a live shrimp will become the standard mode of operation for a vast majority of Mississippi Coast fishermen. In short, if catching trout on shallow front beach flats is your idea of fun, then your season is about to begin in earnest.

Shallow water trout fishing is most definitely this fisherman's favorite sport. The spotted seatrout, with its tender mouth and slashing, head-shaking style of doing battle makes it a formidable foe on light tackle. And its crepuscular nature - its tendency to prefer to feed during periods of dim light, during dawn and dusk - also coincides with the times of the day that I am able to do most of my fishing. In this respect, the speckled trout can indeed be considered to be a working man's fish. All you'll need to try your luck with these gamesters this month is a pair of light waders and a fistfull of selected lures: a silver Johnson Sprite spoon, Clear, white, and chartreuse Sparkle Beetles or Cocahoe Minnows, 5-M-series topwater Mirrolures, Rapalas or Norm Baits, and perhaps a medium-running plug like a Countdown Rapala or 52-M Mirrolure. Take your new arsenal to the front beach at the crack of dawn on a strong incoming tide and start exploring. Before too long, you will find your own hotspot - perhaps a shallow bar with adjacent deeper water, perhaps a gully that runs parallel to the longshore current, or maybe even a cluster of old pier pilings or other structure. In any case, it'll serve you well throughout the fishing season and prove to be a place where you can count on consistently catching a few fish.

If you have been awaiting the chance to do battle with the likes of more formidable gamesters, you'll be pleased to know that April is a prime month for catching cobia (lemonfish or ling) along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The advance guard has already made its appearance in the offshore waters of Horn Island, and these fish will continue to linger here and gradually spread out into the waters of the Sound as spring progresses into summer. Soaking a live hardhead catfish, croaker, or pinfish in the depths off the Horn Island West Bar or adjacent to any of the offshore oil and gas structures is a popular way to catch these big bruisers. Alternatively, one can also fish a bright feathered jig or other artificial in hopes of enticing one of these monsters to the hook. Either way, a Mississippi Gulf Coast cobia hunt is big- game fishing at its best.

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