Even before the early morning sun beckons the tourist community to spread its blankets on the warm sand of Mississippi Beach, your boat is headed south along the Gulfport Ship Channel. You watch anxiously as green and red buoys count the minutes of your trip southward though the steel grey waters of the Sound. Soon you pass through barge traffic along the Intracoastal Waterway; and before too long, the hulking shadow of Fort Massachusetts passes by the port side, and the waters become noticeably more clear. In Ship Island Pass now, you continue southward past vast rafts of Stomopholus - sea cabbages - that float aimlessly by in the currents. A pod of cavorting porpoises catches your eye in the distance. One particularly playful one even decides to surf in the wake of your south-bound sportsfisherman as gulls join in the entourage to pick baitfish churned to the surface by the boat's twin props. The waters turn a deep blue as powerful ground swells begin to strike the bow of your boat at regular intervals as it continues its trip southward. Interesting and scenic as these sights may be for a landlubber, they do not distract you from your appointed destination. Left in the hands of a professional skipper and crew, the decision of where to go in the pursuit of fish has given you no cause for concern. You only know and care that you are destined for good fishing somewhere in these blue waters. By mid-morning and seemingly in the middle of nowhere, your charter boat glides to a surprising stop to anchor over some distant snapper reef, and moments later the first mate has baited the lines; and you're ready for action. Or, as an alternative, outriggers may go overboard to seek out amberjack, mackerel or some other migratory pelagic species as your charter vessel cruises the blue waters south of the barrier islands for action. Perhaps casting for trout and reds is your idea of saltwater fishing fun. Well, climb aboard a skiff in Chandeleur Sound, and cast to your heart's content. For a change of pace, fish the verdant grass flats or wade the green waters off the island's beaches. Whatever your fishing desires might be, Mississippi's professional charter fleet has an option that is sure to please.
Whether you are simply unfamiliar with Mississippi coastal waters or just want to sit back and leave the fish-finding to a professional, a trip aboard one of the state's many fast, sleek and modern charter vessels can get you the dependable fishing action that you're looking for.
The state requires no saltwater fishing license, and access to good fishing waters is as easy as walking across Front Beach Boulevard to the nearest public fishing pier. If you have any doubts about finding fish on your own though, just climb aboard a charter boat at any one of several front beach small craft harbors and marinas.
Every year, there are plenty of visiting fishermen that have a hankering to sample some of the offshore fishing along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but, for one reason or another, are discouraged by the logistics involved in arranging a charter. Little do they know just how easy the process can be.
First of all, you have to pick a boat - any boat. And a quick check of the yellow pages or a visit to the docks will make the selection much easier for you. Most of the vessels will easily handle parties of up to six fishermen. Many, especially for bottomfishing charters, can accommodate forty or more. Just pick up the phone and tell the captain what's on your mind; and I am sure that he will be able to arrange a trip to suit.
To give you some kind of idea of just what to expect, here are the answers to a dozen of the most commonly asked questions about a charter fishing trip on the Mississippi Gulf Coast -
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE NEEDED?
The typical charter trip might consist of four to six people, but for larger parties, several boats usually operate together and specialize in bottom fishing where there's room for plenty of folks to participate. There are also a few headboats, like the Sea Surrey, where a lone fisherman can try his luck with a group of others.
HOW LONG IS THE TYPICAL FISHING DAY?
Full day trips usually last eight hours with departure times from 6:00 to 7:00 A.M., but there are also half-day and overnight trips available.
WHAT KINDS OF FISH ARE CAUGHT?
Charter boats that specialize in bottom fishing will routinely take good numbers of snapper, grouper and other reef fish species while those that predominantly troll offshore will catch Spanish and king mackerel, jack crevalle, bonito, and, of course, sharks. For those that prefer to cast for their quarry, the Chandeleur charters offer yet another group of species. Here, a fisherman will have the opportunity to cast for seatrout, red drum, and other nearshore gamesters from either the stable platform of a small skiff or wade fishing. Since the nearshore shallows are quite warm this time of the year, no waders are necessary. A pair of long pants and old sneakers will do quite nicely.
HOW SHOULD I DRESS FOR THE TRIP?
Soft-soled deck shoes, a hat, and sunglasses are de rigueur for an offshore trip. Warm clothing - a windbreaker or Anorak - to ward off the chill of Spring or Fall is also well advised. If your skin is sun- sensitive, you might also want to consider bringing along plenty of sunscreen or suntan lotion, if you prefer.
ARE MEALS PROVIDED?
It is customary for the charter party to provide food and beverages for itself, as well as for the captain and mate; but special arrangements may be made with most captains to supply the food. Extended trips such a the Chandeleur overnight charter trips usually include meals with the price of the trip.
DO CHARTER BOATS PROVIDE EQUIPMENT?
Boats usually furnish tackle, bait, and ice. But if equipment is damaged as a result of abuse or negligence, the expense of replacement gear or necessary repairs may be charged to the customer.
WHAT HAPPENS TO FISH UPON DOCKING?
Typically individuals must provide their own ice chests for storing the catch for the trip home. The first mate will usually also clean and dress the catch for a nominal fee.
WHAT ABOUT SEA SICKNESS?
If you are inclined toward motion sickness or if you're taking any children on the trip, meclizine or any one of the over-the-counter remedies for sea sickness will be helpful if taken before departure. Your family physician can prescribe convenient behind-the-ear patches of scopolamine that will last the duration of a three-day fishing trip.
ARE RESERVATIONS NECESSARY?
To avoid disappointment, boats should be reserved in advance, especially during weekends or holidays when the demand on charter fishing boats is at its highest. Making reservations the evening before a planned outing is usually sufficient for weekend trips.
WILL I NEED A FISHING LICENSE?
Saltwater fishing in Mississippi waters requires a saltwater fishing license and you should plan to purchase the required permit if you plan to fish on your own. Charter patrons, however, do not require a fishing license.
Bottom fishing for snapper and grouper is one of the basic options that many fishermen will want to try. A typical bottom fishing trip may involve running up to 70 or 80 miles offshore to find areas that attract reef fish species. Relying on high-tech electronics to locate offshore topographic highs - wrecks, reefs, liberty ships, and the like - a good charter boat captain will put his boat literally right on the fish. Concentrations of reef fish - snappers, groupers, scamp - make such offshore haunts a great success with clients who will seldom come home empty-handed. Of course, the waters around such structure will also attract migratory pelagic species like King and spanish mackerel, bonito, jack crevalle, and blue runner; and these gamesters will eagerly take up the slack when the reef fish fail to cooperate. Most all successful bottom fishing is done using a variety of dead natural baits. But the charter fisherman need not concern himself with such details as the first-mate will see to it that everyone is properly rigged with the right bait to catch plenty of fish.
The annual pattern of offshore recreational fishing in Mississippi reflects the seasonality of various popular gamefish species as well as the strong response of fishermen to the summer season. Trout are most commonly caught in May, and fewer of these fish appear in the catch as the summer progresses. The season for Atlantic croaker, on the other hand, extends right through the hottest months of the summer. The peak season for mackerels is during July and August; but there is a lesser mid-winter peak for kings as well. Cobia fishermen will find their greatest chance of success during the early spring to mid-summer months. For fishermen that are interested in how long it might take to hookup with a saltwater gamester using bottom fishing techniques, a recent National Marine Fisheries Service study provides some answers:
SPECIES AVERAGE BOTTOM-FISHING TIME
red snapper 24 minutes
porgies 25 minutes
gray triggerfish 30 minutes
vermillion snapper 52 minutes
greater amberjack 45 minutes
dolphin 12 hours
Of course, bottom fishing is not the only option available to those interested in chartering on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Some folks may prefer the excitement of being strapped to the fighting chair of a speedy north-bound charter boat while doing battle with an even faster- moving southbound mackerel, bonito, or other gamester. When the lines hit the water south of the barrier islands, there is no telling what might take a fancy to Reflecto or Tony Acetta Pet spoon that is the favorite of charter professionals. Here too there are plenty of charter options to please even the most discriminating angler. A recent National Marine Fisheries Service study reveals the approximate length of trolling time required to catch selected species:
SPECIES AVERAGE TROLLING TIME
blue runner 15 minutes
Spanish mackerel 21 minutes
bonito 39 minutes
ladyfish 59 minutes
bluefish 2.5 hours
For jack crevalle, dolphin, king mackerel, sharks and some other not uncommonly caught species the average trolling times were referenced in excess of twenty-four hours. Keeping in mind though that this study was conducted in May and that it included amateur boat captains right along with seasoned charter skippers, your luck could be far better with a pro at the helm.
Guys like Biloxi's Kenny Barhonovich and Jay Trochessett typify the seasoned veterans of the Mississippi charter boat industry. Born of families with a long-time seafood heritage, they were weaned on a charter vessel; and they have now taken over the family business to continue the tradition. After years of offshore fishing, such men are able to locate fish with uncanny ability. And, sharing information about the previous day's catch with their fellow captains, they almost guarantee a successful trip.
That success is not at all difficult to explain. In fact, it is simply a matter of experience in fishing the local waters. The best walleye fisherman in St. Paul, Minnesota, for example, will not have a clue about where to find blue runner on any given day in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For this reason alone, it is well worth the extra expense of hiring a fishing guide or charter when wetting a hook in unfamiliar waters.
Offshore fishing destinations are much more varied that anyone might ever guess. On the surface, the waters of the open gulf appear to be pretty much the same wherever one might choose to look. Though it might seem that way, there are actually special, patchy areas that are known to concentrate fish, and an experienced charter boat captain knows how to find them in that otherwise nondescript sea. Water clarity, bottom topography, salinity, and temperature are all important factors in determining the distribution of fish. And if you can locate the right combination of these features, you will also likely have located fish.
Off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, some of the more prominent bottom structure is, of course, found at the so-called snapper reefs of which the Liberty Ships are the most popular. These half-dozen or so unmarked structures are located some ten miles due south of Petit Bois, Horn and Ship Islands in varying depths of water. These reefs annually produce good catches of snapper, grouper, scamp, and king and Spanish mackerel. A private boat owner with loran and good navigational skills might just find these elusive fishing hotspots, and then he might not. A good charter captain can find them blindfolded.
More or less permanent structures like the Liberty Ship Reefs and other wrecks can be found on charts and located with a bit of luck. Less stationery offshore destinations though are the tidelines and rips that concentrate flotsam and floating seagrasses and the fish that are attracted to the stuff. Dolphin, cobia, tripletail, and other shade loving species are often associated with such structures; but since these productive areas are in constant motion, they can be difficult to find from one day to the next. Once again, a charter captain that visits these waters each and every day is able to log the location of areas where fish were caught and use that information to advantage on the following day's charter.
What all this boils down to is better fishing for the client - that's YOU. And as difficult as it is to hook up with a good fish these days, a fisherman needs to do everything he can to stack the odds a bit in his favor.
Those odds can, after all, be relatively slim. What, for example, are the odds of catching one of the real glamour fish on your charter trip? Of all the billfish species, the white marlin is by far the most commonly caught off the northern Gulf Coast. 791, for example, were landed in 1981. The least likely catch is a swordfish; only a single one of these was reportedly caught during the same 1981 study. What are the chances of chartering an offshore trolling trip and catching a Grand Slam - a blue marlin, white marlin, and sailfish - all in a single trip? Believe it or not, two such catches were recorded in 1981. After twelve hours of fishing, the All Right returned with a grand slam during the 11th Annual Pensacola International Billfish Tournament. A month later, the Slingshot duplicated this feat, returning to nearby Orange Beach, Alabama from a ten-hour trip with a grand slam aboard. So see, when charter fishing, anything's possible...
Speaking of the possibilities, my personal favorite charter option is the Chandeleur overnighter. Here, the fishing party is ferried thirty- five or forty miles south to an anchorage at Schooner Harbor, Monkey Bayou, or some other popular hotspot and left to its own designs. Provided with a sixteen-foot outboard-powered skiff, an angler can range over miles of productive seagrass flats in pursuit of spotted seatrout, red drum, and a host of other species. All this is done at the fisherman's own pace and at his choosing. On a typical Chandeleur outing, the fisherman must provide his own tackle; and standard freshwater spinning or bait-casting gear will serve well here.
After a full day's fishing, the fisherman can look forward to air- conditioned comfort aboard a well-appointed vessel along with a warm shower and hearty dinner. It is an experience well worth the cost. The Southern Belle and the Due South, both operating out of Biloxi are among charter boats that specialize in such overnight Chandeleur excursions. Topwater plugs like Zara Spooks, Rebels, MirrOlures, Rapalas, and Devil's Horses will quickly fill stringers with a limit of fish here. But soft plastics like the Boone Tout and Mann's StingRay Grub fished under a popping cork will also take their share of the fish over the miles of Chandeleur grass. Drift fishing out of the skiff in the relatively protected waters of Chandeleur Sound is only one of the options available to the Chandeleur fisherman. He can also opt to wade the shallow seagrass flats off the island's western shores or cross over to the surf-scoured eastern shore to cast into the open waters of the Gulf where big yellowmouth trout and reds are eager to smash a well- fished spoon or plug. Either way, a Chandeleur charter trip is sure to be the highlight of any fisherman's visit to the Mississippi Gulf Coast...
There you have it. Options for 1) bottomfishing, 2) trolling, or 3) casting for saltwater gamesters ranging from Amberjack to Wahoo are all possibilities when you arrange your fishing trip aboard any one of Mississippi's many charter boats.