Doc's Perspective on Virtuoso Fishermen

There is clearly an art to consistently catching fish along the front beaches; and I am fortunate to know and have known many of the Gulf Coast's artists. With rod in hand, each morning they manage to paint an image of a stringer full of nice fish. This time of the year, the fish are mostly speckled trout. Later they will be joined by an occasional flounder, a white trout perhaps, a Spanish mackerel, or even a ground mullet. Never though is it a painting of an empty stringer.

Some would call these fishermen experts. Others would merely say that they have learned from their many years of experience. There are even some that have the nerve to call them lucky. Among their peers though, these are good fishermen from whom valuable lessons can be learned. The lessons I have learned through my acquaintance with these good friends can help to improve your inshore fishing in the coming season too.

The names of these folks come easily to mind - the late Joe Margiotta, "Boots" McCaughan, Bill Dugan, J.T. Hooker, Dennis Fleming, and Hardy Evans, to name a few. These old fellas have been wetting hooks for a few centuries among them; and, believe me, when they talk fishing, I listen.

Ol' Joe taught me during the Spring months to fish the 52-M-19 MirrOlure for best results with speckled trout. This silvery plug resembles many of the young-of-the-year baitfish that abound in the Sound this time of year, and it has proved dependable time and again. Joe would fish the plug in a manner that has been described as a "Lope retrieve", turning the rod handle and holding the crank stationary. I have seen Joe reel in more than one fine speck using this bait and technique; and I have depended on it for years now myself. Without using the same terminology, he taught me that "matching the hatch" is applicable to saltwater fishing. I will genuinely miss Joe this season.

"Boots" was another old-timer who really knew his fishing. One summer, I was trying to catch a few trout late in the morning on a popping cork and live shrimp. I had the shrimp maybe two feet beneath the cork, and I'd get a strike every five to ten minutes or so. Boots was a man of few words; but when he passed by me, he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "drop the bait down another six inches", as he continued flounder fishing along the pier puffing his cigar as he went. I changed up; and sure enough started catching trout almost every cast. Mr. McCaughan, who always caught fish, taught me innovation. If one thing doesn't catch fish, try something else. He also taught me how to smoke cigars.

Bill Dugan was a regular on the Gulf Park Pier in Long Beach, and Bill could fish a live shrimp like nobody else. From him I learned that it takes a lively live shrimp to consistently catch speckled trout. The sound of Bill working a live shrimp with his bait-cast rod is like Indiana Jones cracking his whip. I wish I could catch trout on live bait the way Bill did; and, come to think of it, I wish Bill could have learned to release fish the way that I do. If you want to see how a popping cork is really supposed to work, Bill would have been the one to show you. His lessons began at about 4:30 A.M.

J.T. was another Long Beach nearshore fishing legend. With a name like "Hooker", you'd have expected him to be a good fisherman; but J.T. took things to the extreme. One morning several years ago, he was catching specks on green StingRay Grubs. He caught fish on most every cast, and before long, he had run out of baits. Known for his persistence (and orneryness), J.T. wrapped a green Daily Herald rubber band around a treble hook and kept on catching fish. J.T. taught me to be patient.

Dennis Fleming can make a topwater MirrOlure dance. There are lots of folks that claim to be able to fish topwater, but none can hold a candle to Dennis. Some many years ago, I met the ol' fellow on the Long Beach Pier. I was fishing live shrimp for speckled trout; and he was flinging some kind of plastic toy for fun. By six- thirty, he and his plastic toy were headed home with a basket full of nice (very nice) trout; and I and my live shrimp were still entertaining the needlefish. I learned a heck of a lot from Dennis. Mostly I learned that there was a lot more to fishing than just catching fish.

Hardy Evans is a fisherman that'll shoot holes in all your theories. While you're trying to decide on what type of bait to use, he's catching fish right on. What's more, he uses the same lure year after year, after year. Hardy should market his custom- made bait, really. I would buy a box of 'em right now. I run into Hardy wadefishing with regularity; and, everytime I see him, he's using the same bait - a yellow shrimp tail that he modifies by giving it a black back. Oh no, don't break out the black laundry marker and start trying to paint black backs on those yellow StingRay Grubs. It won't work. I have already tried it. It's not black paint that Hardy uses - It's BLACK MAGIC. If ever there was a fisherman that had confidence in his lure, it is Hardy; and he too taught me well.

Most importantly, these fishermen - experts all, by anyone's standards - have taught me that catching fish on the front beach does not happen by accident. It takes a special combination of wind, tides, temperature, and savvy to catch fish here. But if you're willing to invest the time, there's a sunrise seminar that'll begin bright and early tomorrow.