'This fishing we've seen is ridiculous': MS coast fishermen report best bite in years
Fishing is in full swing on Mississippi's coast and no matter if you're targeting tripletail, speckled trout, flounder or redfish, anglers are saying it's the best they've seen in years.
"Fantastic sizes, fantastic numbers," Sonny Schindler of Shore Thing Charters said about speckled trout, possibly the most popular inshore species. "We've seen this before, but it was years and years ago. Just about everywhere we fish we're catching good sizes and consistent numbers."
Schindler said on a recent trip he became so accustomed to catching 18-inch to 19-inch trout that 16-inch fish didn't even look like they met the 15-inch minimum.
"This fishing we've seen is ridiculous," Schindler said.
Bill Hancock of Reel Outlaw Charters reported the same.
"The fishing has been really good this year." Hancock said. "A lot of my clients have caught their personal-best trout up to 7 pounds."
Both reported excellent redfish and flounder sizes and numbers while Hancock said the tripletail action is unlike he's ever seen.
"It's the best I've seen so far," Hancock said. "We saw 40 in two days. The average person should see four to 10 a day. I think that's a reasonable estimate and the limit is only two."
Why is Mississippi coast fishing so great this year?
When it comes to speckled trout, Hancock attributes it to a longer minimum length that was put in place in 2017. Stock assessments indicated the 13-inch minimum was no longer sustainable due to increased fishing pressure and declining stock, so the minimum was raised to 15 inches to increase sizes and numbers of speckled trout.
Hancock said it paid off.
"I'm here to tell you, it works for us," Hancock said.
But what about the other species? What has happened with them? Schindler said the phenomenal fishing is due to a recovering habitat.
The Bonnet Carre Spillway on the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana was opened a record number of times between 2010 and 2020 to reduce pressure on the levees caused by flooding. The freshwater found its way to the Mississippi coast where it negatively impacted the fragile ecosystem and pushed fish away to areas with more suitable salinity.
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The spillway hasn't been opened since 2020 and Schindler said he's seeing signs of recovery. Schindler said he's seeing healthy oyster beds teeming with life. Schindler also said grass beds that were damaged by the freshwater are now thick and lush.
"This stuff is so important for the bait fish to hide in and the trout to spawn in," Schindler said. "Because everything is healthy, the fishing has come alive. Things are working the way they should and with that comes the amazing fishery we have."
How to get in the fishing action
If you're not familiar with saltwater fishing, the easiest way to make a rod bend is to hire a guide. However, that may not be for everyone.
Some may not want to spend the money on fees while others may be more of the DIY type.
So, to get you started, Hancock and Schindler provided basic information for catching some of the most popular inshore species in Mississippi. Just pick a species, take a quick read and you'll be on your way to putting fish on ice.
How to catch flounder
When: Incoming or outgoing tide
Where: Bayou mouths, river mouths, island drains and pier pilings
Artificial bait: Soft plastics on jig heads such as Gulp! Shrimp or Matrix Shad
Natural bait: Live shrimp or cocahoe minnows
Pro tip: If you have trout, Hancock said cutting a thin strip of belly meat 2 inches to 3 inches long and tipping a jig with it makes it more attractive to flounder.
How to catch redfish
When: Early mornings and peak high tides
Where: Shorelines with shells, broken marsh, marsh drains in a falling tide, near-shore reefs
Artificial bait: Baits with flash such as spoons and spinnerbaits
Natural bait: Dead shrimp, live shrimp, croakers, cocahoe minnows
Pro tip: Schindler said dead shrimp are a great bait for redfish because of the smell, but they're a great bait for catfish, too. So, anglers may want to choose something else to avoid catching catfish.
How to catch tripletail
When: Early morning, incoming tide, outgoing tide
Where: Look for them underneath anything floating on the surface such as crab trap floats, floating trash or debris. Also look near stationary structure such as channel markers.
Artificial bait: Shrimp pattern or crab pattern flies using a fly rod.
Natural bait: Live shrimp without a weight
Pro tip: Hancock said tripletail position themselves facing the current. Position yourself where you can cast toward the fish and allow the current to drift the bait to the fish's head.
How to catch speckled trout
When: Early morning bite is best fishing shallow. Fish deeper in late morning as deep as 8 feet.
Where: Near-shore reefs, barrier islands, oyster reefs, shell bars, under flocks of diving birds
Artificial bait: Soft plastic jigs with 1/4-ounce to 1/2-ounce jig heads under popping corks
Natural bait: Live shrimp, croakers and cocahoe minnows
Pro tip: Be stealthy. Approach using a trolling motor and avoid banging things in the boat such as livewell lids.
Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi coast fishermen report best fishing in years
