Fishing - When I'm fishing, I am not thinking of work! Paul
Teutul, Jr.
My Favorite Saltwater Destinations
The Biloxi Marsh
The Biloxi Marsh (aka-Louisiana Marsh) is located due south of Bay St.
Louis, MS. It
requires a Louisiana Fishing License (Non-Resident Freshwater and
Saltwater - not cheap), but provides great
fishing. The water is somewhat protected to it can be fished when
conditions are not optimial, but it may be rough getting there if the
seas are up. Rob Recio, owner of Chandeleur Outfitters
guides this area and really knows how to put you on fish.
www.chandeleuroutfitters.com
March of 2003, I did a charter with Richard Schmidt and caught a 16"
Red, had
about a 20 pounder break off, caught two 8 pound (28" & 29") Reds
and a 9 pound (31")
Red. These were measured and weighed using the Boca Grip, not
estimates. The best dates to fish for a specific Species of
fish is listed on the Beaurivage Casino and Resort web-site under
Marina/Species Chart. www.beaurivage.com
Cocodrie, LA
Cocodrie is located due south of Houma, LA on Hwy 56. When
you run out of road, you have arrived. My favorite launching
point
is Coco Marina. www.cocomarina.com
They have lodging, a restaurant and can provide guide services.
Cocodrie is located on a marsh that is very well protected. It
also provides access to Terrebonne Bay, its many connected lakes and
the Gulf of Mexico. Coco Marina guides run "Marsh Trips" and
"Shoreline Trips," both of which are very
productive. The largest Red caught on my last trip was caught in
the marsh on half a crab by a friend of mine on a bait casting
rig. It weighted 36 pounds.
Delacroix, LA
Delacroix is a huge marsh area with excellent fishing. The key to
fishing Delacroix, for saltwater species, is to fish it when the
weather has been dry. Rain flushes the saltwater out of the marsh
and the saltwater fish follow the salinity they prefer. If you
plan
a trip to Delacroix and it rains, you are not dead in the water.
You can follow the saltwater, moving further out or switch to bass
fishing.
As you can see from the map, this area is mostly marsh and if you carry
enough fuel and have a very shallow draft boat you can actually access
Breton Sound.
Chandeleur Island
Chandeleur Island is in Louisiana water, and is located due
south of Ship Island. (see map below) It is approximately 25
miles off the coast of Mississippi, which causes the weather to dictate
when fly fishers, with the typical boats we use, can make the trip
comfortably. It is known for fine Red and Speckled Trout
fishing. There is a Lodge located near Chandeleur Island known at
the "Pelican." The HOSSFly Club was to the Pelican
March 19-21, 2004. For those of you who have not been to the
Pelican, it is a Lodge, consisting of three barges rafted together in a
protected area just off Chandeleur Island. One barge consists of a
screened in room with a table and comfortable chairs. The center
barge houses the Generator, Kitchen with eating areas and a small bed
room, a marine head, staff quarters and a remarkable deck topside. The
other barge is sleeping quarters with 4 bunk beds (8 people) and a rest
room with shower and marine head. There are decks surounding each
barge and the topside deck provides the best Sunset and Martini you
could ever hope for.
It is 30.5 miles South of Biloxi, we departed from the Biloxi Small
Craft Harbor and headed to Ship Island, then south from Camile
Cut. Shortly, we saw the channel markers that guide ships to
Gulfport Harbor via a track just north of Chandeleur Island. We
headed for the east most Channel marker we could see until we saw the
Island. There are several Towers and a light on the north end of
Chandeleur Island. There is a sand bar a fair distance off the
island, which is often just under the water, depending on tides, and
runs parallel to the West side of the Island, so approach slowly and
watch your depth. We stayed outside the sandbar and ran parallel
to the island south until we saw an Orange ball and white "Danger
Buoy," this marks the entrance to the channel to the Pelican. At
the Orange ball we entered between the Buoy and Ball and stayed within
the PVC pipe markers, where it is 5-6 feet deep, there are shallow
flats on either side of the channel. At the Pelican, there
are two PVC pipes, which mark the turn to head to the barges. I
trimed up the motor and proceeded slowly, it is shallow. Cell
phones rarely work and it is clam and quiet. We caught and
eat Sea Trout and Reds and saw a host of other species. The
Martinis and Sunsets were excellent and it is always a pleasure to
spend time with good friends.
The HOSSFly Club made another trip to Chandeleur Island on July 10th,
2004. The weather was kind and we had a reasonable ride out and a
great ride back from Chandeleur. We hit the typical spots, the
Rocks, Sand Bars and Red Buoy. The Ladyfish were in a frenzy and
we also found lots of nice sized Spotted Seatrout in the mood for a
snack. We visited the Pelican for a quick lunch and hit the water
again. There were several thunderstorms on Chandeleur Island, but
it was easy to run around them and stay dry and on fish. We had
low expectations on this trip due to minimal tide movement and late
start, but it turned out to be a great trip. Wish you were there.
I made a trip to Chandeleur Island on August 28th, 2004. There
was baitfish busting the water everywhere with large Ladyfish found to
be the cause. The middle of the day, Ladyfish were the only
action, with Speckled Trout action improving later in the day. We
have noticed since the full time residency of two "mother ship"
operations, towing large numbers of skiffs, that the fishing at
Chandeleur has not been as good as it has in the past. These
live-aboards take approximately a dozen fishermen each and stay on
Chandeleur for numerous days at the time, which in my opinion has had a
negative
impact of the fishery, due to the increased pressure.
Post Hurricane Katrina the Chandeleur Islands are smaller, but with
more cuts, and are better that ever. You may not get into fish on
every trip, but when you do, there are more and larger fish than before
Katrina.
Cat Island
Cat Island is easily accessable and close enough to brave when the
weather is somewhat against you. Smuggers Cove to the south
of Cat Island is very protected and often holds Reds and Trout.
Areas of East Cat Island have also been productive, depending on
Tides. The North end of Cat Island has been productive for Red,
Trout and several other variety of fish.
Ship Island
Ship Island offers many great fishing opportunities, from Surf fishing
on the South shore to Flats fishing near the Quarantine Station.
Horn Island
Horn Island is located east of Ship Island and offers a variety of good
fishing, due to the variety of bottom features surrounding Horn
Island. There are flats, channels that run close to shore and
deeps water just south of the island. You can always find
something to fish for at Horn Island.
Little Cayman Island
Little Cayman is not known as a fishing destination--it is known for
its great scuba diving. I visited the Little Cayman Island
Resort in October 2003 and had great diving. During a few
dive breaks, a friend and I headed
up-island to The Southern Cross Club, which has a Fishing Guide Service. www.southerncrossclub.com
The service was very reasonable at $200 for two fly fishers per day,
wade fishing. The guide put us on Bonefish, we had shots at
Permit and later that night, I hung a huge Tarpon back at the Little
Cayman Beach Resort.
More to Come!