I by Al Rogers

Fishing Deep in the Biloxi Marsh

nexplored, difficult to reach trout and redfish. The pristine waterways and even harder to navigate, ran through countless passes and into the interior of the Biloxi interior bays before eventually spilling Marsh is believed to be a into even larger nearby bodies of open major factor in the success of fisheries water. from the lower Mississippi River Delta, Spring was in the air. The chill I to Lake Pontchartrain, to the Chandeleur recalled a week earlier was gone. Longer Islands. days warmed the water, driving the Capt. Brian Gagnon looked out over speckled trout and redfish to the surface. the pristine wilderness and inhaleddeeply . In a nearby bay off Bayou Biloxi several It was nearly March, a clear afternoon screeching seagulls hovered over a and this was a long awaited breath of disturbance on the water. In the middle fresh spring air. Seated at the stern of a 14- bays, specks fed aggressively while foot sluff, Gagnon could not have been redfish plowed through the shallows and happier. This was just exactly where the along grass lines. Bay St.Louis,Mississippi native wanted to Gagnon -reached for his chrome be. As far from civilization as he could get. MirrOlure She Dog. Although well worn, "It's hard to believe we haven't seen withdeep slashes from recent battles with or heard another boat or motor in three toothy predators, it was a choice of days," he said. "Three days. When was confidence. Gagnon hit the kill switch, "What'd I tell you?" he asked. the last time you could say that?" silencing the 15-hp yamahaand we glided "Paradise, isn't it? Just don't tell I silently pondered the question but toward a point just ahead. He took aim anybody ." couldn't respond. I couldn't remember. and launched the walking plug just off of "Hold on, I'm an outdoors writer," I This was unlike anything I'd ever seen. the ambush point. reminded him. "This is my job." This was a paradise, as isolated and I watched and listened to the rhythmic Okay. I assured him I'd tell no one. backcountry as anything on earth. Many snaps of the shiny plug. The lure bobbed The Biloxi Marsh an adventurous angler has harbored dreams back and forth as he worked his rod tip. Here we were in the Biloxi Marsh, of finding such an area. But finding such a After a few snaps and pops the She Dog certainly not anexclusive or secret fishery. region in today's world is a rare thing. disappeared in a frothy boil of white Due south of Pass Christian, MS and Vast schools of fish moved through water and Gagnon held on tightly. He some 45 miles east of New Orleans, the a twisted maze of wetlands, gorging on a attempted to turn the handle of his Biloxi Marsh has been regarded by buffet of shrimp, crab and baitfish. The baitcaster but to no avail. The bronze generations of anglers as a productive bayous meandered aimlessly, with each monster continued to take 14-pound test, fishery. A fair number of anglers from twist and turn creating ambush points for nearly emptying his spool. (Continued on page I:

Fishing deep in the Biloxi Marsh - Upper: Capts. Brian Gagnon and Drew Dekle of Southern Way Photos by autho Charters with a pair of marsh reds. Lower: Capt. Gagnon with the Southern Way in the background. The Biloxi Marsh (Continued from page 6.) Introduction to Mississippi and Louisiana do fish the perimeter of the Biloxi Marsh. But not Wells Daily Fishing Forecast many make it into the heart of the region Tidal Currents are the horizontal move- feeding on their moving and exposed food. that includes some 120,000 acres. ment of tide waters. This horizontal move- Because the best fishing usually oc- "Not many people get up into it this ment is the most vital factor in marine life. curs each day following the time shown in far," heexplained."There're good reasons Because currents control the movement of this starting column, the variations in- why they don't." fish food, they are the only advance predict- volved are worth studying. Gagnon glided a fantastic 30-inch able factor in the movement of our gamefish. First, a study of flooding or incoming redfish into his landing net. As he removed All the other minor factors which effect the currents shows that the IN movement of the hooks he explained just why such a movement of fish can only be determined on fish will be slower and more gradual than productive region has escaped pressure a day-to-day basis. It can be determined the OUT movement on an ebbing current. from thousands of anglers from Louisiana when and where themost fish movement will Fishing will be slower with fairly long occur on any given day. You can decide intervals between schools of fish feeding and Mississippi. Perhaps the biggest whether to fish the deeper reefs, the close to their way into the shallow water areas. reason, he said, is that getting here often shore feeding areas or the passes from the However, the continuing action should means a rough trudge across open waters. Gulf. hold you at your fishing spot until this So most people remain on the outside. The "why" it works is known to thou- movement has ended. "And the fishing is so good that sands of fishermen who have depended on On the other hand, when a strong cur- there's really no reason to venture in any the Fishing Forecast for 50 years. This rent begins to ebb or go OUT, it will move further," Gagnon said as he released the explanation is mostly for new (to the everything in a short period of time. Ex- redfish. Forecast) fishermen but regular users can cept when a tide is rated Weak or Very He took a push pole and nudged the benefit by reviewing information. Weak, all the gamefish will be out of skiff forward. Eyeballing another It is essential to understand that fish shallow water well before the time shown and their food start moving IN and OUT when movement is predicted to end. disturbance in the water he threw the as soon as a tidal current has gained The column of Current Speed Ratings MirrOlure with the accuracy of a pro enough horizontal speed to force them in designates each current by its strongest quarterback. As it hit thesurface he twitched the direction of its flow. speed. Each of these ratings represents a it again and let the plug come to rest. The time required for a tidal current definite speed range. These speed ranges "Look at that fish right behind it," he to build up to a horizontal speed of at least are Very Weak; Weak; Moderate; Good; said. "Check this out." three tenths of a knot (forcing speed) can Strong; Very Strong; and, Extra Strong. A On his next twitch a large fish slapped be from minutes to several hours. For this current rated Good, for instance, will al- the silver lure nearly two feet in the air. reason times given in the column, ways have the same strength and speed "That was a trout,'' he said. "A big one." "Starts", can never be correlated to the range regardless of when it occurs, either The trout didn't come back for time of High Tide or Low Tide as given in ebbing or flooding. sections of this book. It is very important to adjust the another look but we managed to catch The Forecast, therefore, starts with times as shown in the Fishing Forecasts five reds, keeping two in the 20-inch the time when a tidal current has reached to the area where you are fishing. The range and releasing three others, two that necessary speed or Forcing Power to start times given are for approximately the were pushing 30 inches. a movement in the direction indicated, center of the various bays. Areas An Enigmatic Estuary either IN or OUT. The second time figure nearer the Gulf passes have movements The interior of the Biloxi marsh is a represents the end of the Forcing Power as starting earlier so subtract time from unique area. At some point during our the current slows down to slack water that shown. Fishing areas further into extended stay I realized differences in the time. the Bays will have movements starting hundreds, perhaps thousands of fish that Analyzing the two time figures, we later than the times given. start with the first column, the time when I saw moving through. The demeanor of CURRENT MOVEMENT the fish within this area was bold,curious, movement starts. This time figure com- pared with the last time on the previous DAY DIR STARTS ENDS STRENGTH or perhaps naive. line tells you the length of time since the (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) It didn't occur to me until later that current moved the fish. If the previous TUE 1 05:30am 09:50am Good few of the fish here have ever encountered current moved IN. then the fish will still 10 01:15pm 02:35pm Very Weak 0 10:20pm 04:20am* V Strong another boat or human before. And they be IN until after starting time on this line. TO MID-MORNING (6 probably havenevereven seen an artificial If they were moved OUT on the previous WED I 06:35am 11: 15am) Strong lure like the topwaters, spoons and soft current. then they won't start IN until 2 0 ll:15pm 05:25am* V Strong2 MORNING VERY GOOD plastics we relentlessly chunked in their after this first time figure. direction. The starting time represents the time 1. Day and Date Great fisheries are blessed with great when a tidal current has gained speed and 2. Direction of current. (I) Incoming or features. And the Biloxi Marsh has more force to start movement in the direction Flooding. (0)Outgoing or Ebbing. indicated. This time figure represents the than its share. Like inland real estate, 3. Approximate time that current will beginning of a period when you do not exceed 3 knot location is a major factor here. Its have to hunt for Your fish. BYjust being 4. Approximate time that current will proximity between Lake Borgne and a stationed on a known and proven reef or slow below 3 knot. legendary chain of barrier islands make it channel leading to or from shallow water, 5. Prediction of current strength. a vital sanctuary - aprolific nursing ground the tidal current will bring the fish to You. 6. Forecast of overall prospect forthe day. for hundreds of marine species. (See no. 3 - next column.) 7. A " 1 " following the strength rating in Yet the interiors remain notoriously These periods of movement will dicates a lower low tide than usual; a underfished. Wherever you're launching generally provide the best and fastest ac- "2"indicates a higher high. from, be prepared for a considerable run. tion of the day because the schools of fish 8. ,. Current starts the previous day. (Continued on page 22.) will be concentrated and will always be APRIL-MAY-JUNE 2008 13 The Biloxi Marsh 1 FLORIDA GULF (Continued from page 13.) Apa-lachicola Bay to Captiva Pas Louisiana anglers will generally launch from Slidell or Hopedale. From Slidell it's a rough 15-mile ride across Lake Borgne. This relatively shallow water Forecast Adjustment Times body that links Lake Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico can he brutal with bow Florida Reefs to Midnight Pass Tampa Bay (cont'd) busting cross chops. Point Ybel (0.4 mi. nw) ...... -1:OO Cats Point ...... -255 LDWF biologist Brian Lezin said a Captiva Pass ...... -1 :20 Sunshine Skyway Bridge ..... -0: 15 handful of Biloxi Marsh veterans take a Gasparilla Pass - 1:45 ...... Joe Island (1.8 mi. NW) ...... -0:20 protected interior run by launching from Venice Inlet ...... -2:20 Pinellas Pt. (0.5 mi.le SE) .... -1 :30 Hopedale, crossing the Mississippi River Midnight Past (ent.) -150 ...... Ross Island ...... +1: 10 Gulf Outlet (MRGO), then entering the Sarasota Bay Courtney Campbell Pkwy ... +0:45 western edge of the marsh. However,anyone Big Sarasota Pass -2: 10 ...... Catfish Point (1.3 mi. east) . +0:30 entering the maze from the west end needs New Pass ...... -3:OO Boca Ciega Bay Longboat Pass ...... -255 to be intimately familiar with the area. Pass-a-Grille Channel ...... -55 "You've got to know the area," he Cortez (N . of bridge) ...... -1 : 25 Blind Pass (north end) ...... -1:40 Tampa Bay said. "It is like a maze and one can get lost Johns Pass ...... 1:45 very easily Tampa Bay Ent. Same ." ...... The Narrows ...... 1:00 Anglers must be prepared with a Mullet Key Channel (ent -0: 15 ...... Apalaehee Bay marine radio because cell phone service Passage Key Inlet 1: 15 ...... - St. Marks River ...... 1:00 is spotty, at best. They should also have Bunces Pass -1 :00 ...... Four Mile Pt...... -0:40 all required safety equipment, a post- St. Marks ...... +0:50 Katrina map and, of course, a push pole. To adjust for your fishing area,add (+) or subtract (-) hours and minutes shown above for the area you plan to fish from the Forecast time. No attempt should be made to compare the time of high Moving Out or low tide, shown below, to the times of current presented in the Fishing Forecast. Gagnon has spent much of his life learning the diverse environs and the myriad variables that drive fish. As a Tide Table Adjustment Times teenager he covered the Jourdan and Pearl River systems,their tributaries and passes, to the back bays and marsh interiors. By HIGH LOW HIGH LOW Cape Romano -1:22 -1:06 Tampa Bay the age of 25 he was working on charter Naples (outer coast) -2:04 -2:07 Egmont Key (channel) -2:27 -2:24 boats that made multi-day excursions to Estero Bay Anna Maria -2:07 -2:31 the barrier islands. By the time he was 30, Little Hickory I. -0:58 -1:05 Bradenton, Manatee. -1:24 -055 he earned a position with one of the most Carlos Pt. -1:08 -1:28 Redfish Point -0:30 +0:14 prestigious fishing fleets on the northern Matanzas Pass -1:lO -1:34 Mullet Key Channel -2:22 -1 :58 Gulf Coast - Southern Way Charters. San Carlos Bay Shell Point +0:08 +0:17 He considers the Biloxi Marsh as one Point Ybel -1:50 -1:12 Point Pinellas -0:22 -0:29 the last great, undiscovered regions on the Punta Rassa -1:Ol -1:19 St. Petersburg Same Gulf Coast. Caloosahatchee River Hillsborough Bay +0:07 +0:26 In March,as days become longer and Iona Shores +1:08 +1:40 Boca Ciega Bay water temps rise, trout migrate from the Cape Coral Bridge +1: 15 +2:02 Pass-A-Grille Beach - 1: 34 - 1:30 marsh interiors. Inherently driven by a Fort Myers +2:08 +2:44 Gulfport -1:32 -1:05 need to procreate, they head to more saline St. James City, Pine I. -0:30 -04 John's Pass -2:14 -2:04 environs, where their reproductive odds Captive Island (outside)-2:20 -2:28 Clearwater -1:50 -1:35 are highest. In general, sexually mature Captive Island (P. I. Sd)-0:46 -0:20 Anclote Keys, Sound -1 :47 -1 :46 speckled trout will move out of the Redfish Pass -055 -1:14 Tarpon Springs -0:50 -0:41 marshes as water temps near 70 degrees. Matlacha Pass +0:43 +1:28 St. George Sound Spawning typically occurs late afternoon Punta Gorda Dog Island (west end) +0:07 +0:06 to midnight with a peak around sunset. Charlotte Harbor + 1:06 +1:27 Carrabelle River +0:35 +0:31 Harry Blanchet, with the Louisiana Shell Pt.-Peace River + 1:52 +2:30 St. George Island (east)-0: 15 +0:06 Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Englewood, Lemon Bay -057 -0:40 Apalachicola Bay (LDWF),said spawning peaks around the Venice Inlet -2:02 -1:38 Cat Point +1:20 +1:27 full moon and the new moon of March Sarasota Bay Apalachicola +2:00 +2:44 and April, which happens to be the periods Sarasota -1:38 -058 Lower Anchorage +1:43 +2:09 of greatest tidal flow. Fertilized eggs are Cortez -2:OO -1:25 West Pass +1:33 +2:17 carried back into the sanctuary of the marshes where a fortunate few will The daily tide tables are to be used only as a depth of water guide and have no correlation develop into post-larval creatures and to the maximum times of current. To adjust for your fishing area, add (+) hours/minutes or ultimately juvenile fish. Their parents deduct (-)hours/minutesshown above to the times of hi or low as indicated by the tide tables. seem to somehow know that a strong tidal flow increases their offspring's chances of survival. (Continued on page 27 .) 22 GULF COAST FISHERMAN The Biloxi Marsh Southern Way Charters figured out a way I decided to watch from the upper deck of (Continued from page 22) to comfortably and safely put clients into the Southern Way if water conditions But the burning question among this slice of unadulterated paradise. Based remained favorable. anglers is where exactly do these fish go in Long Beach, they take a longer but The next day the waterremained clear. to spawn? safer ride, avoiding most of the problems So when the group left to fish, I climbed up Gagnon believes Biloxi Marsh trout with Lake Borgne. They dock the to the upper deck and watched school move to the mouths of major passes and mothership,essentially a luxury floating after school of fish move out of the will then travel considerable distances to condominium, and employ a fleet of twisted maze of wetlands. After several open water, even making a trek of some custom shallow draft fiberglass skiffs to hours I felt like I knew where they were 20miles to the barrier islands, if necessary. access the interiors. headed and why. Meanwhile, Capt. Drew Deckle believes "As the days get longer and the water I It was the chance of a lifetime - arare the vast majority of the trout here remain temperatures get closer to that magic opportunity to witness the migratory in the Biloxi Marsh, moving into the number, you can actually watch schools behavior of trout and redfish. I'd written interior bays to reproduce. of fish move toward the passes," he said. about this seasonal ritual for years, but Interesting theories, but who is right? "Most of the time the water is so clean in never had the chance to look into the It's difficult to say because fisheries here you can see it happening." Gagnon waters and see it with such clarity. science is influenced by so many said. There's no doubt going deep into the variables. Biologists contend that Gagnon Determined to see it for myself I marsh is well worth the extra effort. GCF and Deckle could both be right. The distances that trout will move, in general, is dictated by the amount of rainfall the region has had in the late winter. Anglers fishing the marshes in spring should keep On the scale, the figure 10 represents activity out of each six hour period of tidal this in mind. A greater influx of fresh average speed and time duration of approxi- cycle for that day. A speed rating of 6 shortens mately three hours of movement. This move- the time of activity by one hour and has 20 water will drive the fish further out. With ment is followed by a three hour period of percent less strength than an average current. less rainfall, trout are more likely to remain diminishing current speed and feeding activ- The longer and stronger current action within the interiors of the marsh. ity. always indicates the better fishing days off- "One thing is sure," Blanchet said. Each number above, or below the aver- shore because of increased bait movement. age number 10 represents an increase or There is no clearly defined line to indi-

"They won'tgoany~ furtherthan they need to.'' - decrease of 5 percent in strength of flow and cate where the rotary currents become on- It's also interesting to note that male fifteen minutes in additional or less time. shore tidal currents. It is generally accepted trout tend to spawn more often than As examples, a speed rating of 15 shows that waters over 5 fathoms (30 feet deep) will females. Female are capable of spawning a current flowing 25 percent stronger than have rotary currents. every few days. Between spawns, the average and lasting one hour and fifteen min- For additional information visit this page utes longer than average currents. This 15 on the Gulf Coast Fisherman website: fish, particularly big females, will re- rating will have four hours and fifteen minutes www .gulffishing.co~/rotary.html. enter the marsh or estuary to fatten up for their next spawning opportunity. APRIL MAY JUNE- I "There have been davs when winds DATE DAY SPEEl DATE DAY SPEED DATE DAY SPEED have kept us off the islands so we fish 1 TUE 10 1 THU 9 1 SUN 9 back in the marsh," Dekle said. "We've 2 WED 10 2 FRI 8 2 MON 11 caught some monsters coming inside to 3 THU 10 3 SAT 8 3 TUE 11 feed between the spawns." 4 FRI 9 4 SUN 9 4 WED 12 BiloxiMarsh redfish are much easier 5 SAT 8 5 MON 11 5 THU 13 6 SUN 8 to figure out. The place is literally teeming 6 TUE 12 6 FRI 12 7 MON 11 7 WED 13 7 SAT 11 with redfish under 27 inches. Reds will 8 TUE 12 8 THU 13 8 SUN 10 usually remain within the confines of the 9 WED 13 9 FRI 12 9 MON 10 marsh until they are over the 27-inch 10 THU 14 10 SAT 11 10 TUE 8 mark.The big spawners then head offshore 11 FRI 13 11 SUN 10 11 WED 7 to join their peers for the love fest. 12 SAT 12 12 MON 9 12 THU 6 "The reds within the marsh are driven 13 SUN 11 13 TUE 9 13 FRI 6 14 MON 10 14 WED 8 14 SAT 7 mostly by food," Blanchet said. "You 15 TUE 10 15 THU 7 15 SUN 8 really don't have as much of the sex thing 16 WED 9 16 FRI 8 16 MON 9 going on (with smaller redfish)." 17 THU 8 17 SAT 9 17 TUE 10 Mastering the Marshes 18 FRI 7 18 SUN 10 18 WED 11 Gagnon recalled some of his earliest 19 SAT 8 19 MON 10 19 THU 12 trips here in bay boats, watching huge 20 SUN 9 20 TUE 11 20 FRI 12 21 MON 10 speckled trout and redfish feed back in WED 2 1 SAT 11 22 TUE 10 THU 22 SUN 10 the shallows, but he was unable to access 23 WED 11 FRI 23 MON 10 the areas. 24 THU 11 SAT 24 TUE 10 "It was crazy. We'd get in as far as we 25 FRI 11 SUN 25 WED 8 could but our casts would always seem to 26 SAT 10 MON 26 THU 7 fall short. It was frustrating," he said. "I'm 27 SUN 10 TUE 27 FRI 8 sure a lot of people have experienced that." 28 MON 10 WED 2 8 SAT 9 29 TUE 10 THU 29 SUN 9 ~ealizin~the vast potential and the 30 WED 10 FRI 30 MON 10 inherent problems, Gagnon and the SAT Hattiesburg, Mississippi owners of APRTT -MAY-ITTNF 3nnR 77