New eBook by John Phillips on the Secret to Big Trout and Tripletails on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast
OutdoorHub 07.23.12
Captain Robert “Pappy” Kenney of Old Pro Charters, docked at Bayou Caddy Fisheries and Ice in Lakeshore, Mississippi, says, “In August, you can catch all kinds of fish.” Kenney believes in fishing by the moon. For instance, during the full moon and on 3 days of either side of the full moon, Kenney catches plenty of big trout. “Many summers, we’ve caught trout weighing 4- to 6-pounds each,” Kenney says. “I’ve noticed that on either side of the full moon, we really seem to have a good trout bite. And, August will be the same.” Kenney only fishes with live bait and prefers to use live croakers over oyster reefs. He’ll fish a No. 2 or a No. 3 Kahle hook and attach 18 inches of 30-pound-test fluorocarbon leader to 20-pound-test main line. He’ll put a plastic bead above the knot where he ties the fluorocarbon to his main line, and above the bead, he’ll have the lightest slip sinker he possibly can use and still hold the bait on the bottom. “If I’m fishing on Cabbage Reef out by the Cat Island Channel where the current’s running strong, I’ll use a heavier lead than I will in other areas where the current’s not running nearly as hard,” Kenney mentions.
Most fishermen can catch a limit of small speckled trout by fishing under the birds that hover above the shrimp and the baitfish, while the schooling trout force the bait to the surface. But to catch really-big speckled trout, Kenney prefers to fish the oyster reefs, where although he may not catch as many trout as anglers who fish under the birds, the speckled trout he catches usually will weigh from 4- to 6-pounds each.
Bet on the Three-Tails:
“We catch a number of tripletails in August,” Kenney reports. “Catching four to five tripletails in one day isn’t uncommon for a party, but one to two tripletails are about average. These tripletails will average 5- to 8-pounds each, and we look for them under anything floating on the surface. On a recent trip, I found two tripletails under one dead jack crevalle floating on the surface. On another day, I located four tripletails under one crab trap float.” The productive tripletail fishing should continue through August, and although some anglers exclusively search for the tripletails that resemble giant bream and taste like them, most of the time Kenney and his party find their tripletails when they’re traveling to and from the areas where Kenney fishes for speckled trout and redfish or his offshore spots.
When fishing for tripletails, Kenney and his party will pass-by crab-trap floats, patches of floating grass, an occasional piece of lumber or a dead fish or sea turtle. By staying well away from these surface structures, they may spot tripletails and use live bait, like live shrimp, to cast to them. So, there’s a good chance of catching one or more tripletails on this saltwater fishing expedition.
To learn more about fishing Mississippi’s Gulf Coast every month and the types of fish you can catch and how to catch them, get the new Kindle eBook, “Fishing Mississippi’s Gulf Coast and Visitor’s Guide” by John E. Phillips. Go to http://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Mississippis-Coast-Visitors-ebook/dp/B008DWLUZ6/ to buy it. Or, you can go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks and type-in the name of the book to find it.
