All along Mississippi's 44-mile coastline you will find hundreds of anglers who spend their time standing in or along the surf line casting huge rods with large spinning reels and weights as far as they can heave. This is surf fishing. Now don't confuse wade fishing with surf fishing.
And don't get me wrong, if you have a friend named Wade who goes fishing with you, it is purely a coincidence. True wade fishing involves going for a swim. The neat thing about the Mississippi Sound is that most of it is less than six feet deep which means a great deal of the near shore area is open to those who are OK with getting their feet wet. It's not uncommon for waders to be able to walk 200-300 yards offshore and still be in waist deep water. Just be sure you keep out of the marked channels and wear bright clothing to help watercraft spot you before they are on top of you.
I just came in from snow plowing and was admiring my charter boat sitting in my yard all shrink wrapped. I started thinking, wishing, that I would soon be fishing for sea run Stripers in the Hudson on their annual spawning run. I then began reflecting on what will need to be done to get everything ready for that first "shakedown cruise".
Before I put the boat up for the season, I removed all of the electronics that could be removed to storage in my home. I then coated all the electrical plugs and connectors with dielectric grease to protect them. This makes for an easy plug and use install when I bring all the electronics back on board; Fishfinder, radar, chart plotter, downriggers, down speed and temp,, and most importantly the VHF radio. Safety gear including life preservers, rope, paddle, bailable device, and throwable cushion all check out.
Calico bass (also known as kelp bass) live in kelp forests primarily in Southern California and Baja. They are a scrappy fish that averages about 1-3lbs and maxes out in the low double digits. They hit hard for their size and if you aren't careful they will go back in the kelp and wrap up your line. I have fond memories of scrambling on rocks in Southern California and Baja Mexico trying to find good spots to cast for these guys. Later on I fished for them from party boats in Southern California and pangas in Baja.
Giant Trevally (called "Ulua" in Hawaiian; "GT" in Australia) have been an obsession of mine since childhood. Growing up in Hawaii they were the ultimate near shore gamefish. They are the largest member of the Jack family and are the kings of the reefs where they live. You see them on bumper stickers a lot down there for whatever reason. However, despite several close encounters, I was not able to finally land one until age 34.
Giant Trevally live in tropical reefs throughout the Pacific and Indian Ocean. They are pure muscle and a very, very tough adversary even on heavy tackle. They typically charge out of the reef, grab your lure, and then charge back in and brick you in the rocks.
The poor Jack Crevalle is the Rodney Dangerfield of gamefish. Despite aggressively attacking lures and putting up a very strong fight for its size, it is generally not a highly regarded catch and is rarely specifically targeted. People are generally disappointed when they see how small of a fish put up such a big fight that tired them out.
The Jack Crevalle is a tropical fish found throughout North and South America as well as Africa. It is not a good fish to eat, which is probably one of the reasons it is not highly sought after. The meat is dark and bloody. It tops out around 40lbs and the bigger ones will pull harder than any fish of equivalent size that I can think of.
Put together the surf fishing tackle assortment of essential gear that works and saves yourself the aggravation of buying and trying new surf gear.
Surf anglers who have been fishing for a number of years have reduced their tackle selection down to the necessary effective things to have on hand. They know what they like, what surf fish they want to target and what works for them. Their tackle collection only contains what they want to use and what works.
This should be the goal of all new surf anglers. Unfortunately, if you are just starting out you don't have the advantage of knowing what works or what you need. This article will help you solve that problem.
Every surf angler should be setup for live bait. When fishing with live bait you should have two different surf rigs on hand. They can be purchased or made yourself. The first rig is called a fireball rig and the second is called a free lining rig.
For most of us, anytime we get the chance is a good time to go fishing. As the saying goes, "even a bad day fishing is better than a good day at the office." If you want to improve your chances of catching fish though, you should fish when the tide is moving strongly – either right as it begins to fall or several hours before it reaches its peak height.
Tide tables are also published daily in the Sun-Herald newspaper, available at newsstands across the coast. The Mississippi Sea Grant Advisory Service also publishes annual Tide Tables for Mississippi waters.
Rockfish caught in deep water often sustain injuries referred to as barotrauma. All rockfishes possess a closed swim bladder (a gas-filled organ that regulates buoyancy). When fish are brought up from depth, decreasing pressure allows the gas to expand which may cause injury and make it impossible for the fish to return to the bottom. When captured in deep water (>100ft), symptoms appear immediately lethal. However, if recompressed, immediate symptoms appear to resolve and many fish swim away.
Visible symptoms of gas expansion include a swollen and tight belly, stomach protruding past the gullet and into the mouth, and distended and/or "crystallized" eyes. Miraculously, many rockfish can recover from barotrauma if they are properly released to their respective depths as soon as possible.
The striped bass is highly prized for its size, battle on the line, and culinary merit. Striped bass, also known as the striper or rockfish, are easily identified by the dark horizontal stripes across its silvery body. Striped bass can grow to more than 48 inches, weigh over 50 pounds and live up to 30 years. Striped bass is a very popular game fish for recreational anglers because of its size and the spirited fight it shows once hooked. It's also a delicious fish and is quite good any way you prepare it: smoked, grilled, baked or fried.
A variety of artificial lures and chunks or strips of standard bait fish will attract stripers. Stripers can be caught on shad, anchovies, "cut" bait, spoons, plugs, jigs, crankbaits, and streamer flies.
Tautog, also know as Blackfish, are extremely tough fighters and very sneaky fish that can be difficult to catch. However, they are great on the dinner table. We will go over some useful information about how to catch these fish.
Anchor Retrieval System A good anchor system uses two ropes, one attached to the front of the anchor, and the usual anchor rope attached to the back of the anchor. The rope attached to the front should have a small buoy on it. When you drop the anchor make sure the ropes don't wrap each other, as this will defeat the purpose of the second rope. When it comes time to pull the anchor up, motor up carefully to the buoy, bringing in the other rope as you approach, then grap the buoy and pull the anchor in the rest of the way using the buoy rope. This pulls the anchor from the front, pulling it right out o the bottom and any rocks it may have been stuck under.
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