Brian Cope, Author at Mississippi Sportsman

Rays like this jumping cownose, often leap out of water, but few ever collide with a human while doing so.

Stingray knocks teenager unconscious

A stingray went airborne and knocked 18-year-old Levi Dixon of Bluffton, S.C. off the PWC he was riding. The blow left Dixon unconscious with broken ribs. […]

South Carolina anglers catch dolphinfish, then cocaine

Brian Cope

Anglers fishing out of Charleston were having a field day with dolphinfish while trolling past some floating debris, which turned out to be cocaine. […]

Species spotlight: Swordfish

Brian Cope

Swordfish (Xiphias gladius), often referred to as broadbills or broadbill swordfish, are highly sought-after by offshore anglers around the world. […]

Hunter Waltman of Kiln killed this solid white gobbler on March 17, 2019.

Hunter kills solid white turkey

Brian Cope

Hunter Waltman of Kiln, Miss., killed a solid white gobbler on March 17. By then, he was intimately familiar with the animal. […]

Fishing for sac-a-lait, Lloyd Brandt ended up catching this choupique.

The bowfin (Amia calva), whose more common name is mudfish, is a close relative of the gar. Its stout body and long dorsal fin, which covers almost three-quarters the length of its body, give the fish a snaky or eel-like appearance. […]

Scientists dispute findings by Dr. Frank Bastian, an LSU researcher, that he has discovered a cure for chronic wasting disease, coined by popular media as “Zombie Deer Disease” because infected deer often salivate heavily, look lost, are emaciated and confused. (Photo courtesy Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)

Has LSU researcher found a cure for CWD? Scientists say, ‘no’

Brian Cope

Scientists dispute findings by Dr. Frank Bastian, an LSU researcher, that he has discovered a cure for chronic wasting disease, coined by popular media as “Zombie Deer Disease.” […]

On cooler March days, look for redfish in slightly deeper water around dropoffs or around the deep edges of mud flats.

Play weather for spring reds

Brian Cope

Late March and early April are transition times for the weather and inshore fishing patterns. […]

Flow from Bonnet Carré Spillway could push specks eastward

Brian Cope

Speckled trout anglers have a lot to look forward to this spring, in part because the Bonnet Carré Spillway on the Mississippi River continues to pour out the remnants of a long, west winter. […]

The redfish bite is hot under docks

Brian Cope

Capt. Ben Powers uses his Humminbird Solix to find redfish under docks, then he catches them with live bait on a jighead. The redfish bite is hot right now. […]