Cat Island cornucopia!

Barrier Island offers variety of fishing adventures

When French explorers first sailed into the Gulf of Mexico in the 17th century, they found an island populated by odd “cats,” creatures these Europeans had never seen before. They named it after the “felines.” Today, we call these masked creatures with ringed tails raccoons, but the name stuck.

Shaped somewhat like a lopsided hammerhead shark preparing to devour Ship Island, its neighbor to the east, Cat Island covers about 2,200 acres of extreme southern Harrison County, Miss. Other than Deer Island, Cat Island sits closest to the Mississippi mainland at about eight miles southeast of Pass Christian and seven miles south of Long Beach.

Part of the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands, some of Cat Island belongs to the Gulf Islands National Seashore and some to state of Mississippi Cat Island Coastal Preserve. The rest of the island remains private.

“For being so close to the mainland, Cat Island is a whole different world,” observed Sonny Schindler with Shore Thing Fishing Charters (228-342-2206, www.shorethingcharters.com) who operates the only service with overnight accommodations on Cat Island. “It has pretty, white sand beaches with an oak and pine maritime forest in the middle of the island. Plus, there are swamps, marshy bayous and sloughs. It’s diverse and complex. It has everything and we love it out here.”

Anyone with a boat can fish around the island or wade on the public beaches. Visitors can camp or picnic in the public sections. In the summer, wade fishing can produce great action for several fish species including speckled trout, redfish, flounder and others, but boaters need to pay attention.

“The waters around Cat Island are very tricky to fish,” Schindler said. “Someone not familiar with the area or not paying attention to the tides can get in trouble quickly. A boat several hundred yards from shore could easily get in two feet of water or less. We regularly see boats stranded out here. Bigger boats can’t get anywhere near the island unless they go around to the south side at Smuggler’s Cove.”

Numerous sandbars and patches of seagrass provide excellent cover for many fish species. The grass beds attract a variety of marine life and provide one of the best places in Mississippi waters to catch a very large speckled trout.

^“Part of what makes fishing around Cat Island so good is the amount of grass beds it has on the north and south side,” said Ronnie Daniels with Fisher-Man Guide Services (228-323-1115, msfisherman.com) who runs out of Pass Christian. “Those grass beds hold the bait, especially during the summer months. On the north and south side, there are sandbars. Between the sandbars are troughs. That’s what holds the larger speckled trout there.”

Large speckled trout hunt around the grass beds. They also drop into deeper troughs between the sandbars. In shallow water, people can see the grass beds and troughs because they show up as a darker color. Patches with just sand and little to no grass show up as a lighter color.

“I like to fish water about 2.5 to five feet deep,” Daniels said. “The structure will be troughs between the sandbars and the seagrass. Trout try to hide in the grass, but whenever they’re feeding, they cruise those troughs. They swim back and forth all across those flats looking for a meal. Often, we’ll catch two or three trout and then a few minutes pass before another wave of fish comes through and we catch three or four more.”

Anglers can catch specks with practically any traditional technique they wish to fish. In the summer, many anglers like to throw topwaters over the grass beds surrounding Cat Island. Trout come up from the grass beds to obliterate floating temptations. For sheer exhilaration, few angling experiences compare to a big fish exploding on a surface enticement.

“For big trout, I like throwing topwater baits, especially early in the morning or late evening,” Daniels said. “Anglers can catch big trout on jigs or suspending baits, but topwaters tend to draw strikes from larger fish. With the amount of larger trout that Cat Island holds, the bigger the lure the better in my opinion. My favorite topwater bait is a bone Super Spook with silver flakes on it. It has a big profile, so larger fish will go after it and I can cast it quite a distance.”

Suspending or slow-sinking baits can also catch big trout. Let the lure slowly sink to the tops of the submerged grass so it just hovers over the vegetation. Occasionally twitch it. In the summer, giant trout don’t want to move far or fast to grab something to eat.

“We get some big trout around the island,” Schindler said. “The biggest I know about weighed about seven pounds. There’s a healthy supply of 15- to 17-inch trout out here. When looking for trout, we play the wind and look for cleaner, calmer water on the leeward side of the island. West winds are our least favorite because it comes straight down the middle of the island.”

Live pogies, mullet and croakers can also bring exciting action from large specks and redfish. Anglers can fish these under a popping cork, on a free line or a Carolina rig. Place the baitfish just outside the grassy edges.

“When fishing live bait, I’ll set up with the wind at my back to cast out,” Daniels said. “I give it a few minutes. If we’re not catching anything, I’ll drift about 40 feet and do it again. We’ll just keep working our way across the flat like that.”

Anglers can catch redfish on the same baits anywhere they might find trout. In the summer, big bulls, frequently mixed with jack crevalle or sharks, cruise around the island looking for prey. Large schools of ladyfish also come to the island in the summer. Those large predators commonly attack ladyfish.

“In late summer, we see absolutely unbelievable acres and acres boiling with ladyfish.” Schindler said. “Ladyfish hit just about anything. We’ll catch some ladyfish and chop them in halves or quarters and drift them through the schools. Drifting a live or cut ladyfish on a free line through those gigantic schools is almost a guarantee to catch something. Bull reds, sharks and jacks will be under them. Occasionally, we see tarpon. That’s a great way to fish with youngsters because they get to fight some huge fish.”

For redfish and flounder, head to the bayous on the island, one on the north side and one on the south side. The grass-lined shorelines hold both species. Watch the banks for protruding tails, “v-shaped” wakes, baitfish jumping or other fishy indicators. Anglers might also catch some trout or other species.

“Those bayous are just as pretty as the southeastern Louisiana marshes with grass, shell banks, little drains and small ponds,” Schindler said. “Everything relies on the tide. I like to go in them on a rising tide and get out before the tide switches. Water pours out of those places quicker than any place I’ve ever seen. If people are on the wrong side back deep in one of the bayous, they can get in trouble quickly.”

Many anglers use popping cork rigs to catch either flounder or redfish. It can also work on speckled trout and other species. Bait a popping cork rig with live shrimp, live minnows or a soft-plastic shrimp imitation like a DOA or Vudu shrimp. A Gulp! Shrimp also works.

“Redfish can be offshore or in the bayous on the island,” Daniels said. “Flounder will most likely hang around in the mouths of cuts and some of the main points or sand flats. People can definitely work off the end of some of the cuts and pockets on the island for both species. A popping cork is always a good way to work those areas. Use a leader just a little shorter than the grass is deep.”

Flounder migrate twice a year. In the fall, flatties leave the shallows and head to the Gulf of Mexico to spawn and spend the winter. They make a last stop around Cat Island to feed before continuing their migration southward. They return to the estuaries in the spring. During the summer and into the fall, some people walk the beaches gigging flounder at night.

“We get covered up with flounder in late fall,” Schindler said. “We’ve caught some stud flounder here. Some of the biggest flounder I’ve ever caught came from those little shallow bayous with little to no water in them. We’ve caught flounder in the 5- to 6-pound range. That usually happens in late October and November.”

People returning to the mainland from a day of fishing can bring their catch to Shaggy’s Pass Harbor restaurant (shaggys.com/locations/pass-christian-harbor) in Pass Christian Harbor. The staff at the restaurant will cook the catch for you.

Whether looking for a wall-hanger trout, anticipating fighting big powerful fish or just seeking to relax with the family, an adventure to Cat Island could always fill the bill.