CCA sponsors Wednesday seminar in Pearl

Guide and biologist will give insights on catch more fish in the Gulf and marshes

Call it setting the table for the May 1 banquet of the Central Mississippi Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association, or consider it a means to putting more fish on the dinner table in the future.

But, whichever, Mississippi CCA executive director Johnny Marquez said it would be a mistake to miss an impromptu seminar scheduled for Wednesday night (April 15) at Uncle Buck’s Restaurant inside Bass Pro Shops in Pearl.

“This is a great opportunity to combine the expertise gained by a guide who is on the water daily spending thousands of hours in pursuit of inshore species with some insights from our scientists at the Gulf Coast Research Lab that study speckled trout in depth,” Marquez said. “It’s a great way to improve your fishing ability.”

Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the two-hour seminar is free. Since seating is limited, reservations are recommended.

The seminar will feature Capt. John Falterman of Therapy Charters of Slidell, La., and Angelos Apeitos of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs.

Falterman specializes in speckled trout, redfish and other shallow water species in Lake Ponchatrain, Lake Bourne and the Biloxi Marsh at the west end of Mississippi Sound.

Apeitos is a hatchery specialist with the GCLR and a manager of the Speckled Trout Enhancement Cooperative Program (SPEC) that has released more than 700,000 speckled trout fingerlings into Mississippi’s watersheds. He will discuss some of the biology and science associated with speckled trout to give anglers a different insight on catching trout.

Tickets to the May 1 Central Mississippi CCA Banquet will be available at the seminar. There will be a special drawing for those purchasing a ticket or those who have already purchased banquet tickets (should be brought to seminar). The banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Sparkman Auditorium at the Ag and Forestry Museum on Lakeland Drive in Jackson. Single tickets are $55 and couples tickets $85 and each includes one free annual CCA membership. The banquet will be catered by the Islander Seafood Restaurant and will feature live music, raffles, auctions and door prizes.

For more information on all Mississippi CCA events, visit it online at www.cca.ms or www.facebook.com/ccamississippi.