Cooler weather, hotter marsh fishing action

Cooler, fall weather pushes more saltwater gamefish into the marsh and in range of more anglers.

Mississippi’s coastal fishermen, plagued all summer by freshwater related problems beyond their control, have been eyeing the arrival of October for a long, long time.

“We eagerly look forward to the fall every year, but 2019, it’s different; it’s even more important for us,” said Tommy Sutton, a Columbia native. “We’ve had a rough year so far with all the trouble that fully opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway. Normally, we’re just glad it’s cooling off, but this year we’re also looking for great fishing to offset a poor year.

“The water temperature in the marsh was still over 90 degrees the first week of September, and air temperature felt like 100 degrees almost every day in August. It was just too hot to fish for the few fish we were finding.”

The fishing began to pick up in early September.

“The reds weren’t in the marshes at all, but they were right on the edges, and brother, they was in there thick,” Sutton said. “We were running over to the Biloxi Marsh, and instead of going deep into the marshes, we started fishing the south shore of Lake Borgne right at the north shore of the marsh, and we were pounding the reds — and good reds, too. We caught more slot reds (keepers) than bulls and rats, but we’d hook with a big bull at least once or twice a day to keep it interesting.

“What that tells me is that we’re in for a great October. They are trying to get back in the marshes and when it cools down just a few degrees they will move in like crazy. I can’t wait.”

About Bobby Cleveland 1343 Articles
Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. A native of Hattiesburg and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cleveland lives on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson with his wife Pam.