Marsh Monikers

Call it what you will, but this huge section of marsh just off of Bay St. Louis delivers all the speckled trout and redfish you care to catch this month.

Just a hop, skip and jump from South Mississippi’s Bayou Caddy is one of the most celebrated saltwater fisheries along the entire Gulf Coast.A frequent destination for Mississippi and Louisiana anglers alike, this particular maze of bays, bayous and ponds is arguably the place to point your boat this month if you’re looking to score some speckled trout and redfish.

Unlike Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, whose personalities were as different as their names, you’re going to get the same great fishing no matter what you call this sprawling saltwater fishery that just happens to go by two different names.

Biloxi Marsh? Louisiana Marsh? As long as the fish are biting, does it really matter?

According to Capt. Sonny Schindler with Shore Thing Charters and Capt. Pappy Kenney with Old Pro Charters, there is no better time to find lots of biting fish there than November.

“We fish the Biloxi Marsh all year long,” said Schindler. “In fact, I would say that 90 percent of our trips are in that area, and the one great thing about fishing there during November is that action gets more consistent.”

During the spring and summer, Schindler expects to find larger speckled trout than what he would find during the fall, but the fish tend to be way more spread out that time of year. It’s very common during the spring and summer to find big trout on one island one day then not find them within 10 miles of that same island the next day.

“That’s not the case during November,” he said. “Trout and redfish seem to get more predictable this time of year as they stack up in the drains and on the points. When the tide shifts, it’s like somebody’s ringing the dinner bell for both of them.

“The entire key to the Biloxi Marsh during November, even with it being such a big area, is to find the points and drains that hold the bait. The fish will be right there with them.”

While the size of the fish may go down somewhat, Schindler believes that the tremendous number of fish that can be caught during November more than makes up for the reduction in size. Schindler’s colleague Kenney is in full agreement.

“I’m 63 years old, and I’ve been fishing for most of those 63 years,” he said. “And I’ve been fishing the Louisiana Marsh for many of those years. Without a doubt, November is the best time to fish this area because so many fish are coming out of Lake Pontchartrain to the west, and a lot of those fish are going to move through this marsh as they head out to Chandeleur Sound.”

Kenney explained that fish leave Lake Pontchartrain through two main corridors, the Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass. Those fish that don’t want to remain in Lake Borgne basically have to move through the Biloxi Marsh to get out to Chandeleur Sound — that is if they can get past Kenney.

“There is so much going on out there during November,” Kenney said. “Lots of reds and trout, but you can also catch flounder, sheepshead, puppy drum — pretty much anything you want to catch.

“During the summer and spring, I tend to stay on the eastern side of the marsh out toward Freemason, but this time of year, I go in around Ninemile and fish all the bays and ponds behind that — Blind Bay, False Mouth Bay, Bob’s Lake, Lake Eugene and Lawson Bay.”

Schindler also enters the marsh around Ninemile and Three Mile this time of year, and he says the ideal scenario would be to find a large pond inside the marsh with other smaller ponds that drain through it. His key is to keep moving until he finds the fish.

“I think it’s really important to not get locked in on what you did six weeks ago,” Schindler said. “This marsh never stops changing, and the bite, as consistent as it can be when you get on it, seems to change every couple of days. I recommend that anglers pick a pond with lots of drains coming into it, and expanding their searches from there.”

These searches can sometimes seem like they never cover the same water, according to Schindler. In fact, Schindler has been guiding for Shore Thing Charters for more than two years now after spending several years as an offshore captain, and he has yet to search the same water twice.

“The real estate in the Biloxi Marsh is just tremendous,” Schindler said. “There are gorgeous oyster beds, grass beds, natural gas and oil rigs. I don’t think I could ever learn the entire area. Lots and lots of days we can go the entire day without even seeing another boat, and I know that there are lots more boats out there. I try to fish a new spot every day, and I’ve never gone over the same spot twice.”

While Mississippi and Louisiana anglers share the Biloxi Marsh, there are a couple of perks that Schindler sees as a part of leaving out of Bayou Caddy in Mississippi rather than from the Louisiana launches to the west.

“Right out from Bayou Caddy, we can fish the new reef there that was built from the old Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian Bridge,” he said. “We’ve caught beautiful trout off that without even getting on plane. The second perk is that the open water crossing to the marsh is full of channel markers, crab traps and maybe a floating tree if you’re lucky. Tripletails just love that stuff. You might even luck into a cobia or tarpon if you’re really lucky.”

Kenney, who also launches out of Bayou Caddy, has his own perk that comes with fishing the Biloxi Marsh this time of year — namely giant bull reds that invade the shallow water like nothing he’s ever seen.

“It’s really unique, but the big reds will move as far back in the ponds as they can go,” he said. “I’m talking about 20- and 30-pound fish. There are always a lot of slot reds in this marsh, but the big ones move in during fall, and they hang out right along with the trout. In fact, it’s nothing to be catching a bunch of trout then hook a giant red that will pull you all around the pond for a while.”

Anglers leaving out of Bayou Caddy or any of the other launches along the Mississippi Coast need to be in possession of a Louisiana saltwater license to fish the Biloxi Marsh. Beyond that, Schindler pointed out another very important consideration.

“The main thing is knowing the boundaries,” he said. “You can’t fish in Mississippi with what Louisiana considers legal fish. Run over there, catch your fish, and have your fun. But if what’s in your box doesn’t comply with the Mississippi regulation, you have to go straight in, and you can’t touch your poles unless you’re putting it back in your vehicle. If you don’t play by the rules, they will get you.”

Whether you call it the Biloxi Marsh or the Louisiana Marsh, you don’t have to worry that it is one way by day and another by night. The name may change, but the great fishing remains the same.

Contact Capt. Sonny Schindler with Shore Thing Charters at 228-342-2206 or www.shorethingcharters.com. Contact Capt. Pappy Kenney at 985-290-5764 or www.oldprocharters.com.