Don’t let short snapper season get you down

It’s a good idea to keep a spinning rod rigged up in case you happen across any cobia.

You can still catch cobia, king and Spanish mackerel

Capt. Kenny Barhanovich of the Miss Hospitality docked behind the McElroy’s Seafood Restaurant said there’s plenty to keep you busy this summer.

“We should be catching plenty of cobia, redfish, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and sharks during June,” Barhanovich said.

Cobia and big king mackerel will be the two glamour fish along Mississippi’s coast. Fishing behind shrimp boats with live bait, sight fishing for cobia around the barrier islands and chumming for cobia on some deep channels near shore have been the traditional ways to catch them.

“Little live black eels traditionally have been our best live baits for cobia,” Barhanovich said. “However, when fishing behind the shrimp boats and chumming the deep channels, live catfish seem to be the best bait.”

While trolling for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel, most captains keep a spinning rod and reel rigged and ready to cast to cobia.

“You’ll frequently catch little reds when we’re fishing behind shrimp boats for cobia, as well as sharks, jack crevalle and others,” Barhanovich said.

As the shrimpers anchor up and pick through all the critters they catch in their shrimp nets, they throw the bycatch overboard, leaving a large chum trail for the cobia, sharks, jacks and an occasional king mackerel.

When you’re anchoring up on the deep channels around Cat Island, right off the ship channels, the Horn Island sandbar on the west end of Horn Island is where you’ll catch many of the same species that you’ll catch behind a shrimp boat.

Regardless of which technique you use to fish for cobia, you’ll probably catch more mackerel, sharks and jack crevalle than you will cobia and enjoy rods bent all day long.

For many years, blacktip shark have been favored species because it produces a beautiful white meat that can be cooked about any way you want.

“I’ve had people fishing with me for 20 to 25 years, and the only fish they want to catch is blacktip sharks,” Barhanovich explained. “In state waters, you can have three blacktip sharks per boat, but only one in federal waters.

For more info on fishing in June, contact Capt. Kenny Barhanovich at 228-392-9002, or visit www.misshospitalityfishing.com.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply