I didn't meant that as a derrogatory term and meant it to represent the masses as in high numbers of fishermen. My fault, it was ambiguous. I've had to fish on weekends at times also, just last resort if I can't help it.
You know how he is when he's just waking up hungover...:hihi: But seriously, I think ANYONE would prefer to fish weekdays if they could. Everybody has 'their' spots, but it's a pain in the arse to pull up to 'their spot' and find 6 other boats there. Also, I'm one of those arseholes that cannot STAND it when someone can't get their boat on or off the trailer with the first try, or when they back in the launch, THEN decide to take the straps off, put the plug in, etc...use some freakin ettiquette. But on the weekends, that's what you get at the public launches...the public. :rofl: A lot of guys take their boat out twice a year, and you can bet it'll be on the weekend I go. :angryfire Plus, if I'm canoe/kayak fishing, I don't wanna become a statistic. The fewer boaters on the water, the lower my chances of getting run over. I use a flag on my kayak like you'd see on a kid's bike back in the day, but still...I ain't taking no chances. I'd NEVER fish the weekend in a paddlecraft out of a public boat launch.
Ha! You reminded me of something I witnessed once. A bunch of bruthas come to fish and back boat in water. Had brought some puppies with them to enjoy the outing. Screw around and screw around in the slot only to realize they didn't put the plug in. Start motor, all hell breaks loose (can't swim, you know), stick steering not being held ends up all one way or the other like you know. Boat starts circling and circling, pups in water, pandemonium...it was a show I tell you.
Ok, so we dumped the boat in the water at about 10:30am and the plan was to fish all day in a rising tide (high tide was 5pm). We were in a big boat (26 foot Mako), so we knew that getting to some spots would be tough. We fished the mouths of inlets and some deep holes (about 20 feet). We used saltwater assassins, cockahoes, sparkle beetles.....you name it. Not even a bite. The water was about 47 degrees. I knew that the fish would be sluggish b/c of the cold water, but not THAT sluggish. We went out with low expectations anyway, but we pulled the boat out of the water at about 5pm. My guess is that we were about a month too late and about a month too early. There MIGHT have been 3 boats in the water all day from what we saw. Not even the weekend warriors were out. Why did you limit out, Fishead and we struck out?
I'm assuming you fished in MS? If so, there's your answer. If not, then I need more info on where you fished, but that water sounds awfully cold. You should be fishing in deeper water near shallow flats. The flats warm up with the sun, especially with a dark bottom. With that water temp though, sounds like you had some river influence. Pearl?? I live in MS, and haven't had a MS fishing license in years. There's a reason for that...
The water was 47 degrees out front. The warmest we got in Bayou Lacroix was 50 degrees. The water was just cold and I'm pretty sure it wasn't b/c of the river. We fished at the mouth of the St. Louis bay in Bay St. Louis and up in Bayou Lacroix which is where the Jourdan River dumps into the Bay. It's normally full of specks and reds, we just weren't on them yesterday. Mississippi has great fishing, we just don't have as many marshes as Louisiana. We contemplated running out to Chandlieur or the Biloxi marsh, but we just stuck around the area.
:nope: Mississippi does NOT have 'great' fishing...not for inshore species. But yes, the reason is because of a lack of environment...marsh. You even said as much when you said you thought about running to Chandeluer or the Biloxi Marsh, also known as the "Louisiana Marsh"...since it and Chandeluer are both in Louisiana. However, I would recommend against that. Instead, go to Hopedale, LA, and access the Biloxi Marsh from the inside. That's where the specs and reds are right now. Launch at BSM and go right across the MRGO into the Biloxi Marsh. Bayou La Loutre, St. Malo, etc...Stump Lagoon, typical winter fishing spots in the Biloxi Marsh. They're LOADED with hungry specs right now. Mississippi just doesn't have the environment to support a tenth of the fishery LA has. Tell me where in MS you can park on the side of the road, wade or canoe out a few hundred yds, and limit out on NICE specks...in January. Remember also the limit is 25 in LA...for a reason. There simply isn't a place that can compare...sorry. Even for offshore species, most people leave from MS and wind up in LA waters. Nothing wrong with that, but since all I fish is inshore, I'd rather just launch where I'm going to catch fish rather than take a pounding crossing the Sound or Lake Borgne to get to the fish, just for the sake of launching in my home state. Check it out one day when the Redfish Tour is holding a tourney out of BSL, Biloxi, or Orange Beach, AL. You can bet your bottom dollar the guys that compete will make the brutal run to LA to catch their fish. They will only have an hour or so to fish, due to the long run, but they KNOW it's worth it. They'd rather run for hours and fish for AN hour in LA than stay in MS or Alabama and fish all day. Why?? Because they wanna win...and that's HIGHLY unlikely in MS or Alabama waters. And yes, I have even seen them run from P'Cola, FL to LA...but they're taking a HUGE chance they won't make it back in time.
I said Chandelieur b/c it's a 20 minute boat ride from my camp. Yes, it's considered Louisiana, but Breton Island, etc is alot closer to us than LA. Somehow, LA claimed it as theirs b/c of the way a barrel floated out of the Mississippi River back in the day, but I digress. Yes, MS does have GREAT fishing. Snapper, Cobia, Amberjack, Speckled Trout, Redfish, flounder....everything that Louisiana has. Maybe not in the numbers, but Mississippi seems to have bigger inshore fish (MS mininum length is 14 inches while LA has a 12 inch minimum) perhaps b/c there's not as much competition for food. As far as deep sea goes, the continental shelf is a short boat ride from Venice. If you launch out of Biloxi, you have to be well equipped (I go on my friend's 36 foot Invincible with trip Merc Verados), but not everyone has access to those sorts of boats....it's a long run to the shelf. You can get to the shelf with a smaller boat quite comfortably from Louisiana. I'm not saying that MS is a better place to fish than LA.....but just b/c it's not as good as Louisiana doesn't mean it's not great. So, yes I am saying that Mississippi has great fishing...as does AL, FL, LA, TX, etc. etc. etc. There is a reason that fishing is a huge part of our economy here, just like every other Gulf State. Anyways, you say that I didn't catch fish yesterday b/c I was in Mississippi. I say that it was b/c of the water temperature. We'll agree to disagree. But I guaranphuckintee you that I will be limiting out once again within the next month or so. THAT is great fishing.:thumb:
Actually, that barrel was floated out of the Pearl, apparently in an outgoing tide or a west wind. LOL! And Breton Island isn't closer to MS than LA. Breton Island IS IN LA!!:grin: It's a quick easy shot thru Baptiste Collete Pass in Venice to BI...much closer than any MS port. You know I've lived in MS for 16 years, and my entire family is originally from MS. I have no reason to insult MS...and that isn't the intent of my remarks. But facts is facts. Do the research. MS isn't even remotely comparible to LA when it comes to fishing for FISH...especially inshore species. Again, it's simply due to lack of habitat, but the bottom line is, MS doesn't have the habitat, and LA does...from border to border. The reason LAs size limit is 12" is because there are MORE FISH! The limits are more liberal. I can take you to Venice or Big Lake and show you some MONSTER trout. Same for Lake Ponchartrain, but every now and then, one of them escapes and swims to MS. :hihi: No seriously, a few years ago, a guy caught one in MS wadefishing outta Gulfport. It was the MS state record. Earlier that year, I told my dad and brother that MS would be the place to be for monster trout, because the spillway was wide open for the first time in eons, and the freshwater would run the trout out of the lake and move them east. Coincidence? Maybe...I've caught some nice trout in MS though. Just not nearly as many. The same length fish in LA will likely weigh more than in other states, due to the nutrients provided by the MS river. And again, I can't help but bring up that...after several years fishing redfish tournies...it's a fact that the weights are significantly higher in LA than in other states with the same length limits. In fact, TX has 28" length limit on reds, and STILL can't outweigh LA fish. MS has 30", but every time there's a tourney there, everyone runs to LA, so it's impossible to compare. FL has 27" limits, and the weights are a joke compared to LA. Typical LA winning tourney weight is 16+ lbs for 2 <27" redfish. FL tournies are won with 12-14 lbs. I've caught greater than 14 lbs in LA and didn't even make the top 40!! No lie!! :lol: I'm not bashing MS, but it is what it is. There's just more fish in LA, and infinitely more places to find them. LA has more shoreline than ANYONE besides Alaska, when you take into account the meandering marsh shoreline. You can't seriously compare the two. It's apples to cranberries.
