The Saltwater Magazine for Gulf Coast Fishing!
FALL 2005
		Sample of Fishing Forecast Page in PDF (On sale date 9/15/05) Subscribe Today!
SHEEPSHEAD in the Marsh by John Felsher Pugnacious fighters and excellent table fare... Driven by winds, high tides pushed water over the marsh grasses for several days, but a reversal of wind direction changed the flow. Now, rapidly dropping tides pulled baitfish, shrimp and other creatures from their protective cover into open water.   Unable to fight against the current, small crabs drifted toward the Gulf of Mexico. At Cajun Resort in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, we scooped several crabs ranging from about as big as a nickel to a silver dollar as they floated past the dock.   "That's what I wanted," I said. "I like the ones about as big as a quarter. Now, I'm going to show you what's been stealing our bait under this dock." Playing the Blues by Vernon Summerlin Taking on the bluefish with a guitar string!   What does a country boy from Nashville, Tennessee use that is tooth-proof for bluefish? Guitar strings, of course. I'm from Leipers Fork, a small community that's about thirty miles south of Nashville. I play a fair guitar but I fish a whole lot better and if catching fish paid off in gold records I'd have enough to swamp my boat.   I had been reading about bluefish and how blues go after baitfish like our stripers go after shad. They'll herd up a school of minnows and plow right though them. Sometimes they beach the minnows and sometimes they beach themselves. I love to catch fish with spunk.   They will eat anything born, hatched, or came into being some other way, such as plastic lures. They tear into mackerel, eels, shrimp, squid, alewives, menhaden, and human beings. But they bit the humans by mistake, I hope. Between 1973 and 1985 along the Atlantic coast, 24 people were bitten by blues. The fish were feeding on a school of baitfish in some murky water along the beaches where people were swimming close to shore. One girl said she saw a fish bite her, then back up, and bite her again. Innocent bystanders just got caught in a feeding frenzy. Still it takes a spunky fish to make a mistake that big.   I wanted to see one of those critters up close. Since it was time for blues to be running in Destin, Florida, my wife, Cathy, and I loaded up our gear and headed south... Spillway Surprises - by Pete Cooper, Jr. Bull reds stay for the late innings.   The two spillways through the west bank of the Mississippi River's Southwest Pass have long been known to produce some outstanding action with a variety of popular species in late summer and much of autumn. At times, they can take on the semblance of the lot of a used-boat dealership - and everyone is catching fish. Then, sooner or later, the inevitable occurs, and from that point to late next summer you couldn't find anyone fishing them on a dare. But as the result of a couple of mid-November trips last year, that may change - to a degree, anyway.   The one I was involved with did not begin very favorably for me. Two anglers who had fared poorly the day before had been invited to accompany us by my pine-cone kicking buddies. That made six of us aboard Tom's 22-foot Blue Wave, and that's a bit crowded for me. Nevertheless, with our destination being the second spillway, I figured we could all fish without too much danger of hooking each other.   Then too, had Tom not been so fired up about his results the previous day, I would have been even less enthusiastic. Even with the river standing at 5 1/2 feet in New Orleans and running hard and muddy for well over a week - the autumn rise that typically signals the end of the action in these perennial hotspots, Tom's crew had limited on nice reds and were confident they would do so again. He also mentioned they had released a number of baby bulls. Admittedly that had tweaked my interest a little, but I had to see it to believe it...   Schooling Reds - by Chester Moore, Jr. Get the scoop on fall fishing tactics for reds.   As a youngster growing up in the early 1980s, catching a single legal-sized redfish was a feat. We were just coming out of the infamous "redfish wars" period and commercial harvest of the species had been banned. The stocking of redfish was in its infancy.   Add to that the fact, we could not afford a boat at the time and the chances of catching a legal-sized red wasn't exactly easy. Sure, we caught them, but there was a deep sense of pride that came along with it due to the challenging nature of the pursuit.   To this day, I still get a special feeling when I catch a nice redfish. Part of it probably dates back to my childhood and the rest had to do with the fact I adore the species.   Nowadays redfish stocks are in great shape and it's possible for anglers to run into schools of these reds. Sometimes, these schools are simple to find as the reds make a genuine spectacle of themselves. At other times however, they are more difficult to locate. The fact is the actions of redfish are quite mysterious... Gulf Coast Closeup - "Fishing With a Knight" - by Keith Warren   Fishing was slow. Although I had caught a half dozen redfish, my partner was still looking for his first strike. We had planned this trip for months and so far, it was not what either of us hoped for.   "If this was halftime in a basketball game, I wouldn't care what you had to say. But this isn't basketball, it is your game. What should we do?" asked Coach Bobby Knight.   "Pack your bags. We're heading to the best spot I know. It'll take 4 hours to get there," I answered...     OUR DEPARTMENTS...   Rod & Reel'n Offshore - "Give the Fish a Smile (Blade)" - by Patrick Lemire   The Bay Naturalist - "Shifting Sands" - by John Hook   Equipment Notebook - "Boater Lube Essentials" - by David Ayers   Tackle Time - "Get Down (to the fish)" - by Colby Sorrells   Bait Hook - "Just Passing Through" - by Jim Martin     From the Publisher... Besides all these great articles and departments, Gulf Coast Fisherman is the only source for the Wells Daily Fishing Forecast. Each issue carries three months of the Wells Daily Fishing Forecast - with Monthly Fishing Calendars. This will provide what you need to intelligently plan your fishing trips - hours, weeks, and months in advance!   Top saltwater guides and fishermen use the Wells Daily Fishing Forecast - shouldn't you be using it ,too?...   "The fisherman that knows what the currents are doing has the advantage - over fish and fishermen!" And remember - "Fish feed everyday, somewhere " - Harold Wells   Gary Ralston Publisher   Home