Shore Thing Fishing Report 6/30/2022

​June 30, 2022

Speckled trout fishing may be hot - but it's hard to resist the lure of going after the "Big Fish."

- by Sonny Schindler, Shore Thing Fishing Charters ​

Tyler Guice with a huge bull red he caught, tagged and released near the Louisiana Marsh.

You can still load up on speckled trout at the nearshore reefs, barrier islands and in the Louisiana Marsh. Honestly, I think the trout fishing is just going to keep getting better, too! Even with the incredible speckled trout fishing, we have been spending a few days chasing the “Big Fish.”  

Some of our guests don’t care to keep a bunch of trout, and wanna see if they have what it takes to pull in a truly big fish. Our offshore boat has no problems in this department. The deep water guides are reporting great catches of snapper and cobia not far past the barrier islands. Our inshore boats have been chasing bull reds, jack crevalle and sharks!
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Kay Kergosin, Libby Heebe, and Sydney Guice with a Cat Island Bull Shark!

 
It has been relatively easy to dial in the big critters. With all the bait fish moving in, the big fish are right there with them. We are seeing huge explosions in and around big rafts of mullet and pogies. FYI, some of these schools are in waist-deep water right off the beaches from Waveland to Gulfport. On a calm day, you can literally drive your car down Beach Boulevard or Highway 90 and see them!
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Rimmer Covington and son with one of their many red snappers brought back to Shaggys Charter Dock.

My favorite technique is to chase schools of feeding lady fish. We usually catch a couple on any old plastic baits we have laying around. Next, chop the ladyfish into big 4-inch chunks and send ‘em back into the school. There is almost always something big underneath them. I use a 6-foot medium heavy spinning rod, a 65- class Okuma Coronado (with the bait feeder). I like 80-pound braided line, a foot of #9 wire to a 7/0 circle hook. We set one weighted and one free floating. 

August Schindler with a nice mess of trout he caught out of Bayou Caddy.

The big fish should be here all summer, so you have plenty of time to get in on the fun. It typically doesn’t matter about an early morning bite. We usually mess with the trout first, and then go play with the big fish before it gets too hot. If you’re bringing kiddos or newbies, you gotta let 'em catch big fish. It’s awesome!!!
 
As always, have fun and be safe.

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