A Guide to Fishing for Blacktip Sharks, Redfish, Mackerel, and Cobia in Mississippi’s Gulf
John E. Phillips 04.15.13
Saltwater fishermen can look for a bumper crop of offshore fish again this year, according to the many captains and saltwater anglers on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. To get a better perspective of what you can start catching this month, we’ve talked with Captain Bobby Williams of the Three Sons IV charter boat docked at the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor. “We should be catching redfish, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and cobia, as well as blacktip sharks in April, if the weather continues to warm up,” Williams says. “We generally start seeing the cobia showing up around Easter.”
Cobia
“We have three ways of catching the cobia,” Williams explains. “We sight fish for them up and down Horn Island, or we anchor up on the bars and start chumming for them. We also go out to Chandeleur Islands and sight fish for them at the shallow rigs just offshore. So, there are several different places where we can find the cobia once they start running.”
The cobia run usually lasts for about 5 weeks. Cobia fishing is much like duck hunting. You may spot several good schools of cobia in a day and catch your limit, or you may not see any cobia. In different years, the cobia seem to show up in large numbers at various spots, either the shallow rigs, the edges of the channels, or on Horn Island and Chandeleur Island in the shallow water. “I’ve seen as many as 40 or 50 big cobia at the shallow rigs before, and you may see them on the sand bars,” Williams reports. “But a more dependable way to catch the cobia this month is to chum them up.”
Williams uses a variety of types of chum, including pogeys, artificial chum and chopped-up albacore that resembles sardines. One of his favorite baits is cooked macaroni and tuna fish. “I make a tuna fish-macaroni casserole and mix it with sand,” Williams says. “I make this mixture into a ball and cast it overboard. Because the tuna fish has oil in it, that oil leeches out of the ball and spreads throughout the water. Then, the macaroni with its tuna fish taste breaks up. The sand helps the mixture to sink. This chum has been very- ffective for us.”
Williams added that he likes the Chum Churn and chops up baitfish and adds menhaden oil. “I also used the Berkley Gulp! commercial chum that you can use for about five trips before replenishing or refrigerating it.” When Williams goes to the shallow water rigs, he starts off trying to jig up the cobia, but he also will use live saltwater catfish and eels, especially if he sees the cobia swimming around the rigs.
King mackerel and Spanish mackerel
Another fish that should be coming in this month is the king mackerel, usually caught in April outside the Barrier Islands. Fishing planers with spoons behind them effectively catches the kings when you’re trolling for schooling mackerel.
“We like to work along the sand bar at Squash Channel, when we’re trying to catch big king mackerel,” Williams emphasizes. “This is an old bar where the Isle of Capri once sat back in 1917. We catch the kings outside the bar at Squash Channel and all along the Barrier Islands.” Williams also catches kings around the rigs in deep water, fishing with live hard tails.
Spanish mackerel also will run along the Barrier Islands, and they’re fairly easy to catch on spoons. Williams’ favorite way to cook Spanish mackerel is to fillet them, cut the blood lines out of the middles of the fillets, and then fry them or cook them on the grill, using Italian salad dressing for basting. The Spanish mackerel is a delicious fish to eat, however, if you don’t remove the blood lines from the centers of the fillet, they can have a unique taste that some people don’t prefer.
Blacktip sharks
Another favorite sport fish that’s good eating is the blacktip shark. If the shrimp boats are working in Mississippi waters during April, shark fishing should be outstanding. “When we see a shrimp boat dragging its net, we troll behind the net for blacktip sharks,” Williams mentions. “We often catch blacktips that will weigh over 100 pounds. Many people don’t realize that blacktip sharks provide some delicious eating. You can fillet the shark like you do any-other fish, cut it into steaks and fry, grill, bake or cook them any way you want. You can keep three blacktip sharks per boat when fishing in State of Mississippi waters, which is where we primarily fish.”
Redfish in April
If you’re trolling for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel, there’s a good chance that you’ll catch redfish in April. However, most of the redfish you catch will be over 30 inches, and those fish have to be released. But the redfish are fun to catch and release.
To contact Captain Bobby Williams, call 228-392-8243, or email threesonsiv@aol.com, or visit www.threesonscharters.com.
To learn more about Mississippi fishing, get John E. Phillips’ eBook Fishing Mississippi’s Gulf Coast and Visitor’s Guide. You can go to www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the book and download it to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
