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I'm heading on a trip out to the Chandeleur Islands in September. I was wondering if any of you had any advice or tips for fishing out there? We will be staying on a boat and fishing out of skiffs during the day - that is about the extent of my knowledge of the trip.
Aside from being prepared to deal with the plentiful sharks I am looking for any direction y'all can lend.

Thanks,

Stros

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Will you have a guide on your skiff or are you guys being turned loose on your own? (I have seen it both ways over the years)

The guide should take care of the fishing for you...that is a speckled trout and redfish mecca. The guide should have the seasonal patterns and baits down pat for you so not gonna get into that.

Don't sweat the sharks...sure, they're there, but they're not as big an issue as people make them out to be.

Wear long sleeves...and a face buff if you can stand it (I love them) or at minimum a wide hat. Lots of sunscreen too (on top of covering up). Drink LOTS of water. Drink water even when you aren't thirsty...chug water...when you think you have had enough water, drink MORE water. Typical stuff really. Try to lay off the alcohol / liquor...that really makes the next day or third day tough to deal with...staying hydrated is hard enough as it is out there.

Had a buddy hit the bloody Mary's pretty hard the night before on the mother boat...he didn't do too well the next day. Dealing with the heat and humidity on the northern gulf coast is hard enough...being hung-over and dehydrated makes it MISERABLE.

Avoiding dehydration and sun exposure are the two biggest keys to enjoying a trip like this.

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War Eagle,

From what I understand they give us some pointers and we head off on our own with 2 way radios and a cooler full of water. I hear you on trying to survive the sun - my big Norwegian A$$ attracts a sunburn like nobody's business. The only thing exposed on me will be what my SPF gloves don't cover on my fingers. I'd rather sweat like a whore in church under the buff than have to reapply sunscreen 15x per day. I plan on wading some if applicable so that will be a little cooler than fishing from the skiff. I just hope we don't have any tropical systems that affect the trip as I'm really looking forward to it. I'm actually looking forward to fishing the surf side some if the weather co-operates.

The older I get the less trouble I have keeping from drinking too much so that shouldn't be a factor!

Regards,

Stros

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Originally Posted by strosfann
From what I understand they give us some pointers and we head off on our own with 2 way radios and a cooler full of water.

That's a cool way to do it. It gives you some freedom to move around on your own and feel like you are exploring (scenery doesn't change though laugh). If the fish cooperate its even better.


Originally Posted by strosfann
The only thing exposed on me will be what my SPF gloves don't cover on my fingers.

Good man. I am the same way. A little sea breeze and it isn't nearly as uncomfortable as people would think...though sometimes I skip the gloves (fish slimed gloves and palming a reel just doesn't work for me).


Originally Posted by strosfann
I'd rather sweat like a whore in church under the buff than have to reapply sunscreen 15x per day.

Same here...hate applying the stuff and have yet to find anything that doesn't mildly sting my face.


Originally Posted by strosfann
I plan on wading some if applicable so that will be a little cooler than fishing from the skiff.

Yeah, that can really help you cool off but until you find fish, the name of the game is usually covering ground. And unless you find a specific point or hole that the fish are just congregating in the schools are usually always on the move too.


Originally Posted by strosfann
I just hope we don't have any tropical systems that affect the trip as I'm really looking forward to it.

When is your trip planned? Hopefully the tropics stay calm but you always have the issue of scattered showers and storms to deal with. Just part of the game out there. They pop up and dissipate all the time. Just part of playing down here in the summer.

Hopefully everything works out for you. Its a blast out there and when conditions are right the fishing is truly epic. Especially when you get on the morning topwater bite.

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Bring a generous supply of hydrogen peroxide. Apply liberally to hands every time you get out of the water. You end up getting lots of little cuts from handling the fish / line / hooks / etc and the bacteria in the water will turn your hands to crab claws if you don't. Leave any extra that's left over for the next guy.

I've been 4x. Always had my best fishing wading. The specs for me are usually on the surf side. Wade out past the breakers, hold your rod above your head till you get to the second sand bar. Cast back to the beach from the second sandbar. Hard to fish that quietly from a skiff, the surf is usually dragging you off anchor.

Early morning fish top water, walking the dog - gaudy shiny iridescent silver w/ red, pink and/or blue trim. Top water bite usually doesn't last much past dawn, but most of my bigger fish were caught that way. Plastic Cochahoes on a lead head slow rolled on the bottom with the usual variation in tempo, pauses and twitches till you find what they want. If the bite slows try rigging tandem Cochahoes. Normally not worth the aggravation surf fishing, but can help trigger a bite sometimes.

Spool your reel with braid, but use about a 6' mono leader, no more than 12# test. Check your drag frequently - it tends to get sticky fishing the surf. Cut and retie every 4 or 5 fish to prevent losses dur to abraided leader.

Use a floating fish basket not a stringer. Lots of folks have been "nibbled" by bull sharks trying to get trout on a stringer wrapped around the fisherman's ankles.

HTH

David

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Thanks David,

I wouldn't have thought about the peroxide. I have to resupply on top-waters as I had a wave rip my wading box off my belt earlier this year in the TX surf and I lost a few hundred $ worth of lures including my favorite floating corky! I will pick up a few silver lure variations. I have what we refer to as a do-net for keeping fish rather than a stringer so I will use that. I think I will go ahead and put a longer lead line on it along with a quick release mechanism of some sort in case one of our toothy friends takes an interest in it. I've not heard of do-nets being bothered as much as stringers but its hard to believe a persistent bull shark would be deterred by what amounts to a laundry bag on a floaty ring. I use braid with a shock leader of 20# fluorocarbon so I'm set there.

Any other advice is appreciated.

Regards,

Stros

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I have been considering this trip, when is the best time to go?


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Lived in Biloxi/Ocean Springs for 22 years -you have been given very good info. !

Trout/redfish in 3' too 7' of water -copper & rootbeer colored jigs have always worked well for us out there .

I have the same mentality on sun blockage as you guys -hate sunscreen -love sun clothes !
I've read more than once that sunscreen is very bad for you .

Keeping a big bait free-lined out is always fun -generally "something" will find it -then show you a good time .

No place I loved more than ol'biloxi so many great places to fish and see. When the casino's arrived in the early 90's it totally ruined the once fine southern town .

rrconductor ,

Sept/oct. is prime time for fishing "out front" as we called it .

Good luck !


PRESIDENT TRUMP 2024/2028 !!!!!!!!!!


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The people wringing their hands over Trump's rhetoric don't know what time it is in America.
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I'll reiterate what David said about bringing the Hydrogen Peroxide, and even old fashioned Bacteen is lots better than nothing. I also keep a good supply of individually packaged hand cleaning wipes in my pocket.

And I'll also say +1000 to what War Eagle and David said about staying hydrated with LOTS of water and not drinking ANY alcohol at all during the day, on the water, and very little in the evening. The alcohol greatly increases the effects of even slight dehydration and greatly amplifies any tendencies towards hangovers or seasickness. Sometimes some Gatorade is good to have, but I, personally, do not allow any alcohol on my boat.

For sunscreen, I like Banana Boat. Seems to stay on better than other brands I've tried. Be aware that you are NOT safe from severe sunburn when it's cloudy. The worst burn I ever got was on a cloudy, sorta cool day. The clouds actually scatter the ultraviolet rays and irradiate you more from all directions rather than directly from the sun, like on a sunny day.

I'm usually a wide brimmed straw hat wearer out there, but I've got a couple of other hats made from synthetic materials with wide brims and mesh crowns that are okay, but don't protect my scalp as well as the straw hat does. Anything else cuts off the breeze too much for me. I DO wear a long sleeved, lightweight fishing shirt that has tabs on the sleeves so I can roll them up if I want to.

And +1000 on what David said about using the floating fish basket. One of my best friends was drug for over 200 yards by a shark late one evening down there. We thought we'd lost him. He was drug by the stringer that was tied to his belt. The shark was large enough and drug him fast enough that my friend couldn't untie the knot and he lost his knife. Also, I myself was knocked down and "nibbled" enough that it drew quite a bit of blood and needed some medical attention on the calf of my right leg one day about 4:00pm after a squall had blown through and gotten the water murky. And I was out wading on the second sand bar and using a stringer.

Also, be aware that there are sting rays (some of them BIG) that come through there occasionally. Therefore, when you're wading, ALWAYS shuffle your feet along the bottom. First time you unexpectedly root one up outta the sand on the bottom, and it goes flapping off ahead or to the side of you, rather than burying it's spine in your lower leg or ankle after you stepped on it, you'll be glad somebody warned you ahead of time. The most likely time you'll run into the stingrays is in the early morning and late evening. But I was shuffling along, coming up on the second sand bar in waist deep water one day at about 11:00am and rooted up one bigger than a garbage can lid. Scared the schit outta me.

Some of the best times fishing I've ever had on the Chandeleurs were when a tropical depression or storm of some kind was approaching. However, we were down there in the late 70's or early 80's on a friend's boat (a 23ft Mako center console, open cockpit, with twin 115hp Mercury outboards), when a tropical storm was coming in from the southeast and the rougher the seas got, the more fish we caught. When we finally pulled out and left, headed back to Mobile Bay, we had quite an "adventure" getting home in the dark after BOTH the LORAN and the VHF marine radio went kaput, and the boat had no compass or depth finder. Suddenly those navigation classes I had taken with the United States Power Squadrons became REALLY important.

My friend had one old coastal chart on board and I had an old Boy Scout compass in my tackle box. I laid out a dead reckoning course and used that old Silva Boy Scout compass to navigate (having to sometimes get up in the front of the boat, away from the motors, to get a good reading). We left the Chandeleur's in six foot seas, running cross wind and taking water over the starboard side with increasing regularity. By the time we got near Mobile Bay we were running in 9 foot seas and both bilge pumps were working overtime. I've heard that God sometimes protects fools and sailors - well, that night he protected two foolish sailors.

After 3 hours of white-knuckle wave pounding, and well into our last 35 gallon tank of fuel, we crested another huge wave and I glimpsed a light flash almost straight ahead of us, probably less than 5 degrees to port, but back down into the trough between waves we dove. When we came up over the next wave, nothing. Was I seeing things? Cresting the next wave, I saw it again. Jimmy corrected slightly to port, and in a couple of minutes we passed within 30 feet of the Mobile Bay shipping channel entrance buoy. Then a few minutes later we spotted the flashing red and to its left, the flashing green light of the first pair of shipping channel buoys. We were taking so much water over the aft starboard quarter at this point that we had to break out the manual bilge pump and I was stroking that thing as hard and fast as I dared, without breaking the handle.

By the grace of God, using nothing but an old chart and an old hand-held Silva Boy Scout compass I had dead-centered the Mobile Bay Shipping Channel from over 50 miles away, in the dark, in 6 to 9 foot seas, in a 40 to 60 knot crosswind. But we had a cooler chocked FULL of reds.


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Skeezix - it sounds like you have had quite a few adventures out there! I really appreciate all the tips. I will definitely be doing the stingray shuffle and I almost always wear ray guards. I have a friend that bumped a stingray that came up towards the surface, made eye contact and then drove its barb through her knee. I don't care to join that club!

I've heard enough shark stories from out there now to fully respect the possibility of an encounter. One of my good friends who has a borderline shark phobia will be on this trip - I foresee a lot of fishing from the skiff for him.

I hope we catch the weather right and the trip is as good as it sounds like they can be out there. If nothing else at least I won't be bothered by a cell phone for three days for the first time in a while!

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One of my favorite places. Good advice. Get good flats boots. Take the sun and leader advice. Spare spools for spinners can save a day. 2 is one and one is none on all equipment. My last pair of shorts used out there only had one belt loop left. That's where the stringer goes. Spoons, top water plugs, and split tails under popping corks used to catch everything out there. Flounder at night is killer. A dark under brim on a hat helps with glare/sight fishing. Hands and neck are the soft (sun burn) spots, for sure. A wader belt with a rod holder is money, even from a skif. Icey water slush in your skiff cooler for quick kill, keeps fish tasting better, longer. Just thoughts. Used to camp out there (way back), and worked/fished a bit on the Pelican, back when Jack was alive.

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Originally Posted by hh4whiskey
My last pair of shorts used out there only had one belt loop left. That's where the stringer goes.
Originally Posted by hh4whiskey
A wader belt with a rod holder is money, even from a skif.


I agree with most all of what you said...except the stringer / belt loop part. Your wade belt should have a specific slot for the stringer stake to stick in. That way if Mr. Toothy shows up you aren't trying to untie or untangle the stringer from your clothes. Just pull the stake out of the slot and let the shark take the stringer. If that isn't possible, worst case scenario is you pop the buckle on the wade belt so you don't get dragged off.

NEVER tie / insert the stringer through your shorts or the belt on your shorts.

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You gotta remember: I started fishing chandeleur in the very early 90s. We didn't have wading belts until later, and even then, they had few special amenities....basically a rod tube and a pliers pouch or such. I've seen the newer, fancier ones.....and I want one....but belt loops were our 'breakaways'. Never had to untie anything or even touch the stringer, if a big one snatched it. As long as the fish could lay in the grass, it generally wasn't an issue. I may have stuffed a spike under a wader belt, but don't recall. Usually in a boat or kayak over the last few years.

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10-4; I am not too far off from you on dates.

My first trip out there was around 98 or 99 with my father. But we wade fished all the barrier islands about every other weekend while I was growing up--Horn, Petit Bois, Sand, DI, etc. The first wade belt I bought was a Shimano that I purchased back in 97. Had to have one just like my fathers (I was 15 at the time). It came with a pliers pouch, a rod holder, a pouch for a smallish sized flat tackle box and a d-ring for a clip on landing net....it also had the stringer slot too. We each added cup holders so we could keep a water bottle on us. I have upgraded belts since but I still have that old belt. The belt itself is still in pretty good shape though the tackle box pouch has finally succumbed to the UV rays. I've had to replace the stringer 3 times. Mr. Toothy on all three occasions...but over almost 20 years, that is a pretty rare occurrence.

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Started fish the Chandeleurs in early 1970. My favorite place to fish. Going back in October with my sons..

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We had a great trip - we just started to get it all figured out when it was time to leave. Luckily the surf was dead flat and produced pretty good for us. You had to boat fish quickly or loose them to the sharks though. I've never seen a feeding frenzy like that up close before - it was eye opening for sure! The highlight of the trip was getting towed about a mile into the Gulf by a Crevalle Jack that hit a topwater 75' from shore. Landing a 35" Jack on a trout rod was a 40 minute job.

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We had a great trip - we just started to get it all figured out when it was time to leave. Luckily the surf was dead flat and produced pretty good for us. You had to boat fish quickly or loose them to the sharks though. I've never seen a feeding frenzy like that up close before - it was eye opening for sure! The highlight of the trip was getting towed about a mile into the Gulf by a Crevalle Jack that hit a topwater 75' from shore. Landing a 35" Jack on a trout rod was a 40 minute job.

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Nice report! Those Jack Crevalle can do a number on trout gear. Sounds like you had a great trip.

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strosfann, what boat did you go with and did you fish 2 or 3 days? I assume you did not wade due to the story about the 35" JC.

Any info is appreciated, I am going the take the trip next fall as soon as mine graduates college next summer.


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rrconductor,

We were on the Double Trouble and fished 2 days. The boat is not fancy and the bunks are tight(I'm 6'4" 260 lbs - so I consume some space) but the crew and the food were great. The two hands on our trip were both excellent guides as well as cooks, cleaners etc. We did a 75:25 ratio of drifting to wading - drifting seemed to produce more trout. We did get some reds wading though. My buddies were fishing the surf from the beach while we were in the skiff and they outfished us handily on fat 20" surf trout.

Considering I didn't wade that much I still managed to have to poke 2 6"+ sharks with my rod tip and 1/2 dozen plus sized stingrays got persuaded.

PM me for more details!

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