John's Journal...

Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Fantastic Summertime Fishing with Captain Kyle Jarreau

Day 4: Mississippi’s Cat Island Resort: Fisherman’s Paradise with Captain Kyle Jarreau

Editor’s Note: Captain Kyle Jarreau, a guide for Shore Thing Charters based out of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, is one of the finest chefs on the Upper Gulf Coast. He can turn a mess of speckled trout, redfish and flounder into cuisine that will have fishermen fighting for second helpings. This week, Jarreau will tell us how he catches speckled trout, redfish and flounder on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. I always look forward to going to Biloxi, Mississippi, staying at the Isle of Capri Casino and Resort, and fishing with Shore Thing Charters Captain Sonny Schindler, also with Shore Thing, has been my guide and a friend for several years. He’s always glad to see me coming. We have a good time fishing and fellowshipping while I’m there, and as I’m packing-up to leave, he’s always grinning and saying, “Now, when can I book you to come back?” Shore Thing Charters is growing and has added more guides and a new, spacious, luxurious lodge on Cat Island that boasts some of the finest fishing on the entire Gulf Coast. On this trip, I primarily fished with Captain Kyle Jarreau, who was a fishing guide when I met him and became a friend before I left.

Click for Larger ViewClick for Larger ViewQuestion: Kyle, why did Shore Thing Charters set-up a lodge on Cat Island, one of the Barrier Islands on the Mississippi Gulf Coast?

Jarreau: Cat Island is about 9-miles off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We had the opportunity to get a beautiful lodge, where we can offer a wide variety of fishing to our clients. There’s a number of sandbars that have drop-offs at the ends of them. Anglers can wade-down the bars, cast to the drop-offs with either artificial lures or live bait and catch speckled trout and redfish. Also, Cat Island homes some marshy, bayou areas that hold a number of redfish. Kayak fishing has become popular in recent years, and because Cat Island offers protected waters in the marsh and on the backside of the island, anglers can paddle kayaks and catch speckled trout and redfish. Also, we have bay boats our fishermen can use. You can do almost any type of fishing any way you want to for speckled trout and redfish from Cat Island.

Question: Since there’s no electricity on Cat Island, how do you overcome that problem?

Jarreau: We have two generators at our lodge that give us power so that we have all the conveniences of home, including lights, air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter, and everything you’d expect of a fishing lodge if it was shore based.

Click for larger ViewClick for Larger ViewQuestion: What’s the advantage of staying on Cat Island?

Jarreau: Regardless of the time of year or the weather, the wind or the water conditions, we always can find a place that provides protected waters, as well as clear water in the marsh, on Cat Island to fish. So, regardless of the weather conditions, we always can locate and catch speckled trout and redfish. Cat Island is in a T-shape. The east end of the island is about 6-miles long, and the main island is probably 12-miles long. So, we’re not talking about a small place. This is a big island that not only has water all the way around it but has a marsh inside it. It also homes grass beds, flats, channels and drains. Those speckled trout and redfish inside the island will eat our artificial lures and live baits like they were popcorn in a movie theater.

To learn more about fishing in salt water, contact Captain Kyle Jarreau at Shore Thing Charters at (228)324-5990, or visit www.shorethingcharters.com, or email him at jusaddwater@aol.com. For more information on fishing in Mississippi, call 1-886-SEE-MISS (733-6477), or go to www.visitmississippi.org.

Tomorrow: Captain Kyle Jarreau on Catching and Gigging Flounder at Mississippi’s Cat Island


Check back each day this week for more about "Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Fantastic Summertime Fishing with Captain Kyle Jarreau "

Day 1: Bet on the Redfish in the Summertime on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast
Day 2: Captain Kyle Jarreau Tells about the Big Speckled Trout and Numbers of Them on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast
Day 3: Where Captain Kyle Jarreau Fishes for Flounder, Specks and Reds on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast
Day 4: Mississippi’s Cat Island Resort: Fisherman’s Paradise with Captain Kyle Jarreau
Day 5: Captain Kyle Jarreau on Catching and Gigging Flounder at Mississippi’s Cat Island

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Entry 618, Day 4