If You Find Yourself...

If you find yourself on a Gulf Coast beach not catching the fish you were hoping to catch, try your hand at some "redneck bonefishing." Head to a shallow flat with little to no wave action and start scanning the water. With some luck, you should start seeing dark shapes milling around in about 6 inches of water: the elusive hardhead cat - er, I mean bonefish. Wade out a bit and start targeting fish. Don't be fooled, these fish aren't stupid. It takes some patience to get one to eat - your fly must be stripped just right to lure them into a strike. They also put up a fair fight. The great thing about redneck bonefishing is that if you miss that single at your 2 o'clock, there's bound to be a trio heading your way at your 9 o'clock. None of that "I stared at the water all day and saw two fish" crap.

The elusive "redneck bonefish"

If you're good, you'll catch several of these fine, native specimens. If you're lucky you'll pick up some other species in the process. Needlefish, croaker, and ladyfish are all possibilities for the glamor fish specialist. You can catch flounder too, I mean, if you're into that.

Perfect camouflage

Just watch out for the venomous, barbed spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins of those bonefish. Didn't know bonefish had spines? Well now, I don't know what to tell you...

The Islands

I had forgotten how wonderful the Mississippi barrier islands can be. My parents visited two weekends ago and we managed a trip on the ferry out to West Ship Island. We toured the fort and brought a picnic lunch. And of course I did some fishing. The island has a rich history and rich marine life. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

The only needlefish I've ever managed to hook

Non-stop speckled trout action with a croaker, needlefish, and hardhead making for a slam of sorts. We also watched big redfish chasing mullet around like they were dolphins, which was very exciting. I actually had a really good chance to cast to them at one point but of course had some very curious bystanders right in the way of my back cast.

My dad was fishing too (and took a lot of the pictures) but I was a horrible guide and failed to get him onto any fish. His fly casting was a little rusty, probably because he fly fishes on a yearly basis - that is, whenever I force him into it.

The barrier islands used to be my be all end all when it came to fishing. Lately I've been focusing on the marsh. This trip has me rethinking my focus. It was a lot of fun.