September Chronicle
When you live in the coastal Gulf South hurricanes are just a fact of life. Hurricane Isaac brought a week of trepidation on the Mississippi and Louisiana gulf coast causing significant flooding and moderate wind damage. The Southern Way and Southern Cross rode out the storm up the Jordan River and were unscathed. Our home, Long Beach Harbor, while no where near as serious as with Katrina, still received significant damage and is closed for the present time. For the time being our vessels are currently moored in Gulfport Harbor, which is just 3 miles east of Long Beach. We anticipate we will be here through the end of the year. Our surveys of the Chandeleur Islands and the Biloxi marsh show that both survived the storm well without major erosion or changes. In fact, the marsh fishing for redfish is on fire right now with large numbers of fish through out the marsh being reported.
The first cold front of the year passed this week with long awaited relief from the summer heat. Nighttime temperatures here have been in the upper fifties and remind us of the coming fall marsh fishing season. We anticipate the trout and red fishing to be phenomenal this year, maybe one of the only benefits of a tropical storm landfall. If you haven’t been on one of our fall/winter marsh trips this is the perfect year to book a trip. The Southern Way or Southern Cross pull up to our private dock, right in the middle of the Biloxi marsh, where you are no more than 5 or 10 minute by skiff from the best winter fishing in the south. Our trips are booking up fast so don’t miss out on what will undoubtedly be a stellar year in the marsh.
We are also excited to announce we have just finalized a lease of over 5,700 acres of private marshland. This is prime marshland that adjoins the 35,000-acre public Biloxi Wildlife Management Area. The Biloxi marsh is home to large numbers of gadwalls and green wing teal as well as widgeon, pintail and occasional mallards. This acquisition will allow SWC to now offer duck hunting as a part of our fall and winter trips. Our dock is centrally located within this lease and prime Louisiana coastal gunning hunting is only minutes away. A typical cast and blast trip will start with a morning duck hunt followed by a huge brunch, then finishing the day chasing trout and redfish.
Finally, our partnership with Captain Gregg Arnold continues to develop. As I mentioned in last months Chronicles, Captain Gregg is one of the worlds best fly-fishing guides particularly when it comes to chasing giant redfish in the Biloxi marsh. Also the Biloxi marsh is THE top winter destination for catching a record book redfish on fly. By basing your fly-fishing adventure out of the Southern Way or Southern Cross you greatly increase your fishing time on the water, you literally can wake up and be fishing in 10 minutes. No long road trips, boat rides, stopping for breakfast or picking up lunch, you do just what you came to do FISH and Southern Way Charters takes care of the rest. Call Captain Gregg at 504-237-6742 or visit Mothership trips his website at www.fishininthelandofgiants.com to book a fly-fishing trip this winter!
As always, our goal is to provide the best outdoor experience to our guests each trip. If you have questions about a trip or would like to customize a trip please don’t hesitate to call or email. Until next time…we’ll keep doing it the Southern Way.
