Get All of Mississippi’s Saltwater Fish Now in August – Inshore, Offshore and In-Between
Day 1: Catch Trout and Tripletails in August at Mississippi’s Gulf Coast with Captain Robert “Pappy” Kenney
  Captain Robert “Pappy” Kenney of Old Pro Charters, docked at Bayou Caddy Fisheries and Ice in Lakeshore, Mississippi, says in August, you can catch all kinds of fish. Kenney believes in fishing by the moon. For instance, during the full moon in June and on 3 days of either side of the full moon, Kenney catches plenty of big trout. “Many summers, we’ve caught trout weighing 4- to 6-pounds each,” Kenney says. “I’ve noticed that on either side of the full moon, we really seem to have a good trout bite. And, August will be the same.” Kenney only fishes with live bait and prefers to use live croakers over oyster reefs. He’ll fish a No. 2 or a No. 3 Kahle hook and attach 18 inches of 30-pound-test fluorocarbon leader to 20-pound-test main line. He’ll put a plastic bead above the knot where he ties the fluorocarbon to his main line, and above the bead, he’ll have the lightest slip sinker he possibly can use and still hold the bait on the bottom. “If I’m fishing on Cabbage Reef out by the Cat Island Channel where the current’s running strong, I’ll use a heavier lead than I will in other areas where the current’s not running nearly as hard,” Kenney mentions.
Catch Trout
Most fishermen can catch a limit of small speckled trout by fishing under the birds that hover above the shrimp and the baitfish, while the schooling trout force the bait to the surface. But to catch really-big speckled trout, Kenney prefers to fish the oyster reefs, where although he may not catch as many trout as anglers who fish under the birds, the speckled trout he catches usually will weigh from 4- to 6-pounds each.
Bet on the Three-Tails
  “We catch a number of tripletails in August,” Kenney reports. “Catching four to five tripletails in one day isn’t uncommon for a party, but one to two tripletails are about average. These tripletails will average 5- to 8-pounds each, and we look for them under anything floating on the surface. On a recent trip, I found two tripletails under one dead jack crevalle floating on the surface. On another day, I located four tripletails under one crab trap float.” The productive tripletail fishing should continue through August, and although some anglers exclusively search for the tripletails that resemble giant bream and taste like them, most of the time Kenney and his party find their tripletails when they’re traveling to and from the areas where Kenney fishes for speckled trout and redfish or his offshore spots. To contact Captain Kenney, call 985-290-5764, visit www.oldprocharters.com, or email rkenney@bellsouth.net.
To learn more about catching fish at Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, order John E. Phillips’ new Kindle eBook, “Fishing Mississippi’s Gulf Coast and Visitor’s Guide,” by going to www.amazon.com/kindle, and typing in the name of the book to purchase. Or, you can get a free Kindle app to use to download the book to your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
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