Page 48 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2025

GREAT OUTDOORS
According to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR), spotted seatrout, better known in Mississippi as speckled trout, traditionally rank among the most popular recreational game fish on the Gulf Coast with Mississippi anglers catching millions every year.
TROUT FROM BOAT TO TABLE
Speckled trout commonly gather in huge schools. They chase shrimp or baitfish to the surface to cut off their escape. Sharp-eyed birds immediately spot the surface activity and swoop down for their share of protein. Diving birds could indicate feeding trout.
Anglers fishing a frenzied school can put many trout in the boat quickly. Many anglers throw popping-cork rigs baited with live shrimp at schooling fish. Essentially, a popping-cork rig consists of a float holding up a natural or artificial enticement. When the angler jerks the rod, the cork gurgles on the water surface, simulating a fish striking prey. Any novice angler can catch fish on a popping-cork rig.
“We normally throw popping corks with live shrimp,” says Andrew Whitman with Blackdot Charters in Biloxi. “When the fish really get fired up, we throw soft-plastic shrimp under a cork.”
During summer swelter, the waters in shallow bays and estuaries get hot so trout head to more comfortable temperatures in the deeper waters of Mississippi Sound. For deeper fishing, use jigheads tipped with soft-plastic trailers that mimic shrimp or
CHASING
GULF COAST
48 | July 2025
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