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| Last Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012 |
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Some good comes from a hurricane
in the form of new artificial reefs
in the form of new artificial reefs
TOP: Capt. Sonny
Schindler of Shore
Thing Fishing
Charters fishes
Katrina Reef, an
artificial reef created
from bridge debris
left over from
Hurricane Katrina in
2005 in Mississippi
Sound near Biloxi,
Miss.
CENTER: Capt.
Robert Brodie of
Team Brodie
Charters shows off a
sheepshead he
caught near Biloxi,
Miss.
SIDE: Jen Carroll, a
professional bass
angler from Texas,
and her husband,
Jason, show off a
sheepshead they
caught near a
wooden piling.
Schindler of Shore
Thing Fishing
Charters fishes
Katrina Reef, an
artificial reef created
from bridge debris
left over from
Hurricane Katrina in
2005 in Mississippi
Sound near Biloxi,
Miss.
CENTER: Capt.
Robert Brodie of
Team Brodie
Charters shows off a
sheepshead he
caught near Biloxi,
Miss.
SIDE: Jen Carroll, a
professional bass
angler from Texas,
and her husband,
Jason, show off a
sheepshead they
caught near a
wooden piling.
Some good can come from a hurricane. When Hurricane Katrina ripped
through the Gulf Coast in August 2005, it left a massive trail of destruction all
across the area.
Although clean-up and recovery efforts removed most of the debris and
rebuilt infrastructure, some fragments remain in Mississippi waters. This
debris ranges from concrete chunks dubbed “katrinkets” sitting on the bottom
of Back Bay on the north side of Biloxi to entire fallen bridge spans. The state
of Mississippi turned some rubble into fish habitat. Other debris remains
where the storm left it, but all these hard structures create ideal sheepshead
habitat.
“Using debris from Katrina to create reefs gave us a wonderful
opportunity to recycle what the storm destroyed rather than dump it in a
landfill,” said Joe Jewell with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
“We used a lot of concrete rubble, road and building foundations and bridge
pieces to make reefs.”
For instance, Katrina Reef protrudes from the water just outside the pass
that connects Back Bay to Mississippi Sound, an arm of the Gulf of Mexico on
the south side of Biloxi. Comprised mainly of broken spans from the old U.S.
90 bridge that once crossed the pass, it stretches a mile and sits in about
nine feet of water.
With human-like teeth used to crush barnacles, sheepshead hover near
the reef and any other crusty structures waiting to snatch crabs and shrimp.
Throughout the bay and adjacent waters, many bridges, dock pilings, wharves
and other objects hold great numbers of sheepshead. The new U.S. 90 bridge
crossing the pass between Biloxi and Ocean Springs creates another
sheepshead hotspot.
“In late spring or early summer, the bay is full of sheepshead,” said Capt.
Robert Brodie of Team Brodie Charters (228-392-7660/teambrodiecharters.
com). “Hurricane Katrina changed everything. We had to relearn the areas to
fish, but it actually helped by creating more flats and bars. It also left a lot of
fish-holding structure in the area. A lot of debris fell into the water and some
of it remains there, making good places to fish for drum, sheepshead,
flounder, trout and redfish.”
Closer to the Louisiana line, the Jourdan River enters Bay St. Louis from
the west while the Wolf River flows in from the east. Johnson Bayou and
Bayou Portage also feed the system. The bridges and railroad trestle hold
good fish. Built with debris from a prison demolished by Katrina, Jailhouse
Reef sits near Buccaneer State Park in Waveland. Other good sheepshead
honey holes include Bayou Caddy Reef, also built with debris from the storm.
Pre-Katrina, Taylor Reef dates to 2002.
“They get a lot of pressure, but all the reefs hold good fish,” said Capt.
Sonny Schindler of Shore Thing Fishing Charters (228-342-2206/www.
shorethingcharters.com) “Some extend above the water. Others are just
crushed rocks. I wish the state would line the entire coast with artificial reefs
because they are such good places to fish. Some reefs are reachable by
anglers in kayaks.”
Catching sheepshead doesn’t take much finesse. Simply drop a bait next
to a barnacle-encrusted piling and wait for the bite. Despite their powerful
jaws and impressive dental equipment, sheepshead gingerly nibble rather
than gulp prey like a redfish. Notorious bait stealers, sheepshead almost
timidly examine morsels before deciding to taste them. Often, anglers don’t
even detect subtle strikes. Sometimes, the line simply feels heavy or mushy. A
sheepshead can quickly strip bait from a hook, but fortunately, seldom move
very far from food.
Rarely hitting lures, sheepshead bite most natural baits, but prefer live
shrimp and small crabs. They also gobble dead shrimp, live minnows, cracked
clams, squid and sometimes even cut bait. Often, the best fishing occurs
around fish cleaning stations on docks. When cleaning their catches, anglers
often toss fish heads, entrails, backbones and other scraps into the water.
This protein source attracts crabs, shrimp and tiny fish, which keep big
sheepshead in the vicinity.
To keep sheepshead around their docks, some people crack clams or
oysters and dump the shells off their docks. Anglers can also use rakes or
shovels to scrape barnacles off bridge pilings to chum for sheepshead. The
crushed crustaceans put scent into the water that attracts hungry
sheepshead.
With so many docks, bridges and other structure along the Mississippi
Coast, anglers should find unlimited places to tempt big sheepshead. Just
about any piling with barnacles could hold a buck-toothed monster.
For area information, contact the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention &
Visitors Bureau at (888) 467-4853. On line, see www.gulfcoast.org.
through the Gulf Coast in August 2005, it left a massive trail of destruction all
across the area.
Although clean-up and recovery efforts removed most of the debris and
rebuilt infrastructure, some fragments remain in Mississippi waters. This
debris ranges from concrete chunks dubbed “katrinkets” sitting on the bottom
of Back Bay on the north side of Biloxi to entire fallen bridge spans. The state
of Mississippi turned some rubble into fish habitat. Other debris remains
where the storm left it, but all these hard structures create ideal sheepshead
habitat.
“Using debris from Katrina to create reefs gave us a wonderful
opportunity to recycle what the storm destroyed rather than dump it in a
landfill,” said Joe Jewell with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
“We used a lot of concrete rubble, road and building foundations and bridge
pieces to make reefs.”
For instance, Katrina Reef protrudes from the water just outside the pass
that connects Back Bay to Mississippi Sound, an arm of the Gulf of Mexico on
the south side of Biloxi. Comprised mainly of broken spans from the old U.S.
90 bridge that once crossed the pass, it stretches a mile and sits in about
nine feet of water.
With human-like teeth used to crush barnacles, sheepshead hover near
the reef and any other crusty structures waiting to snatch crabs and shrimp.
Throughout the bay and adjacent waters, many bridges, dock pilings, wharves
and other objects hold great numbers of sheepshead. The new U.S. 90 bridge
crossing the pass between Biloxi and Ocean Springs creates another
sheepshead hotspot.
“In late spring or early summer, the bay is full of sheepshead,” said Capt.
Robert Brodie of Team Brodie Charters (228-392-7660/teambrodiecharters.
com). “Hurricane Katrina changed everything. We had to relearn the areas to
fish, but it actually helped by creating more flats and bars. It also left a lot of
fish-holding structure in the area. A lot of debris fell into the water and some
of it remains there, making good places to fish for drum, sheepshead,
flounder, trout and redfish.”
Closer to the Louisiana line, the Jourdan River enters Bay St. Louis from
the west while the Wolf River flows in from the east. Johnson Bayou and
Bayou Portage also feed the system. The bridges and railroad trestle hold
good fish. Built with debris from a prison demolished by Katrina, Jailhouse
Reef sits near Buccaneer State Park in Waveland. Other good sheepshead
honey holes include Bayou Caddy Reef, also built with debris from the storm.
Pre-Katrina, Taylor Reef dates to 2002.
“They get a lot of pressure, but all the reefs hold good fish,” said Capt.
Sonny Schindler of Shore Thing Fishing Charters (228-342-2206/www.
shorethingcharters.com) “Some extend above the water. Others are just
crushed rocks. I wish the state would line the entire coast with artificial reefs
because they are such good places to fish. Some reefs are reachable by
anglers in kayaks.”
Catching sheepshead doesn’t take much finesse. Simply drop a bait next
to a barnacle-encrusted piling and wait for the bite. Despite their powerful
jaws and impressive dental equipment, sheepshead gingerly nibble rather
than gulp prey like a redfish. Notorious bait stealers, sheepshead almost
timidly examine morsels before deciding to taste them. Often, anglers don’t
even detect subtle strikes. Sometimes, the line simply feels heavy or mushy. A
sheepshead can quickly strip bait from a hook, but fortunately, seldom move
very far from food.
Rarely hitting lures, sheepshead bite most natural baits, but prefer live
shrimp and small crabs. They also gobble dead shrimp, live minnows, cracked
clams, squid and sometimes even cut bait. Often, the best fishing occurs
around fish cleaning stations on docks. When cleaning their catches, anglers
often toss fish heads, entrails, backbones and other scraps into the water.
This protein source attracts crabs, shrimp and tiny fish, which keep big
sheepshead in the vicinity.
To keep sheepshead around their docks, some people crack clams or
oysters and dump the shells off their docks. Anglers can also use rakes or
shovels to scrape barnacles off bridge pilings to chum for sheepshead. The
crushed crustaceans put scent into the water that attracts hungry
sheepshead.
With so many docks, bridges and other structure along the Mississippi
Coast, anglers should find unlimited places to tempt big sheepshead. Just
about any piling with barnacles could hold a buck-toothed monster.
For area information, contact the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention &
Visitors Bureau at (888) 467-4853. On line, see www.gulfcoast.org.
