Page 53 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2020

A fishing nightmare becomes a lesson learned
we put out lines to begin trolling...and trolling...
all day without a bite. Finally, the captain switched to Plan B. But when we arrived at his deep-drop spot, he had neglected to charge the deep drop reel batteries. So while waiting for them to charge, we trolled for another luckless 90 minutes. The deep drop did produce the largest golden tile fish I’ve ever seen.
Moral of the story: When headed off-shore in an unfamiliar boat, don’t become complacent like we did.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BOOKING A CHARTER:
“Check out reviews for the business and read comments on social media,” says Capt. Ron Harmon. “How long they’ve been in business is another good check. And in Mississippi, make sure the boat has the required charter sticker issued by the state on the window. This assures that the captain is licensed, has been drug screened, and that the boat is insured.”
In our case, it was a brand new charter operation with no track record. So, pay heed to Capt. Ron’s advice and make sure they’ve been in business for a while.
story by Frank Wilem
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net
February 2020 | 53
Golden Tile Fish