Page 87 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2022

February 2022 | 87
E veryone likes to take long romantic walks on a beach with
a loved one during a hot summer evening, but few people think about wading the beaches along the Mississippi barrier islands during winter.
Saint Valentine’s Day might find Andrew Whitman walking the beaches, but he’ll likely be carrying a fishing rod. Many people head to the barrier islands during the summer, but the guide for Black Dot Charters and his clients commonly find themselves alone wading the shallows in the winter.
“I usually start fishing the islands in mid-December and continue through March or April,” says Whitman, who runs out of Biloxi Small Craft Harbor. “The water is absolutely the clearest when it’s the coldest. In the winter, the water temperature is usually around 55 to 58 degrees.
By April or May, the water starts to warm and turn green again. In the winter, even the sharks and rays go away. We’re left out there all alone with just the big bull redfish, giant black drum and big sheepshead.”
Most people think that fish head to deep water to escape the cold during the winter. They do, but fish also sun themselves in the shallow flats. Whitman regularly catches redfish and drum in water knee deep or less. Exposed to the sun, water temperatures in the flats generally run a few degrees warmer. Even on the coldest days, the sun beating down on their backs in the shallow water warms their cold-blooded bodies.
“In the winter, we get extra low tides,” Whitman reports. “With waders, we can walk for miles in hip-deep water. Big black drum and redfish school up in the shallow places at Ship Island and Horn Island. Big black drum really love flies. That’s something we didn’t think would happen. It’s all catch and release. We let every fish go.”
Anglers need clear water to spot fish and so the fish can see small flies. Although anglers wading the flats mostly cast fly tackle, they sometimes throw 1/4- to 5/8-ounce jigheads tipped with soft-plastic trailers or other lures on conventional tackle. Occasionally, they fish with live bait. Redfish typically measure 36 to 45 inches long and probably weigh 20 to 25 pounds. Drum usually weigh about 25 to 30 pounds.
“In the winter, we have to catch a good day to go to the islands,” Whitman explains. “Getting to the islands is one thing, but people need to be able to see in the water on a sunny day. When we get a bluebird day after a front passes, it might get up to 65 or 70 degrees even in the middle of winter. Those days are just glorious out there. I like to fish two or three days after a front passes when everything settles down. Right before the next front starts to suck air back up north, we normally get a good slick, sunny day.”
People interested in taking up fly fishing can often get a good rod for about $100. They could watch internet videos to learn the basics. Then, they could go fishing with someone like Whitman for more advanced personal instruction. Many of Whitman’s clients never touched a fly rod, or any fishing pole, before fishing with him.
To give it a try, call Andrew at 228.326.8872. Online, see www.blackdotcharters.com.
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