Page 157 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2020

TRIPLETAI
Also called black sh, these migratory sh usually appear in Mississippi Sound by April and remain in Magnolia State waters until early October. They sometimes enter estuaries like the Back Bay of Biloxi or Bay St. Louis. Tripletail commonly swim under oating objects such
as driftwood, weed patches or crab trap buoys. They might also hang around channel markers, petroleum
enough away from the object to avoid spooking the sh and quietly drift toward the spot. Make the longest, but most accurate cast possible.
Aim for a spot about 10 or so feet upwind of the oating object, but
in a position where the wind or tide will quietly carry the bait to the sh. When the cork drifts close to the object, jerk the rod. That will make the cork gurgle on the surface while the bait ies upward. Then, it slowly sinks. That should get a hungry tripletail’s attention. When the cork goes under, set the hook.
“Accurate casting is critical, particularly on the rst cast,” Schindler advised. “Sometimes, anglers make a bad cast and sh get educated quickly. Sometimes tripletail go down, but usually we pull back a bit and wait a few minutes for them to pop back up. If they don’t pop back up, we might send a bait down, but we risk snagging something and spooking the sh. The safest bet is
to go elsewhere for a while and then return to that object later.”
These tasty sh typically weigh
ve to 20 pounds, but could exceed 30 pounds. The Mississippi state record weighed 37.75 pounds. Before heading home or when moving to another spot, keep an eye peeled for any shadows lurking under oating debris!
Eplatforms, docTks and bridge pilings. “Tripletail hover around anything,” explained Sonny Schindler of Shore
Thing Fishing Charters in Bay St. Louis. “It’s not for shade because we’ve seen them sunning themselves
in open water
objects. It’s because these oating objects give bait places to hide. Unsuspecting shrimp, crabs and minnows congregate around these objects and tripletail wait there for them. Tripletail can swim fast and strike quickly.”
Spotting a tripletail hovering under a oating object gives anglers excellent opportunities to sight cast at individual sh. Few piscatorial experiences equal the thrill of watching a sh take a bait. Tripletail might strike any lures that would interest speckled trout, but they typically prefer natural bait. Opportunistic eaters, tripletail ravenously devour various bait sh,
or drifting with tiny
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August 2020 | 157
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shrimp, small crabs and any other morsels they can catch.
“I like to use the biggest live shrimp I can nd,” Schindler recommended. “Even a 12-inch tripletail can suck down a jumbo shrimp. They also
hit nger mullets and pogies. When we’re looking for tripletail, we bring di erent baits. If we keep throwing shrimp, they might get shy, but may respond better to a nger mullet.”
For tempting tripletail, few techniques work better than dangling a piece of crab or live shrimp under a cork. Watch the currents and wind direction to get upwind of the sh. Shut o the outboard motor far
Taylor Warren shows o a tripletail she caught while shing in the Gulf of Mexico.
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