Page 63 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2024

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soon spread. Robert started guiding full time in 2006, soon after Hurricane Katrina shattered the Coast in August 2005. Back then, several people captained offshore boats to head far out into
the Gulf of Mexico, but few people guided on inshore waters.
“I always wanted to be a fishing guide,” Robert remarks. “In the 1970s, I worked on the charter boats out of Broadwater Marina. I started a lawn service and it took off. I did the lawn service for about 27 years, but started doing a little guiding between lawn jobs. After Katrina hit in 2005, I decided to go into guiding full time. The water clarity seemed to be a little better in those days. All the bayous, even those down in the lower bay, had a lot of eelgrass growing in them. We don’t see that anymore.”
After Katrina hit, Robert lost a large percentage of his lawn service clients because of storm damage. In addition, many people lost their own boats. Those who still had boats struggled to find fuel, bait or other necessities. The hurricane demolished most facilities. However, with few people fishing, those who could get out did well.
“I managed to find dead bait and catch my own live bait,” Robert remembers. “After Katrina, many people wanted to go fishing. They were curious to see what it was like. The fishing was pretty good after Katrina, but kind of strange. We were catching bull redfish up the rivers. In 2006, we caught tarpon in the rivers.”
Today, numerous guides fish all along the coast. Robert stays busy taking many of his regular clients plus new ones to catch speckled trout, redfish, white trout and many other species.
LEFT: Captain Robert Brodie with a black drum.
RIGHT TOP: Brodie with two red fish.
FAR RIGHT TOP: Spotted sea trout.
FAR RIGHT MIDDLE: Sheepshead.
FAR RIGHT BOTTOM: Live shrimp bait.
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