It had been more than an hour since we departed the launch site of the tournament. The lights of Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss., had faded away, and the twin 250-horsepower outboards had been singing their song in perfect key the whole trip. We had been watching the incredible sunrise rather than the fuel meter, as it was a cause of wonder rather than a cause of concern. We tried to balance the need for speed, and its accompanying extra fishing time, with the need for fuel economy to make the 250-mile-plus round trip.
There was a wonderful sense of adventure that had invaded our spirits as we headed for the mecca of king mackerel fishing, Louisiana’s famed West Delta, for the first time.
In the first hour of our trip, the darkness was gradually replaced with a glowing and growing ball of light from the east. The pre-dawn gray quickly gave way to the first real light as the yellow-orange ball peeked over the distant horizon. As the sun ascended into a perfectly cloudless sky, our spirits soared with it. Our plan was coming together, and Mother Nature was giving us the perfect day to go for it. We were stoked!
There had been a little chop as we passed Ship Island from Biloxi Bay and crossed the edge of the Gulf into Chandeleur Sound. Once in Chandeleur Sound, the water was like a sheet of shiny glass under the morning sun. The only disturbance in sight was our wake and the occasional ghost wake from another boat long gone. Trimming the motors up gave us another 2 mph at the same fuel burn rate and we headed on.
Somewhere near that invisible boundary between Chandeleur Sound and Breton Sound, probably around Freemason Island or Old Harbor Island, we spotted a mother ship, with several smaller boats in tow, heading out for a trout fishing expedition. Normally I would have been jealous, but this morning we were headed after the monster kings we had heard area pros Danny Mathis, Marcus Kennedy and Steve Shook talk about for years, and our intensity level was off the charts.
In another few minutes, we crossed the markers for the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal and were checking off references on our trip plan. We were making good time as we headed directly toward Baptiste Collette Pass, our entrance into the Mississippi River Delta.
Slowed down
Shortly after crossing the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal, our trip came to a screeching halt. We ran head-first into a wall of fog. No one had warned us about fog. We know it is always a threat, however, and we have added radar and a chart plotter to our electronics package to deal with it.
If you’ve never been in fog before, there are several kinds. There is light, wispy fog; thicker fog with limited visibility; and pea-soup fog. This was pea-soup fog. Our visibility was barely a couple boat lengths. This kind of fog tends to disorient you even when you have radar and a good chart plotter.
After a quick huddle, we made the decision to push on, but at a greatly reduced speed. Our waypoint was the buoy at the end of Baptiste Collette Pass Jetty, and we were wagering that if we made it there, we could follow a crew boat up the pass to Venice.
We felt the fog would burn out at some point during the day, but we wondered if it would be soon enough to allow us some fishing time. The bottom line was we had come this far and we were going for it even if we ran out of time (or fuel) trying.
Our GPS and LORAN (having LORAN may date how long ago this first trip took place) basically agreed we had just over eight miles to Baptiste Collette Pass. We put the trim tabs down and trimmed the motors under. We barely got on plane at about 17 to 18 miles per hour. My crew was just forward of the console, and I was at the controls as we forged ahead into oblivion. We were trying to balance our desire to make time with our need to proceed safely.
The instruments were slowly counting down our progress as we ventured farther into the unrelenting fog. About halfway there, we hit a small pocket of clear area, but we were slowed again almost immediately as we were once again engulfed in the all-encompassing gray.
With just under a mile to go, and feeling the tension building of knowing we were approaching a rock jetty, we received a temporary reprieve. Almost as if lifting a curtain, the fog parted, and the jetty and buoy materialized just to the left of straight ahead. Talk about a feeling of relief! It was more welcome than catching the first king later in the morning.
Once in Baptiste Collette Pass, the fog returned in a limited-visibility variety, and we could see from turn to turn and were able to run again.
Entering the Mississippi River, we were totally shocked at what we saw. Sure, we knew it was a big river, but it was several miles to the far bank and Venice, La., basically straight across.
At Venice, our directions were to head downriver to the end of town and turn right into Tiger Pass. There weren’t any road signs, and we almost turned into Red Pass (which we have used in the fall 
numerous times since), but made the correct guess. The fog was not present on the west side of the river, and we sped down Tiger Pass toward the waiting rigs and monster kings.
The old cannery at the end of Tiger Pass had an ominous presence as we passed it and entered the famed West Delta. This was a spring tournament, and we had been coached to not bother with rigs in less than 100 feet of water. Therefore, we pointed the boat southwest and headed toward rigs in the 60s and 70s blocks.
Bait basics
Our coaching also taught us the primary baits would be large ribbonfish and hardtails (blue runners). We brought some huge ribbonfish with us from North Carolina and jigged a few hardtails while pre-fishing in the Chandeleur and Main Pass Blocks the previous day. Fortunately, they survived overnight in our bait pen, along with some large mullet we cast netted in Biloxi Bay.
The “coup de grace” came as we were loading up the boat to leave at dark thirty that morning. We kept hearing something that sounded like pogies popping in the dark marina. Just as we were untying the lines, a school of them appeared in the marina lights and were shuffling our way in the current. Being from North Carolina, we scurried to get a cast net out and catch some of them. One cast caught enough to fill the second baitwell – and they were slabs.
We departed the marina to enter the check-out line with poorly concealed grins. We were pretty sure West Delta kings would eat pogies, as the kings everywhere else we fished welcomed them. We had pogies, mullet and hardtails in our baitwells. Along with jumbo ribbonfish in our cooler, we were certain to have something to tempt the big kings.
As we pulled up to the first rig, we dropped back a hardtail and a pogie. I was rigging a ribbonfish while someone else rigged a mullet when the first reel began screaming. The initial run wasn’t particularly long, but the reel had been screaming in soprano pitch, indicating a fast and hard run. Wow, we had been fishing only a couple of minutes and already had one on.
We were by ourselves at this rig, so we left the other bait in the water as we chased the first strike. That probably would have been a mistake had the rig been crowded, but we got away with it. The first fish was almost halfway in before the second one struck.
We had been advised to take significantly heavier tackle to try to shorten the fight, but having never used it for kings, we opted to go with what we already knew and just bump everything up a little. On our standard East Coast live-bait outfits, we spooled 30-pound-test line instead of our normal 15. We also upgraded the leaders to No. 6 wire (up from No. 4 and No. 5) and substituted No. 2 treble hooks for our usual 4s and 6s.
After a short-but-spirited battle, a nice king mackerel began materializing as it spiraled up through the depths. When it finally allowed itself to be led to the surface, it was quickly gaffed and heaved into the fish box so we could follow the second fish.
The second fish had run a bit more and headed offshore from the rig. As we moved toward it, we dropped a ribbonfish into the blue-green water. While we were working toward the second fish, there was almost enough time to get the first fish weighed, measured and transferred into our fish bag to be iced down. While our first fish was a nice one by North Carolina standards at 38 pounds and change, it wasn’t particularly large by West Delta standards.
Measuring materials
We had been warned we would probably be catching a lot of fish and would quickly fill our limits if we didn’t release some of them. After pondering it, we devised a method of using a 12-foot length of small-diameter nylon rope to get a length measurement on the fish and cull them. The rope was tied to a shower clip with 5 feet on one end and 7 feet on the other. The fish was measured with the longer length of rope lying beside it, and a knot was tied at the length of the fork of the fish’s tail.
As we caught more fish, the clip was slipped over the leader and slid down with the rope lying beside the fish. We used the knot to easily see if the new fish was longer or shorter than the original fish. When a new fish was longer, it was gaffed. When it was shorter, it was released. The shorter end of the line was used to retrieve the measuring length of the rope if the fish was to be released. When a larger fish was landed, it was measured and the knot was adjusted to its fork length.
The second fish was slightly shorter and was released immediately. However, before we got up over it, something smacked the ribbonfish and headed out. This fish was a little larger and pulled us pretty far off the rig before being measured and welcomed aboard.
More baits were put out to troll back to the rig, and we quickly had a multiple hookup. These fish ran a little harder, but they were all small enough we didn’t need to measure them before releasing them.
We were in the process of setting baits when we were once again swarmed by smaller kings. We got the idea this time, and after releasing them, we immediately moved back beside the rig.
A ribbonfish got slammed as it was being lowered on the downrigger, and a rod with a pogy never made it to a rod holder before being munched. The deal was definitely on, and the fish around the rig were 40-pound-class fish.
After catching a few more fish, the motor sputtered and cut off. What a shock back to reality! We switched to the second tank, pumped the ball firm and it fired right back up, but we knew our time was limited. A glance at a watch brought this into focus even more clearly. We had lost valuable time in the fog and were going to have to pay for it now with less fishing time. Knowing we had an extra 20 gallons in the second tank, we decided we could stretch our fishing for another hour and a half if we ran back just a little faster.
I don’t believe the bite ever slowed to the point we could get four lines out after that. The fish continued to bite at a frantic pace, but our largest was a mere 41 pounds and didn’t collect a check in the tournament. We cut the trip close and had just enough gas to get the boat loaded on the trailer without running out.
Lessons learned
Now we know we should have moved to locate larger fish, but for a few guys from North Carolina, we were having a ball catching those fish. We got caught up in the spirit of the moment, thinking it could not be any better. This point was driven home as we were getting ready for the run back. The boat with the winning fish came by us from a little farther offshore. We now know you must leave 40-pound kings to find larger ones in the Gulf.
Many trips back to this area now make us realize just how good the Gulf can be. Several years ago, during a fall bite in the 40s blocks of the West Delta, there were more than 50 kings of 50 pounds and heavier caught during a two-day tournament. The bite was wide open that time also, as I recall releasing more than 30 kings per day in the 35- to 49-pound range.
We may have released a 50-pounder that tournament, as we weighed a 49-pounder and released at least a half-dozen within an inch of the same length. If one of them was a little more robust, we would have been in the 50 club also, but we felt it was important to be sure we left some of those big females. We continued to measure them and only boated fish longer than those we already had.
In evaluating the Gulf, we think of the community spots like the Mobile, Ala., 860s and 950s off the west end of Dauphin Island; Mr. Gus, the City Rigs and Sulphur Rigs straight out of Biloxi, Miss.; CA 25 near the Chandeleurs; the West Delta 40s and such. We can’t figure in all the other rigs that occasionally have incredible bites that few people know about. There are also many natural bottom areas that are only fished by knowledgeable locals who have learned the art of silence.
The Gulf really can be that good. Of course, as with anything else, occasionally some good fishermen go fishless for a whole day. However, day in and day out, many serious kingfishermen would prefer to test their skills in the fertile fishing waters of the Gulf of Mexico, particularly around the Mississippi River Delta.
50-pound-plus kings
Danny Mathis of Gonzales, La., is the captain of Team Cat Daddy, which fishes the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series. Team Cat Daddy set the pace for the 2005 FLW Kingfish Tour with a win at Fort Pierce, Fla., at the first-ever FLW Outdoors kingfish event. In 2006, they were almost the first team to repeat winning an FLW kingfish tournament when they finished in second place at the Beaufort, S.C., FLW Kingfish Tour event. The bottom line is Mathis and Team Cat Daddy are proven competitors who really know their home waters in the Gulf around Louisiana and have shown they can excel elsewhere.
Mathis and Team Cat Daddy fish out of Fourchon in Louisiana, and they are proud of the fantastic kingfishing in the area. Mathis was glad things were returning to normal after the hurricanes of 2005, and he thought the fishing might even be a little better than before. He was willing to share some of his experience and knowledge with us.
Peak times
“We have kings around the (Mississippi River) Delta all year,” Mathis said. “They move a little deeper during the winter. We catch them while tuna fishing at Midnight Lump even in January and February.”
“My favorite time to catch them is November,” Mathis said. “They feed heavily and move in close, so it’s easy to find them.”
Prime locations
Mathis said when kings leave the open water of the deeper Gulf at the end of the winter, they tend to gather in larger concentrations on the east side of the Mississippi River through the summer. He mentioned the City Rigs as a good spot to try.
“They are fish and have tails, so they can move around,” Mathis said, laughing. “But this is their general pattern for the year.”
He said they tend to gather on the west side in large numbers during the fall.
“In the fall when the mullet start running out the passes, the kings will come right in to the rocks at the end of them,” Mathis said. “When they start feeding on mullet, it is quite a spectacle. They will be skying everywhere. I have even seen them land on rocks and flop around before they fell back in the water.”
Mathis said this was his favorite place to catch fall kings, but they would gather in huge schools and could be anywhere from the ends of the western passes out to the rigs in the West Delta 40s blocks. This area is where most of the 50-pounders mentioned in the story were caught.
How to catch them
Mathis said the preferred bait around the Gulf is a large hardtail (blue runner). He also said kings often feed on mullet and pogies.
“I like to fish with hardtails between 2 and 2 1/2 pounds,” Mathis said. “Those are the best baits to target really big kings.”
He said the overall equipment for fishing Gulf kings around the Mississippi Delta should be heavier than used on the East Coast and Florida Gulf Coast.
“On many days, we will catch 80 to 100 kings looking for the big one, where you may only catch a handful at most places,” Mathis said. “We have to fish heavier rigs, lines, leaders and hooks so we can bring the king to the boat faster. Even with our larger fish, we just let them make the first big run and then bring them in. We will see most of our fish well enough to grade them within five minutes.”
Mathis said Gulf fishermen use larger rods and reels and heavier line, but the real difference is in the rigs. He said they would use No. 7 or 8 wire and 1 to 1/0 treble hooks, where in many places, it is No. 4 or 5 wire and No. 4 or 6 treble hooks. The kings aren’t shy of leaders, so they use tackle heavy enough to subdue them quickly.
One of Mathis’ most telling comments was, “If you are catching kings under 45 pounds, there probably isn’t a really big one (over 50 pounds) mixed in with them, but if you are catching kings over 45 pounds, there might be a big one there.”