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Random Quote: Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
was out there in october to look around...most of the grass is gone, and you wont recognize most cuts, spits, etc
be careful and go slow on the backside
A recent issue of LSM had an article from a professor that reported that due to the damage, the islands are eating themselves (so to speak) they do not expect them to be there at all for very much longer.
Well we will see.. they have always in the past made comebacks after big storms , i grew up fishing out there in the years after camille ...and the fishing was off the hook .... but they very well may have sustained tooo much damage this time around.
Chandeleur Island chain in sad condition
By Al Jones
Hurricane Georges pounded the island in the late 1990s, while Hurricane Ivan further pummeled it two years ago. Then, tropical storm Cindy washed parts of the land away before Hurricane Katrina nearly demolished the island legendary for large speckled trout and bone-crushing redfish.
Toss in a few flounder, sharks, cobia and jack crevalle, and the island had something for everyone.
For those who grew up fishing the island - from the north tip to the south end - things just are not the same.
The north tip, where the old lighthouse used to help monitor boats leaving the Coast line as well as returning to port from the open Gulf of Mexico, is gone.
There is no lighthouse, but you can see a small tower to the west of the lighthouse.
I remember walking the north tip of the island tossing a gold spoon during the months of January and February looking for redfish. It wasn't that long ago that the lighthouse was a nice holding ground for baitfish.
There was nothing like casting a spoon in ankle-deep water and watching the fish race off into the direction of the lighthouse.
The island itself is now two miles - or farther - back to the north of the lighthouse.
It's sad.
My first trip to the island since Katrina with Bobby Carter and Doug Borries, both of Ocean Springs, was bittersweet to say the least.
As we passed the area where the lighthouse was, my heart sank.
Think about it. We'll never wade fish in the area again.
As we motored down the inside of the island, an area known as North Island appeared. For the most part, North Island is intact, but severely damaged.
From all indications, the grass beds appear to be fine. This portion is safe, for now. The old microwave tower and Redfish Point survived, too.
The gas rigs on the inside of the island are fine, as well.
However, there is no south end as we once knew it.
Places like Curlew - one of the best trout grounds - are no longer accessible to fishermen. There were many days while wade fishing the inside and outside surf with friends like Terry Waldrop and Ricky Mathews that we caught many nice trout and reds.
After an hour and fifteen minute boat ride, we pulled up to Freemason Island. Truly, this island has special meaning to me.
This was the area that developed my love for the Chandeleur chain. Prior to the massive run on storms, Freemason was the place to be. You could either wade fish the surf side or work the inside. When you saw birds feeding, speckled trout were to be found.
Back in the good ol' days, it was a nice walk to go from one side of the island to the next.
The same part of the island is down to less than three feet in some areas.
Talk about a lump in your throat.
Freemason still attracts many types of birds, but space is limited.
After taking in the sights, we decided it was time to fish.
Since the layout of the land has completely changed, the first destination was a cut in the island where the water was rushing through with a very strong incoming tide.
Bobby did catch a nice three-pound trout before we decided to move on down the island. In fact, we stopped at a small portion of land that was separated by Katrina from the rest of Freemason.
The water was also moving, but in all directions. The water was literally circling around the land, which can't be good in the long term.
But short term, it was perfect.
Using live shrimp, Bobby caught another trout. Then, out of nowhere, several large shrimp were visible on the surface. With that in mind, I grabbed a chartreuse jig with a red head and began casting. I thought my chances were slim with a live shrimp dangling on the bottom with hundreds more in the vicinity.
The second cast using the jig produced my first post-Katrina Chandeleur style trout. It was a nice three-pound trout with a solid yellow coloring on the inside of its mouth.
Finally, a fish that made Chandeleur famous was headed for the ice chest.
My next cast and the next two after that produced more trout, including a gorgeous six-pound trout that will soon rest on the wall of my new house.
At this point, Doug grabbed his video camera and Bobby switched to a jig.
Folks, for the next hour, we boated 43 speckled trout, casting time and time again into a small section no larger than 30 yards.
There were times when we had double hookups as well as three on at a time.
For a brief moment, the old Chandeleur Island was back.
Katrina who?
Time was standing still and a beaten-down heart was pumping once again.
Cast after cast saw speckled trout coming to the boat. We didn't catch a two-pound trout or toss any undersized fish back. We did catch a few three-pounders, along with several four and five-pound trout.
It was trout fishing at its best.
The ride back to the Ocean Springs Harbor was difficult looking at all the cuts in the center section of the island. It became clear to me that another hurricane would not be good on the fragile island that never rebounded from Georges.
I don't think the island can withstand two more storms before it will become a thing of the past.
And that is so sad.
We need to start a restoration act immediately and then, hope for the best.
This trip was bitter with a sweet taste mixed in. The beauty of the island is down to a stretch of about 10 miles, but the fishing is as good as it has ever been.
Good report/story from Al Jones... my only comments are concerning restoration...... While that is a nice pie in the sky idea.... the fact is these are barrier islands that have been there since the beginning...and have been ever changing...... mother nature is tuff to stop... look at ship island it has changed drastically over the past 150 years.... split open and moving west ....... The islands will rebound in some form but just how much is left to be seen. I disagree with his assertation that the islands never recovered after Georges... while they certainly didnt recover totally ..they had been making significant progress as the sands sifted and moved around out there.
The island was still there but the fishing was sloooooow. We caught maybe 40 trout(All nice fish) in 2 1/2 days fishing with 12 guys. Good thing we had lots of alcohol. Even though we did not catch many fish it was still a lot of fun hanging out for 3 days with 11 of your buddies and zipping around the islands in those little skiffs. Capt.Dean Gladney is a great guy and Chef/Mate/Deckhand Jarred cooks the best prime Rib I have ever eaten. Also ate some fresh Chandelier oysters and they were incredible. Barring any pesky hurricanes we have booked the boat again for Late Sept.Can't Wait.
Although the island is a lot smaller there were lots of Chandy big boats out there so i suspect with the smaller footprint of the island the fishing pressure is greater.
Chandelier 
