I live and guide in the same town I was born in, Bay St Louis, MS. We now have 4 full-time guides and when we are running trips together, we stay on the VHF radios. Some of the spots we fish you just can’t announce on the radio where the fish are biting. I run into people all the time saying the same thing, “Man, we hear you guys on the VHF all day long, where the hell are you guys fishing.” The places we talk about on the radio you will never find on a map (I don’t care where you buy it from). Names like “Poo Poo Lagoon”, or “Drunk Island” are the names we use to communicate with each other. So, if you were not on my boat the day Captain Matt answered the call of nature while we were red fishing in that pretty little stretch of broken marsh, don’t bother with a Google Earth search. If you were not fishing the day Captain Kenny’s crew passed out and he had to finish out their trout limit, you will never find it on a map. Chances are though if you have fished or hunted the same area a couple of times, and you have probably nicknamed the spot. Some of these spots were given their names because of sentimental reasons, others for comedic episodes that occurred there. Most of the nicknames are given between guides or fishing and hunting buddies to keep their secret spots a secret. I had to call a few of my buddies to ask about some of their “Secret Named Spots.” If it makes you feel any better, even after they gave me the story behind the name, none of them even told me where it was on the map. Enjoy…
Capt Lenny Maiolatesi
Fighting Chicken Sportfishing
www.fightingchickensportfishing.com
228-326-3180
Ocean Springs, MS
“We do a lot of deep dropping for grouper and other bottom fish. We found a spot east of the Mississippi River that we call the “Klondike.” I and my fishing buddies found this huge rise in the Gulf floor and named it after the Klondike Gold Rush. If we were fishing, it was a race to get to it first, that sucker was loaded with the biggest scamp grouper you have ever seen. Just like the gold rush though, it fizzled out when the “endangered” red snapper took it over. You can’t get a bait through them now, we don’t even fish it anymore, but it was incredible for a while.”
Capt Reed Gilmore
Capt Charlie Thompson’s Bayou Charters
www.captcharlie.com
504-278-3474
Hopedale
“One of my favorite spots to fish we call the “Dough-Nut”. The bay we fish is shaped like a doughnut, but there is a nice oyster reef in the middle of it. The doughnut is in a popular area that we gave a name that just stuck.”
Capt Kyle Jarreau
Shore Thing Fishing Charters
www.shorethingcharters.com
228-342-2206
Bay St Louis, MS
“We got a spot that everyone, and I mean everyone fishes in the marsh. Some days there will be 75 boats fishing the same reef and it looks like a Wal-Mart parking lot. We gave that spot the name “Wally World” but it kind of has two meanings. A good friend of ours, named Wally Thurmond, always sets up on a little break in this spot. He has been fishing the area for years and knows it better than anyone. That one break usually holds the biggest trout, if you fish it right. So even if we say we are fishing at “Wally World” it actually may mean two areas in the same spot.”
Capt Tommy Pelligren
Custom Charters LLC
www.customchartersllc.com
985-851-3304
Cocodrie, LA
“I was fishing out in Ship Shoal 15 years ago, this was back when I was running my 25-foot Robalo. I was catching fish under a rig that had four or five stories of living quarters on it, and they were all painted bright white. I was trying to tell someone where I was going the next day, and I just said, “The White House.” That name just stuck and to this day everyone still calls it that. Some of my buddies even call it “The Presidential Palace”, cause everyone knows the old name.”
Capt Alex McIngvale
Super Strike Charters(Spring/Summer)
www.superstrikecharters.com
985-960-1900
Venice, LA
Iron Man Outfitters(Fall/Winter)
duckguide@hotmail.com
662-404-0097
Hernando, MS
“Seems like every oil rig we (guides) fish we have given a name. We got “snakehead”, “little fat man”, and of course “The Compound.” If we fish it, someone has given it a name; the trick is trying to remember them all. Now, when I am guiding duck and goose hunts up in North Mississippi we got blind we call “Rehab.” Originally it was a place us guides used to hunt on our days off, just to get our heads right. Well, it was just a great spot so we built a big 300 square foot blind on it. Now it is a place where duck junkies can go and get the help they need.”
I wish it were not so, but something’s we, as outdoorsmen sometimes have to keep to ourselves, especially when you do it for a living. Finding that “go to” spot and sharing with others is one of my favorite things to do, but you have to be careful with certain pieces of information. Overfishing or over hunting an area can ruin it for generations. Speaking in code or giving a spot that nickname should not be looked down upon by those who do not understand the meaning.
Take a kid or first timer fishing or hunting and create your own secret nicknames. Trust memories and nicknames; they will last much longer than what is in your freezer. As always, have fun and be safe.
Captain Sonny Schindler
Shore Thing Fishing Charters
Bay St Louis, MS
228-342-2295
www.shorethingcharters.com