# Chandeluer Islands trips?



## Wood Smoke (Aug 21, 2018)

Anyone ever done a Chandeluer Islands multi-day, overnight charter trip , especially during October or November?  Any info trip stories, or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks.


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## spurrs and racks (Aug 21, 2018)

https://chandeleurfishingcharters.com/

google is a wonderful thing


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## Ihunt (Aug 21, 2018)

I haven’t but have a buddy that has been a few times. He loves it. He comes home with a roughed up burnt thumb from trying to slow the run down on the bull reds.


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## WaltL1 (Aug 21, 2018)

I have done multi day trips 4 times. When the fish are biting it can be AWESOME, but there is no guarantee the fish will be biting.
Overall the trip is great. Live on the mothership, takes skiffs out fishing etc.
Any specific questions I might be able to help with?


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 21, 2018)

WaltL1 said:


> I have done multi day trips 4 times. When the fish are biting it can be AWESOME, but there is no guarantee the fish will be biting.
> Overall the trip is great. Live on the mothership, takes skiffs out fishing etc.
> Any specific questions I might be able to help with?



Thanks!  Which "mothership" charter(s) have you been with, and did you wade fish or fish out of provided small skiffs?


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 21, 2018)

spurrs and racks said:


> https://chandeleurfishingcharters.com/
> 
> google is a wonderful thing



Yes it is, and any insight from folks that may have been in recent years is certainly worth a listen.


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## WaltL1 (Aug 21, 2018)

Wood Smoke said:


> Thanks!  Which "mothership" charter(s) have you been with, and did you wade fish or fish out of provided small skiffs?


Have been out with Due South
http://www.duesouthcharters.com/
Joka's Wild
https://www.jokaswild.com/
And a couple more I cant remember the names of.
Some have "fancier" motherships than others. Some have a little nicer skiffs than others. But all basically the same and go to basically the same areas.
Most were a combination of small private rooms with a bunkbed and bigger room(s) with multiple bunkbeds.
Don't expect luxury. Expect a decent clean place to sleep. All had really good food. Full "home cooked" meals.
Have done both wade and skiff fishing. Certain times of year are better for wading which your Capt. will advise you of or is on their websites. You will be fishing shallow regardless. 1 - 3 feet deep.
Have never been disappointed with any of the motherships and skiffs.
I want to stress dont expect fantastic fishing just because you are in the Chandeluers.
Fishing is fishing. When its good it can be AWESOME, Bull reds, nice reds, Big trout, little trout. Lots of both. Or it can be just "average" fishing.
Its the overall experience that makes it very cool. Don't think I ever saw more than 1 or 2 other boats that weren't part of your group.
I will say if you are thinking about going this year and haven't booked yet you can probably forget it. We book a year in advance to get the best times of the year. Most all the websites have a calendar.
I leave anything out? Oh and all the prices are basically the same..


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 21, 2018)

WaltL1 said:


> Have been out with Due South
> http://www.duesouthcharters.com/
> Joka's Wild
> https://www.jokaswild.com/
> ...



Excellent and thanks!  I agree that best probability is to plan a year out. Did y'all ever go in the fall/October?


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## WaltL1 (Aug 21, 2018)

Yep I was there last October. Fishing was very good. Nice time to be there.
I think the BIG breeder trout do their thing in early summer though.
Oh and you asked for stories -
My story is..... sharks enjoy te fishing there too 
Wading can be interesting. Typically you are going to have a long stringer with a float to put your fish on. Sharks have figured out trout on a stringer are much easier to catch. Several vids on youtube showing it happen.
Closest they have come to me is about 2 feet away. Lots of large rays too. You have to do the Chandeluer shuffle as you walk to scare them away so you don't step on them.
Oh and make your list and check it twice, if you forget something you aren't getting it anywhere.


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## Mexican Squealer (Aug 21, 2018)

Sounds like a cool experience. Best of luck with it.


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## WaltL1 (Aug 21, 2018)

Mexican Squealer said:


> Sounds like a cool experience. Best of luck with it.


If nothing else the peace and quiet and lack of anybody or anything make it worth it.


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## Longhorn 16 (Aug 21, 2018)

Don’t forget some bug spray or a thermocell. Really nice if the wind lays down and the bugs come after you. 

It’s a great trip!


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 22, 2018)

Longhorn 16 said:


> Don’t forget some bug spray or a thermocell. Really nice if the wind lays down and the bugs come after you.
> 
> It’s a great trip!



A quick add ......, I actually went once with some guys way back in the early '90's. Left out of Biloxi on a really old crappy "mothership" that had been sold by a retiring operator and poorly resurrected by someone trying to get a new charter service started. It was loud inside the cabin area because of a generator running 24/7, stunk because the "head" leaked, lots of musty mold/mildew inside the cabin area, bunks literally on the floor (mine next to the "head"), and disgusting food.  We spent not even one full day anchored at the Chandeleurs before the captain decided to head in and into the marshes because of a brewing storm.  Caught one fish the whole time, got no sleep,  and got eaten alive by mosquitoes in the marsh.


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## WaltL1 (Aug 22, 2018)

Wood Smoke said:


> A quick add ......, I actually went once with some guys way back in the early '90's. Left out of Biloxi on a really old crappy "mothership" that had been sold by a retiring operator and poorly resurrected by someone trying to get a new charter service started. It was loud inside the cabin area because of a generator running 24/7, stunk because the "head" leaked, lots of musty mold/mildew inside the cabin area, bunks literally on the floor (mine next to the "head"), and disgusting food.  We spent not even one full day anchored at the Chandeleurs before the captain decided to head in and into the marshes because of a brewing storm.  Caught one fish the whole time, got no sleep,  and got eaten alive by mosquitoes in the marsh.


Wow that sounds like a nightmare. An expensive nightmare. I would venture to guess that Capt isn't in business anymore.
At least these days you can look o their websites and have a good idea what you are getting into.
And no excuse for nasty food. On my last trip we had gigantic piles of the catch of the day one night, the biggest, juiciest piece of prime rib Ive ever seen the next night, burgers and dogs on the grill for lunches and bacon, eggs, biscuits, sausage, fruit etc for breakfasts. A good Capt. knows a fisherman with a belly full of good food is a happy fisherman.
None of my experiences on the 3 or 4 motherships I have been on were anything like what you described thankfully.


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 22, 2018)

WaltL1 said:


> Wow that sounds like a nightmare. An expensive nightmare. I would venture to guess that Capt isn't in business anymore.
> At least these days you can look o their websites and have a good idea what you are getting into.
> And no excuse for nasty food. On my last trip we had gigantic piles of the catch of the day one night, the biggest, juiciest piece of prime rib Ive ever seen the next night, burgers and dogs on the grill for lunches and bacon, eggs, biscuits, sausage, fruit etc for breakfasts. A good Capt. knows a fisherman with a belly full of good food is a happy fisherman.
> None of my experiences on the 3 or 4 motherships I have been on were anything like what you described thankfully.



Again , thanks for sharing this!  Was your last Oct trip on the "Due South" or "Jokers Wild" ( since you mentioned these)?


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## WaltL1 (Aug 22, 2018)

Wood Smoke said:


> Again , thanks for sharing this!  Was your last Oct trip on the "Due South" or "Jokers Wild" ( since you mentioned these)?


Last Oct. we went out with DMJ Charters  (couldn't remember their name before)
http://dmjcharters.com/
The mothership was the least "fancy" of the motherships but in no way anything like you described above.
From what I remember all the other boats we went out on left out of Biloxi but DMJ was about 1 hour past Biloxi.
Due South was the most "fancy". But again no complaints about any of them.
And glad I can help!


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 22, 2018)

WaltL1 said:


> Last Oct. we went out with DMJ Charters  (couldn't remember their name before)
> http://dmjcharters.com/
> The mothership was the least "fancy" of the motherships but in no way anything like you described above.
> From what I remember all the other boats we went out on left out of Biloxi but DMJ was about 1 hour past Biloxi.
> ...



Thanks, Walt!


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## WaltL1 (Aug 23, 2018)

Wood Smoke said:


> Thanks, Walt!


I talked to some of the other guys and their consensus was Due South would be their top choice based on the mothership. The skiffs/food/service etc were more or less equal across the board.


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 23, 2018)

WaltL1 said:


> I talked to some of the other guys and their consensus was Due South would be their top choice based on the mothership. The skiffs/food/service etc were more or less equal across the board.



Thanks!  Hard to beat good references from folks who have done this. Of course I've just about googled this to death already, and at least by what info is provided on their website, Due South seems to be at/towards the top of a choice list.


How many went with/from YOUR group, and how many days did y'all chose for the charter?


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## WaltL1 (Aug 23, 2018)

Wood Smoke said:


> Thanks!  Hard to beat good references from folks who have done this. Of course I've just about googled this to death already, and at least by what info is provided on their website, Due South seems to be at/towards the top of a choice list.
> 
> 
> How many went with/from YOUR group, and how many days did y'all chose for the charter?


We always had a full boat which was either 10 or 12 depending on the boat and did the 2 1/2 day trips. Left the dock Thurs. night at like midnight, woke up in the Chandeluers Fri morn, fished all day Fri, fished all day Sat. left the Chandeluers Sat evening after dark, back in Biloxi late Sat night, slept on the boat, off the boat Sun. morn. Im pretty sure that what they are calling the 2 1/2 day trips.
Lures were the usual stuff - popping corks with a Gulp shrimp or jig, gold spoons, soft plastics on a jig head and I always bring an ultralight rod to catch pinfish etc. and did well using them for live bait.


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## WaltL1 (Aug 23, 2018)

Oh and 1 more thing -
you can buy maps of the Chandeleurs on line but be warned, most/none are up to date. Katrina etc wiped out big sections of the islands so even though they are on the maps they don't actually exist anymore.


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 23, 2018)

The wishful thinking wheels are already turning, so next step is to put a plan in motion and talk to some family & friends about a trip.  Might be next year, but hey you gotta start somewhere!


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## WaltL1 (Aug 23, 2018)

Wood Smoke said:


> The wishful thinking wheels are already turning, so next step is to put a plan in motion and talk to some family & friends about a trip.  Might be next year, but hey you gotta start somewhere!


Well it looks like you are starting out the right way!
And I don't know if costs are a concern to you but if you want to keep them down and don't come up with a full boat. lots of times Capts can help fill up the boat for you. Often times groups of 2 or 3 etc guys will give the Capts their names in hopes of getting on boats that aren't full.


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 25, 2018)

WaltL1 said:


> We always had a full boat which was either 10 or 12 depending on the boat and did the 2 1/2 day trips. Left the dock Thurs. night at like midnight, woke up in the Chandeluers Fri morn, fished all day Fri, fished all day Sat. left the Chandeluers Sat evening after dark, back in Biloxi late Sat night, slept on the boat, off the boat Sun. morn. Im pretty sure that what they are calling the 2 1/2 day trips.
> Lures were the usual stuff - popping corks with a Gulp shrimp or jig, gold spoons, soft plastics on a jig head and I always bring an ultralight rod to catch pinfish etc. and did well using them for live bait.



Walt, on your fall/October trips did y'all wade fish a lot or fish mostly from the skiffs so you could move often as needed to locate fish?  Also, are y'all going again this year?


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## WaltL1 (Aug 25, 2018)

Wood Smoke said:


> Walt, on your fall/October trips did y'all wade fish a lot or fish mostly from the skiffs so you could move often as needed to locate fish?  Also, are y'all going again this year?


We mostly fished from the skiffs mainly because we couldn't find the fish stacked up in one place. We would drift, catch one, put out the anchor, catch a few more then when the bite stopped pull the anchor and drift some more and repeat as necessary. Sometimes you can find them stacked up in one area and get out of the skiff and catch them one after the other. I like to wade a lot because sitting or even standing in the skiff for too long gives me back aches.
We are not going this year. We have a group of guys and we go somewhere every year and this year we are going to St. George Island.
However the Chandeluers is our favorite trip due to the overall experience.
And don't hesitate to call a few Capts and pick their brains. We have found them to be very helpful as most of their business is based off repeat customers so they are very helpful as they want you back over and over and don't just tell you anything to get you out there once. Its not a trip for everybody so they live off repeat customers.


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## WaltL1 (Aug 25, 2018)

Oh yeah, one of the big advantages to wading is you will be fishing shallow. You can waste a lot of time trying to get your skiff un-stuck. Anchor it in a little deeper water and then can wade into the real shallow stuff particularly if you are targeting reds.
We learned that the hard way.....


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## Wood Smoke (Aug 25, 2018)

WaltL1 said:


> We mostly fished from the skiffs mainly because we couldn't find the fish stacked up in one place. We would drift, catch one, put out the anchor, catch a few more then when the bite stopped pull the anchor and drift some more and repeat as necessary. Sometimes you can find them stacked up in one area and get out of the skiff and catch them one after the other. I like to wade a lot because sitting or even standing in the skiff for too long gives me back aches.
> We are not going this year. We have a group of guys and we go somewhere every year and this year we are going to St. George Island.
> However the Chandeluers is our favorite trip due to the overall experience.
> And don't hesitate to call a few Capts and pick their brains. We have found them to be very helpful as most of their business is based off repeat customers so they are very helpful as they want you back over and over and don't just tell you anything to get you out there once. Its not a trip for everybody so they live off repeat customers.



Thanks. Interestingly, I've tried to figure out which charters have skiffs with provided boat seats with seat backs.  No seats with backs, then I probably won't be on that that boat! Haha ?  Spent tons of hours over the years in jon boats, gheenoes/RiverHawks etc. Fastest way to an achy back, knees, etc while fishing is doing so without a comfortable seat!!


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