MP296C & MP289C with Greg & Marty on 2018 Sept 9© Photos Posted by Mark Primo Miller © Hi-Res Source
This started as a solo trip with Greg Gillespie of Tupelo but Marty McGrath of Ocean Springs jumped on as well. Greg wanted to go and started texting on Friday Afternoon. He even put up a Facebook Post to find some others to go when I told him that I would take just him if he was paying for all the fuel. He didn't hesitate and said he was packing. Within 30 minutes he messaged that he was leaving Tupelo (a 5 hour drive). I put out some feelers and Marty jumped on and said he had 2 others who wanted to fish but they never showed up. We went to the West due to some reports we got about some nice water there which was unusual. We hit the Shrimp Boat Capt Eric III on the way and filmed some of the Shark Action. We were in a hurry and the visibility was not ideal so we did not dive here but put the GoPro on a stick and got the footage below. Heading on out toward the City Rigs, Greg and Marty dropped down on MP236 in about 175 feet of water but reported no AJs and only a bunch of Red Snapper, big ones. Also the water went murky past 70 feet. As we proceeded South we came across a small tide rip and found a barrel floating with a few small Triple Tail on it and some small crack baits which we caught on Sabikis. We then moved on toward the Mississippi Cutoffs in about 180 feet of water and the water turned murky all the way up the water column. I still dropped on it but missed the structure probably due to current. We moved on toward MP296C and stopped at a cutoff on the way. A fishing line got hung and so I decided to try and drop there since I was more confident about being able to hit the structure, but the fishing line came loose upon my descent and I missed the structure anyway and didn't see any fish. We then pushed on to MP296C on the edge of the shelf where we found somewhat murky water. I dove there anyway, didn't see any AJs, struggled to shoot the fast swimming Mangrove Snapper and settled for a small fast swimming Horse-Eye Jack, which was delicous eating the next day. We did catch a Lane Snapper on a wish stick which Greg made Ceviche out of the next day. Anyway, we were frustrated and ran much farther east in search of clearer water. Marty dove on MP270A where the water just started to clear up but reported no AJs there either. We pushed more East and then decided to hit an old favorite, MP289C near the Salt Dome in about 330 feet of water. Both Greg and I landed AJs in the mid 40 pound class. Marty shot several AJs and Mangroves but was plagued by his spear tip pulling out, probably due to deteriorated rubber springs that allowed the barbs to close up. The visibility there was dark due to the Sun getting low on the horizon and afterward we ran straight back. Total trip encompassed 195 miles, 101 gallons of fuel, and 15.5 hours.
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