http://www.MS-Sportsman.com April 2015 | Mississippi Sportsman 69
great currents during tide movements — especially where it
pours through the breaks in the reef — and has good current
breaks on each side of the openings in the reef where the trout
can hang waiting to ambush prey and has 10-feet of water just
off the reef,” he said of Gene Taylor Reef.
The baits Barnes uses is dependent on a number of factors:
water clarity, depth, current and time of month.
For most of the month, he uses various colors of Matrix or
Vortex Shad based on water clarity, with depth and current
determining the size jighead he uses.
“April and May is a period where I use a lot of the shrimp
Creole, shrimp cocktail and kamikaze (colors) in clear water
or bright sunny days for trout feeding on shrimp,” Barnes
said. “I will also fish a lot of magneto on sunny days in clear
water when the trout are feeding on pogies and mullet.
“If it is a cloudy day or the water gets dirty from spring rains, I
switch over to darker colors such as the green hornet, blazing
hornet, spartacus or purple haze.
“Jig size is always decided by tidal flow, wind, water depth and
where the fish are located in the water column for that day,
which also controls what type of retrieve you might have to
use. One day the trout may want your jig hopped aggressively
off the bottom and will hit it almost every time on the fall, and
the next day they may want it slowly swimming on the bottom
or just under the surface or anywhere in between.”
The three days before and after a full moon, Barnes will use some
type of MirrOlure or other hard bait to simulate a finfish that’ll
attract the larger females who are feeding up for the spawn.
“Big female trout feed mostly on big forage, like finfish,” Barnes
said. “So, for that reason, during the three-day period prior toa full moon and the three-day period after a full moon I always
have at least two different models of jerk baits and a topwater
lure tied on three separate rods at all times: MirrOlures or
Corkies and a Super Spook Jr. or a Skitter Walk.”
Water depth plays a part in choosing subsurface lures.
“I will fish a faster-sinking 52MR or a TTR for water in the 6-
to 8-foot depth range and slower-sinking suspending baits like
a 17MR, Catch 2000, Catch 5000 or some model of Corky in
water under 6 feet deep,” he said. “I throw jerk baits and top-
waters a lot during the three-day period prior and three-day
period after a full moon each month because the opportunities
of catching a truly big trout are greatly increased during this
six-day period due to the big females needing to feed heavily
and spawn — and big females love big food.”
According to Barnes, trout will spawn from April all the
way into September, but he catches most of the bigger females
during April and May.
The full moon this month is on April 4. What better April
Fools gag could you come up with than to trick a giant female
trout into hitting an artificial lure? April Fools, big girl! You just
ate a chunk of plastic!
MS-Sportsman.com features lunar tables right at your finger
tips under the Weather tab. Lunar tables are in the back of this
magazine; these tables also provide primary feeding times that
are beneficial when planning a trip.
A little planning and the right tackle go a long way. Take some
time right now and plan a trout-catching trip during the first
week of April.
You just might bring home a big girl for dinner — and I ain’t
talking about your mother-in-law. ■