PLEASE KEEP STEVE IN YOUR PRAYERS!!!
A few days ago Capt. Steve West of the charter boat Mr. Champ had a severe stroke in northern Mississippi while deer hunting. Although Steve is still in bad shape the doctors have a good outlook on his recovery. Steve is one of the finest captains and all around good men I know, so please pray for Steve to have a fast and complete recovery. The quality and reputation of our business is built around men like Steve.
LIGHT TACKLE CHARTER FISHING PRICES: Half-a-day (5-hours) trips aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS go for $350, and all-day trips go for $450. Ice, bait, tackle, fuel, MS fishing license, as well as fish cleaning is all included in the price. Better yet, 4 anglers can divide up that price making it extremely affordable to spend a day fishing in south Mississippi with Capt. Brodie. Last season was a record setting one for TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS, and clients are already booking trips for 2010. So don’t wait, if you’re planning a visit to south Mississippi this year be sure to book your trip now before your days available to fish are booked up. Fishing and hunting these waters practically every day since the age of 5, Capt. Robert L. Brodie has nearly 50-years of experience on these waters, as well as nearly an eighty-percent comeback clientele.
DUCK HUNTING PRICES REDUCED FOR JANUARY – Throughout the month of January the diving duck hunting trips aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS are being reduced from $450 to $350, thus making the hunts a bit more affordable, and making multiple two-day or more hunts a bit more affordable too. Remember, Mississippi’s duck season closes on January 31, so be sure to book your trip before the end of the month.
ABOVE: Capt. Robert L. Brodie posing with redheads, bluebills, and buffleheads bagged on the Mississippi Sound. Photo taken December 11, 2009 by Rob Langlinais
Now back to Capt. Brodie’s duck hunting and fishing reports…
Just finished up two duck hunts in a row on Saturday and Sunday. Well, the good news is that I had a couple of great clients that were a blast to hunt with, but the bad new is that the birds just didn’t want to fly very much on those two days.
ABOVE: Jay Robinson of Gainesville, Florida and a fine drake bluebill he shot while hunting on the Mississippi Sound aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
On the first hunt I had Jay Robinson and Jim Boyle from Gainesville, Florida aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS for a south Mississippi diving duck hunt, and we managed to take 6 birds on that hunt, a combination of bluebills and buffleheads.
ABOVE: Jay Robinson, Jim Boyle a.k.a. “Indian Jim”, and Andrew “I Can’t Feel My Toes” Cain with drake redhead and buffleheads they bagged while hunting on the Mississippi Sound aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
However, Jim, a.k.a. “Indian Jim” or “King of the Divers Jim” had an opportunity for a big drake canvasback a.k.a. “King of the Divers”, but the big fast moving bird in a stiff cross wind managed to elude Jim’s pattern of number 4’s and depart unscathed. After that, well, it was a long day for Jim, and the word canvasback managed to come up in our conversations for the rest of the day, and I mean until the time we departed the launch that afternoon.
ABOVE: Jay Robinson of Gainesville, Florida poses with a fine drake bluebill he bagged while hunting aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS on the Mississippi Sound. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
To be honest the word canvasback came up all during the day of the second hunt, and it just seemed no one was about to let Jim off the hook for missing that trophy bird. However, it gave us plenty to laugh and joke about, and added much fun to a slow hunt.
ABOVE: Jim Boyle from Gainesville, Florida poses with a gorgeous drake bufflehead he shot on the Mississippi Sound while hunting aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
Although the flights were down on these hunts from the previous outings, well, we were surprised by that especially since we had cold and windy conditions to hunt in. Oh, they had ample opportunities to get two limits on the first day, but it seemed they were cold, all bundled up, shooting from an awkward position, and had a lot of trouble hitting their mark with a stiff north wind in their face.
ABOVE: Jay Robinson, Jim Boyle, and Andrew Cain from Gainesville, Florida pose with a drake redhead and buffleheads they shot on the Mississippi Sound while hunting aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
Trying to put a finger on the birds lack of movement is a tough call, but we think the big bright full “blue moon” may have had the birds feeding at night, and then resting during the day. On the second hunt it was much of the same, and Andrew Cain joined the guys. This time I decided to take them to a big open water sand bar in the Mississippi Sound, and give them a taste of gunning birds in that fashion.
Hunting out of the 19-foot G3 fitted with an Avery Pop Up Blind was our method on this outing, and early on the buffleheads moved well, and plenty of ducks were moving about way out on the horizon. Most of these big flocks were merely getting up and flying a short distance to stretch their wings.
ABOVE: Jim Boyle and Jay Robinson from Gainesville, Florida pose with bluebills and buffleheads they shot on their first day of hunting with Capt. Brodie aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
The guys shot a number of buffleheads, and three of them were beautiful drakes. Jim is going to get a couple mounted for the wall too. Three drake redheads came flying over, and one of them was downed hard into the decoys. Ok, 12 ducks in two days isn’t a lot of birds, but the men hunted hard despite being frozen for most of the hunting duration.
ABOVE: Redheads, especially big drakes are the premier ducks on the Mississippi Sound. Redheads are a big heavy-body bird, and excellent on the dinner table. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
Had my good friend Eddie Jones along assisting me, and if you know Eddie, well, he has enough wild and crazy stories to keep one from being bored on the slowest of hunting days. Heck, we all traded plenty of hunting experiences, and had plenty of laughs to get us through the slow hunts. Bottom line, we still managed to shoot a few ducks, enjoy the many sights the marsh has to offer, and made new friends in the process.
ABOVE: Buffleheads commonly referred to as “sea doves” or “butter balls” provide excellent diving duck gunning. Speedy, small in size, and flying low on the water these wee ducks provide challenging gunning. Drakes like this one Jim Boyle is holding are gorgeous birds, and are often pursued for trophy birds. Photo by Capt. Robert L. Brodie
By the way, Jay is a captain in the military, will be heading back to Afghanistan for two more years, and will be out of duck hunting for quite some time. Looking forward to taking him again in two years from now, and hopefully it will be one of those “bang em up” hunts. Jay keep yourself safe over there returning safely to pursue the wily ducks once again. We’ll keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
Jay, Jim, and Andrew it was a pleasure and loads of fun to hunt with you gentlemen, and hopefully you Florida boys have thawed out by now. And Jim, like I mentioned to you, that Florida pompano fishing that I specialize in at Mississippi’s barrier islands is a lot of fun if you opt to come back down this summer.
Looks like there is some record cold weather on the way, and hopefully it will deliver loads of ducks by next week.
Until the next hunting or fishing adventure aboard TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS, keep it safe out there, and enjoy the many bounties south Mississippi has to offer.
Regards and many thanks to all,
Capt. Robert L. Brodie of TEAM BRODIE CHARTERS
Cell (228) 697-7707 Primary Number
Home (228) 392-7660 Answering Machine
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Captain Robert L. Brodie of Team Brodie Charters specializes in guided light tackle fishing, guided duck hunting, professional outdoor photography and writing. Drawing from over 45 years of fishing and hunting experiences, Capt. Brodie's articles and photographs have been featured in numerous articles in state, regional. and national publications.
