Snapper on the Surface

 By Alan White

The snapper rose toward the water's surface like big orange balloons floating aimlessly in a blue-green sky. 

They were steadily, yet cautiously rising to the Chum Churn's seemingly irresistible sounds and scents.

Only 90 seconds before, the Chum Churn had been used to create a series of deep-throated thrashing sounds on the rolling Gulf's surface.

Then bits and pieces of baitfish came squirting out of its sides, clouding the clear saltwater with an oily slick, ringing the dinner bell for any self-respecting fish in the area. 

Seven sets of eyes peered into the depths from the Geaux Fish Charter boat.  Mouths held agape and amazement stunning their owner's faces, the spectacle unfolding before them froze them in place until a sudden rush of adrenaline brings them back from a collective trance-like stupor to the realization of why they are where they are-it is time to drop the baits and catch fish.

We were fishing out of Biloxi's Isle of Capri Marina at the invitation of Capt. Mark Seymour of Geaux Fish Charters to film a segment for the Southern Experience television show.

The show's producers, Hal Scheurich and Phil Huber of Parallax Productions would be behind the cameras and Jody Fountain would be manning the helm.

Also along for the adventure were Belinda Lister with The Whitetail Trail and Capt. Seymour's good friend, Kyrt Wentzell, who also is the inventor of the Chum Churn.

It was the middle of May and the seas were on the rough side.  After what was really a short hour's ride, but made to feel longer by the 5- to 6-foot seas, we tied up to the first rig to which we came.

Plans for going further offshore had been thwarted by the wind and waves. While we were underway, Wentzell described the Chum Churn and how it works.

He said the biggest advantage to using the churn over traditional chumming methods is that it not only creates a good slick, it also recreates the sounds of a fish feeding frenzy.

Wentzell said the Chum Churn is relatively simple to use and after a short demonstration , I quickly knew what to do.

Whole fish are inserted through a large, re-sealable hole in the side of the device.  Then you just stick it in the water and move it up and down in a plunger-like fashion.

The plunging motion causes stainless steel blades inside the churn to chop the fish inside into a chum-like mulch while simultaneously imitating the sounds of a fish-feeding frenzy on the surface. 

The small pieces of chum pass through a grate-like system of cuts in the churn's side, located just below where the chumming action takes place.

There is very little mess in your boat or on your hands and the whole churn is easy to clean. 

Capt. Seymour has used his friend's invention before and knew the effectiveness, but the rest of us were cautiously skeptical.  In fact, Capt. Seymour keeps the Chum Churn on his boat at all times and finds that often it turns a slow day of  fishing into an overwhelmingly successful day.

All in all it took about 90 seconds to make believers out of the whole lot of us.  When the shock of seeing these huge snapper rising toward us wore off things really started to heat up on board.

The cameras started rolling and the captain began instructing us on how to fish this unorthodox situation.

"Don't let your lines get tight! Keep them drifting out for a natural, dead presentation," he said.  "If the fish see any resistance against the current, they won't hit the bait."

Several free-lined dead cigar minnows quickly hit the water.  We pulled line from the reels trying to keep our baits floating naturally with the current.  In no time, two of the big boat rods were bending toward the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. 

When the first snapper was landed-- a beautiful 17-pounder--I knew we were in for some exciting fishing.  Someone screamed, "I saw the fish hit my bait... he's on, he's on!"

The action was so fast and the fish of such a large size that Belinda asked for a belly belt so the end of the rod wouldn't cause so much pain to her midsection.  I heard Capt. Seymour yell for the gaff,  meaning another big snapper was at the boat.

The frantic activity on the boat did not slow down for another 15 minutes and when it did, we took a look around and realized that every fish we had caught was well over 16 inches, the minimum keeper size.

We took a short break, placed the Chum Churn back in the water and started the whole process in motion once more.  Before the morning was over, we had used the Chum Churn five times and each time saw the big snapper rise to it's beckon call.

When I asked Capt. Seymour why all the fish we were catching were large, he said, "The big fish "bully" the small ones away when they think there's a feeding frenzy taking place and that's exactly what the Chum Churn duplicates.  When you drop a weighted bait to the bottom, the smaller, quicker fish are the first to bite  it down there where it's safe for them to feed.

"By using the Chum Churn, we can almost always eliminate the 'squealers', the small ones that you have to throw back or that just rob your bait."

Wentzell also said the Chum Churn will let you know what kind of fish you're on when you pull up to a spot.

"If you pull up to one spot and all you see coming to the surface is bonita and Jack Crevalle, then you just move to another spot until you find the species you are looking for," he said.  This morning we happened to find snapper on the first hole, but you have to realize that there was another boat about 100 yards away and they were bottom fishing.  They finally pulled up and left because they weren't catching any fish.

"The Chum Churn can attract all types of fish from 360 degrees around your boat because of the sound it makes and the chum-slick it creates keeps the fish in your area once they come to investigate the sound."

Finally, everyone on the boat tired of hauling in the big snapper and the heat and the waves were getting worse, so we decided to troll for some king mackerel.

Leaving big, feeding snapper is not something you do every day, but the mission of our trip had been accomplished.  We had plenty of good film shot for the show. 

Soon, we learned that Capt. Seymour was equally good at finding king and Spanish mackerel. 

We caught several nice members of each species and I even brought a chicken dolphin over the side as we slowly trolled our way back to the dock.

If you want to make the most of your fishing trip,  give the Chum Churn a try.  It works for a large variety of saltwater species and even works for freshwater catfish and stripers. 

To get a copy of this magazine, visit the website at www.gcomag.com/products and request a copy of the July 2000 issue. 

To book a trip with Capt. Mark Seymour aboard Geaux Fish Charters, call 1-228-826-2996 or visit their web site at www.geauxfishcharters.com

If you would like a video of this fishing trip,  along with footage of other awesome trips, all on one tape.  You can order a copy  for $9.95, that includes shipping.  This is a total of 2 hours of great fishing shows!  Contact us at (toll free) #877-350-8060 or e-mail us at (mail@chumchurn.com).  We accept VISA or Mastercard, Money Orders, and Personal Checks. Please specify that you want the footage on this page on your video.