Vacations and summer go together like the National Football League and horrendous officiating, and for me, no trip away from home is actually a vacation unless it involves water. The latest getaway for the Marsh Man Masson clan was a short jaunt over to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, near the town — and waterbody — of Bay St. Louis.

During my formative years, my aunt and uncle kept a camp near Bay St. Louis, on the bank of Bayou La Croix, and were kind enough to invite my family and me numerous times before they sold it in the early 1980s. Whenever I was there, I’d fish from sunup to sundown off their dock, catching croakers, white trout and the odd redfish while throwing Carolina-rigged bait shrimp.

My fishing methods have changed quite a bit since then, but my experience with the Mississippi coast hasn’t. Prior to our recent vacation, I had never fished the region again.

So I was eager to see what I could find. Fishing new water is my greatest joy in the outdoors. I lower the bar of what I consider a successful trip, and simply go exploring, searching for marsh features that should hold fish given the day’s conditions. Then I see if I can find what what those fish are willing to eat.

It didn’t take long to get my first bite during my maiden voyage into the Mississippi marsh, and I certainly learned a lot as the day went on. I had a blast testing my skills against the Magnolia State’s wetlands, despite some challenging conditions. Although winds were mostly calm, temperatures were higher than a Colorado college dropout and the tide moved almost not at all. Skies were clear, and barometric pressure was high.

Check out all the action in the video below.

Like the video? Please give it a thumbs-up, and subscribe to the Marsh Man Masson channel on YouTube. Also, leave a comment below or on the YouTube page. Have you ever fished this section of the Mississippi coast? If so, how’d you fare? In general, do you enjoy fishing new states or otherwise unfamiliar areas to see what you can find?