A full 320 years ago, when famed explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville was searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, his quest was hindered by a 50-mile-long speed bump of shell and sand that ran north-south in the open Gulf of Mexico.

Iberville made a brief stop, and christened the island chain on the eve of Fete de la Chandeleur, a Christian feast day.

And so the Chandeleur Island chain became known to the West.

Though it’s been beaten and bruised by hellish storms and natural subsidence since then, the chain is still emergent today, and functions as a piscatorial meat market for speckled trout looking to hook up and feast during the annual summer spawn.

The islands are close to nowhere, and because of that, they receive little fishing pressure, when compared to more inland hotspots. Anglers who make the long run from Southeast Louisiana or Southern Mississippi almost always have their pick of spots, and don’t have to constantly glance over their shoulders for potlickers looking to capitalize on their labor.

That’s especially true for fishermen who sleep out at the chain aboard the Chandeleur Islander (chandeleur-islander.com), a jack-up barge positioned at ground zero of the hottest action.

For Capt. Justin Bowles (jbfishingcharters.com), Kevin Ford, Gem Ceasar and me, the Islander served as our home one night last week as we set out for hot wade fishing action. It was an amazing experience.

To see the details, be sure to check out 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 been the Chandeleur Islands? If so, how’d you do? What is your opinion of wade fishing in general?