Just 12 miles or so off the eastern end of Mississippi's mainland lie two barrier islands. Kissed by the Gulf of Mexico on their southerly surf-caressed shores, and facing the expansive nutrient-enriched Mississippi Sound on their northern shores, Petit Bois Island and Horn Island hold plenty of fish, and especially redfish despite the storm's savage beating.

The isles still show scars of Hurricane Katrina -- extreme erosion is apparent on their beaches and eastern ends -- but still, a magnificent paradise awaits those willing to explore their beautiful sun-bleaches shores. At these pristine isles, anglers are blesses with all sorts of marine environs that redfish like to frequent, and fishermen can take the challenge of finding and catching reds using a variety of tactics. Try wade fishing, surf fishing, drifting or poling, or simply arm yourself with rod and reel while walking along the isle's sandy shores.

According to Bobby Raynor of D'Iberville, one of the area's seasoned anglers, redfish are common catches around the isles if you know how to find and fish them. Topwater baits are his favorite lures for barrier island reds, because he loves the surface explosion when they hit the lure.

"Since I use light tackle, smaller surface baits like the Top Dog Juniors and Skitter Walks are a bit easier to throw," he said. "Also, since tossing a heavy topwater bait can place a lot of stress on the line just above the knot, a foot length or so of double line made by using a spider hitch is used. Just an extra bit of insurance since the single line receives so much stress."

It seems as if these islands offer something for everyone -- and in these clear waters, anglers can expect spectacular sight-fishing when reds are encountered prowling in the shallows all along the islands' perimeters. Gin-clear waters, vast patches of dark-green grassbeds, sandbars, flats, gullies, lagoons, points and holes are all plentiful -- and all frequented by summertime redfish.

August is an excellent month for stalking these barrier island redfish -- and generally, the action gets better as September approaches.

As for tackle, Raynor employs Ambassadeur 4600 or Shimano Calcutta 150 baitcasting reels spooled with 10- or 12-pound-test, mounting them by preference on 6 1/2- or 7-foot fast-action rods. For an extra challenge, he breaks out ultralight spinning gear when plenty of slot-sized redfish in the 3 1/2- to 8-pound range are running. Generally he's fishing with 4-pound-test line with a 2-foot length of 25- or 30-pound-test fluorocarbon leader material to prevent breakoffs of the thin line.

"Most of my best fishing in those waters is near the peak of either a rising or falling tide," Raynor noted. "However, I prefer a rising tide, because the fish are roaming closer to the beach and are easier to see over a bare sand bottom. Over the darker colored grassbeds they can be much harder to see, and don't stand out like fish on a sandy bottom.

"At the islands you'll see most of the fish cruising, not tailing, and when active they'll generally be chasing baitfish," he added.