There’s more than fly fishing here!
End of the Line Close Look
October 2026
By Polly Dean
Though heading to Biloxi, Mississippi for this coastal town’s saltwater angling is reason enough to visit, adding a few extra days for enjoying the other activities that Biloxi has to offer will add to your experience. The reason for On the Fly’s visit was to do some fly fishing in saltwater. In addition to great fishing, we were fortunate to have enough free time for sampling some of the area’s other offerings.
Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
Our headquarters was Hotel Biloxi, a small boutique hotel located on the waterfront of Biloxi. This location was ideal in that it was a very short distance to the marina at the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor where we met our fishing guide for the early morning trips. It also is just a short walk or drive to a variety of great restaurants. Also, immediately across the street was the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino. The Beau Rivage turned out to be a great place for finding entertainment during a couple of our evenings. We could just walk across the street for a short visit to the gaming area, but we also got to sip cocktails in the casino’s Eight75 lounge, while enjoying a variety of talented singers and musicians.
The Biloxi Shrimping Trip boat. Photo by Polly Dean. Inset photo of what was caught in the trawl. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
The marina also was where we met our tour boat for the Biloxi Shrimping Trip. This was a 70-minute tour where we navigated the waters of the relatively shallow Mississippi Sound between Deer Island and the coastline of Biloxi. We learned how the large nets of the commercial shrimpers are operated while harvesting some of the area’s shrimp. Other varieties of sea life were also collected in the nets. We also gleaned information about the timing of the arrival of both the brown and larger white shrimp in the local waters. Being an angler, that information and the rest of the shrimp tour was helpful in that it gave us a better understanding of the life cycle of the main forage for most of the fish we were targeting with the fly.
McElroy’s in the evening with our blackened redfish. Photos by Polly Dean.
Also located at the marina, is McElroy’s Harbor House, a popular restaurant that will prepare and serve your fresh catch. We opted to take one of our redfish caught that day to McElroy’s, and have it blackened. It was delicious. Other restaurants we dined at were Mary Mahoney’s (featured in this month’s End of the Line column) and The Blind Tiger. Those were excellent as well!
The Blind Tiger. Photos by Polly Dean.
Just next door to Hotel Biloxi is Keesler Federal Park. The park is home to Biloxi’s minor league baseball team, the Biloxi Shuckers of the Double A Southern League. One of their games can be a lot of fun during the spring through summer season.
If you’re like me, there isn’t much better than a day at the beach. Biloxi Beach starts beside the Beau Rivage and continues unbroken for more than three miles to the west. Additionally, in that direction you will also find Beauvoir, the history home once owned by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and open for public tours.
Make Biloxi a destination for your next fishing adventure and plan enough time to sample the many activities that this southern city has to offer. For more information click here.
