Capt. Barry was born and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi and began fishing the Mississippi Gulf Coast when he was 10, catching redfish and shark. At 16, Barry started working as a deck hand on the charter boat, ‘Sand Dollar’ fishing the Gulf waters under Capt. Jim Mowrey, until his retirement from Mississippi Charter fishing.
Barry then began working out of the famous Broadwater Marina in Biloxi on the charter boat ‘Blue Runner’ with Capt. Tony David, a long time charter captain from Biloxi, until his retirement.
Next, he started on the charter boat ‘Fishy Business’ fishing the Gulfport / Biloxi area with Capt. Lenny Desroche, until he moved on to work on the charter boat ‘Mis-Conduct’.
In 1995, after a lifetime of apprenticeship, Captain Barry assumed command of his own boat and started his charter fishing business, 9 Ball Fishing Charters, bringing the wealth of countless hours of first hand experience, and skills grown by serving alongside some of the most experienced Charter Captains the Mississippi Gulf Coast has known.
Sherry Deshamp, Capt. Barry’s wife, won the title as Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo Queen Fisherette for five consecutive years.
In 2003, Sherry received an award for 1st Place Hammerhead Shark. In 2004, she received the award for 1st place Red Snapper.
She competed again for the 2006 and 2014 Rodeo and brought home the title twice more and credits Captain Barry for teaching her everything she knows about fishing.