
Features from May 2019
- These four lakes on the famed Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway are worth the attention of any Mississippi bass fisherman. Try one out soon.
- Understanding how to leverage the annual mayfly to fill the boat with chunky bream. They work well early spring to mid-summer, especially in low water.
- Fishing from a kayak gives anglers access to all kinds of great Mississippi bass waters, some that bass boats can’t access. Learn the basics here.
- Relatively small factors can make a huge difference in targeting speckled trout that begin spawning in Gulf waters in May.
- Don’t make the mistake of thinking that crappie fishing is over, just because the spawn is past. Keep catching slabs using these tactics.

Columns - May 2019
- May is a good time for planting spring wildlife food plots for white-tailed deer. There are also spin-off residual benefits for other game like wild turkey, quail, dove and even small game like rabbits.
- How to fish topwaters and truly understanding how their limitless upside allows you to fish them confidently for speckled trout.
- This month’s recipe for Parchment paper grilled fish is based on a deep-water ocean bottomfish. Which is available from your favorite fish market.
- Ross Barnett is one of the best topwater lakes in Mississippi, especially in May. Bass will be in the postspawn mode on the 33,000-acre reservoir.
- Swordfish (Xiphias gladius), often referred to as broadbills or broadbill swordfish, are highly sought-after by offshore anglers around the world.
- Alligator gar are long-lived, primitive fish that grow to sizes exceeding 7 feet and 200 pounds. Spawning occurs in May and June in Mississippi waters.
- A new artificial lure on the shelves and in tackleboxes is doing more, much more, than giving lip service to the process of catching bass.
- Unfortunately, many cameras on sale are often non-camouflaged. Well no need to spend more money. The cameras can be self-painted for only pennies in cost.

Outdoor Updates - May 2019
- The application process for Mississippi’s 2019 alligator hunting season will begin May 31, with only electronic applications accepted through June 6.
- Mississippi’s hand-grabbing season opens May 1 and runs through July 15, which is timed to match the spawning season of flathead and blue catfish.
- The two latest confirmed cases of chronic wasting disease in Mississippi’s free-ranging deer herd brings the total to 19, causing the North CWD Management Zone to expand south.
- The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks opened its latest shooting range; the 300-acre McIvor Shooting Facility at the Charles Ray Nix Wildlife Management Area near Sardis.
- May begins serious fishing for bluegill and other sunfish around Mississippi.
- Mississippi hunters will again have a chance to take squirrels this month when the statewide spring season opens May 15. It ends on June 1.
- The cricket vs. worm argument is an old one. Live bait is a necessary evil of bream fishing, especially in the spring when bluegill are on their beds.
Field Notes - May 2019
- Turkey hunters find at the end of turkey season that most “easy” turkeys have been killed, and the remaining ones are more wary and won’t come to calls.
- May is a good time for planting spring wildlife food plots for white-tailed deer. There are also spin-off residual benefits for other game like wild turkey, quail, dove and even small game like rabbits.
- In the same vein as wondering why somebody would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, I asked John Harrison why anybody would want to jump out of a perfectly good boat.
- As long as the fish remain on the ledge, it’s a safe bet that they’re still in the food mood — so it’s just a matter of keeping an easy meal there for them.