Freshwater Fishing

Featured

Catfish stocking scheduled for Pearl River

June 14, 2012 MDWFP news release

An estimated 14,000 pounds of blue catfish are set to be released Friday (June 15) into the Pearl River near Picayune as part of the recovery effort following a massive fish kill last year, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks announced.

More than 200,000 fish and freshwater mussels were killed after an equipment malfunction at Temple-Inland Paper Mill in Bogalusa, La., caused a spill of paper-making byproducts that depleted oxygen in the river’s water. […]

Crappie/Bream

Bream fishing getting insanely good

June 7, 2012 Bobby Cleveland

Changing weather patterns this week have played havoc with many fishermen, but there are a few exceptions. “I was disappointed that the cold fronts knocked the shad down off the surface and ruined the fishing for striped bass and hybrid bass this week, but oh buddy it sure hasn’t hurt the crappie fishing,” said William Thomas of Jackson, whose deeply-trolled crankbaits kept enticing slab crappie on Barnett Reservoir. […]

Freshwater Fishing

The hand-grabbing season

June 1, 2012 David Hawkins

The hand-grabbing season coincides with the spawning period for blue cats and flatheads. In natural conditions, these fish will spawn in hollow logs, caves and recesses created by fallen trees or jammed debris. […]

Freshwater Fishing

Hand-grabbing regulations

June 1, 2012 David Hawkins

Jerry Brown, a fisheries biologist for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said the fact that blues and flatheads are cavity spawners accounts for their willingness to enter man-made boxes during the spawning season. […]

Content

Crappie Hotspot Series – Enid Lake

June 1, 2012 Phillip Gentry

An ad on the back page of a magazine touted a particular brand of crankbait as “the newest and hottest tactic on the water.” In the ad, a young crappie-fishing guide wearing a NASCAR-style fishing jersey emblazoned with sponsors displays a slab crappie while the images of the crankbait in hot pink and neon chartreuse colors fills the background. All the “new” hype over catching crappie on crankbaits makes Ken Franklin just smile. […]

Content

Hand over fist

June 1, 2012 David Hawkins

Greg Parker guided his flat-bottomed boat toward a spot near the northern shore of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. In the boat were no rods and reels, no bait buckets or tackle boxes — just a large cooler with some ice, a bag of gloves, a roll of duct tape and a few other tools of the hand-grabbers trade.

Parker cut the motor, removed his life vest and allowed the boat to glide to a near stop before he rolled over the gunwale, hardly making a splash. In his hand was a catch stick, used by poultry workers to collect chickens. […]

Featured Story

Deep cranking kicks in

May 31, 2012 Bobby Cleveland

Mississippi fishermen have spent weeks dealing with temperatures that felt a lot more like late July than late May, which is why they’ve concentrated their efforts on summer fishing patterns.

For bass and crappie fishermen, that means concentrating on deep structure and deep cover. […]

Featured

Thousands of white bass die at Sardis Lake

May 30, 2012 MDWFP news release

More than 70,000 white bass turned belly up in Sardis Lake recently, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said the cause is believed to be a naturally occurring bacteria.

The total number of white bass — which composed more than 97 percent of the fish kill — was estimated at 73,510, the MDWFP reported on May 24. […]

Catfish

Catfishing picks up as summer heat sets in

May 23, 2012 Bobby Cleveland

If there is an upside to the onset of Mississippi’s brutal summer heat, it is that catfish seem to enjoy it. They get more active, and that can lead to their demise. As happens every year in mid to late May, the whiskered fish have turned on and are dominating the fishing reports throughout the Magnolia State. […]