Strong winds, colder temperatures forecast for Mississippi this weekend
Last weekend’s rains and this week’s cooler temperatures have slowed what was rapidly becoming an early spring for Mississippi fishermen, and another big delay is rapidly approaching.
A cold front forecast to drop lows below freezing Friday and Saturday nights in most of Mississippi will make finding bass and crappie more difficult.
And that’s not the worst news.
No, that would be that Saturday will see gusty conditions with winds expected to be nearly 20 miles per hours with stronger gusts.
“That’s what’s gonna really hurt, because I have two good crappie patterns going that the wind will ruin,” said Thomas Miller of Clinton. “Right now, at Barnett Reservoir, we’ve got great conditions at the Welfare Hole. At Eagle Lake, we’ve got the black crappie stacking up under the piers. Changing water temperatures won’t affect either, but the winds will make it impossible to fish.”
At Barnett, the Welfare Hole is a well-known hot spot (Crappie in your Creel) that becomes productive following heavy rains that increase current in the Pearl River. Crappie that naturally winter around the bottleneck created by the Highway 43 bridge on the upper end of the lake will seek refuge from the current, and they find it on a big flat just south and east of the bridge. It’s a huge area where a big eddy current forms and creates slack water.
“That turned on Thursday (Feb. 14) and I got a limit both Thursday and Friday,” Miller said. “I was done by 10 a.m. both mornings. I was trolling with four poles on the front of the boat and stayed in water at least 10 feet deep. That was not always easy because of all the boats, but I kept moving down this one ledge and I’d pick one or two up each trip.
“If the wind blows as hard as the forecast says, Saturday (northwest at 19 mph) and Sunday (south at 11), it will be difficult. Being a weekend, the number of people on the Welfare Hole will be ridiculous. Trolling in the traffic will be impossible, and the wind will make it even tougher. Lucky for me I am retired. I can just wait until next week.”
Miller planned to take the weekend off because he knows fishing at his other spot will also be difficult “and not much fun.”
At Eagle Lake, a two-week lull in the fishing was just beginning to subside with black crappie becoming active under the piers.
“I haven’t been but one of my fishing partners who has a house on the lake called and said he finally got on them Wednesday and Thursday and we were hoping to go Saturday,” Miller said. “He was catching them 3 to 5 feet deep in 10 feet of water, just like we usually do, using a 1/32-ounce jig and a small minnow.
“The trouble with wind is that when you are fishing so far under the piers, boat position is critical. You have to get in just the right position and hold it there. The fish are biting but they are sluggish. You have to hold it right in their face until they can’t stand it.”
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Otherwise, fishing reports from around the state have been sparse this week on the heels of the three-day rain and storm event that hit Mississippi Sunday through Tuesday, including the catastrophic tornado that ripped through Hattiesburg.
Water temperatures that were in the upper 50s in South Mississippi, the mid 50s in Central Mississippi and lower 50s in North Mississippi, have taken a dip. The temperatures will continue to fall with the approaching cold front.
“We also have a problem with water clarity,” said Joe Thomas of Biloxi. “Our coastal rivers are running hard and the current combined with the muddy waters have shut us down. You can get in some of the backwater sloughs and find some clean water but the fish are scattered and it’s pretty tough going.”
All in all this appears to be a good weekend to devote to off-the-water activities, whether it be boat cleaning, tackle tune-ups or lure sorting.
“Or, in my case, it’s a good weekend to do some chores around the house my wife has on my list,” Miller said. “That way, when the conditions improve, I won’t feel so bad about heading out to the water.”
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