It took just two conversations with regional fisheries biologists to recognize a pattern for catching redear in Mississippi in April — pick about any lake in any region and go shallow.
“Just in my region (East Central) alone, I can think of several,” MDWFP biologist Ryan Jones said. “There’s a very healthy population at Lake Tom Bailey (near Toomsuba) — not many giants but plenty of them in the 1/2- to 1-pound range. Prentiss Walker Lake (near Mize) is another strong, strong bream lake, and it has some really big redear, too; it’s hard to beat.
“A couple of years ago, we went down to Prentiss Walker to hold a children’s fishing rodeo and we had to net this area, and I remember we captured the biggest redear I’d ever seen. I didn’t weigh it, but it was huge.”
Another lake in Jones’ region, Claude Bennett near Rose Hill in Jasper County, offers trophy redear fishing.
“You aren’t going to catch many there, but the ones you catch are going to be hosses,” Jones said. “The lake is overpopulated with bass, and that limits small bream survival.
“There’s not much competition there, so the big ones just get bigger.”
Jones also recommended a trip to Simpson Legion Lake near Mendenhall and Magee, especially for those fishermen who don’t have boats. He said the lake has a deep drop along most of the banks.
“You can catch redear there year round from the bank because deep water is so close,” he said. “It’s a great lake.”
Northeast Mississippi, home of fisheries chief Larry Pugh, offers three of the best redear lakes anywhere: Tippah County Lake near Ripley, Trace State Park near Pontotoc and Lamar Bruce Lake near Saltillo.
Tippah County produced the current state record. Caught in November 1991 by James Martin, that behemoth fish weighed 3.33 pounds and was as big around as it was long — 15.5 inches in girth and length.
Other top redear destinations include the Pascagoula River basin in Southeast Mississippi, where the fish is known as a shellcracker. It is more tolerant of estuary waters, and with strong crushing teeth deep in its throat, it can eat mollusks.
Lake Perry near Beaumont is another good MDWFP state lake to try, and the Pat Harrison Waterway District’s Maynor Creek at Waynesboro, Little Black Creek near Purvis and Lumberton), Big Creek near Soso, and Dry Creek near Mt. Olive are all good bream lakes.
Don’t overlook the many farm ponds, subdivision lakes and other private stocked waters in Mississippi: Redear got the nickname “government bream” because they were easily reared in federal and state fish hatcheries and were commonly stocked for private landowners.
Be the first to comment