While he loves to wade in Mississippi’s big reservoirs, particularly his home lake of Grenada, guide John Harrison of Calhoun City advises anglers not to overlook any body of water as a potential wading spot.
So long as the water is public property, Harrison said wading is one of the best ways to get to some good crappie.
“Get a topo map of the lake and the area surrounding the lake,” Harrison said. “Then just follow the ditches. Anywhere you see a ditch that breaks off a creek and peters out or a low spot that runs into the lake, both of those will be good spots. You need to know what the water level is first. Won’t do you any good to try to fish a flat that’s still out of water or that rising water has already covered up with water too deep to wade.”
As a kid, Harrison said he would often wade fish farm ponds and creeks that offered crappie fishing no one ever thought to fish. In most of those locations, he said it’s hard to tell if you’re fishing “Old Bob’s Slough” somewhere or in the furthest reaches of Grenada Lake.
“You’ve got to look at the water’s edge from both sides,” he said. “My favorite way is to launch my boat, just like I was going fishing and motor in as far as I can get, then tie the boat up, get out and wade. Some people even tether the boat to their belt and pull the boat along as they wade, but if you’re in the thick stuff where you need to be, just tie the boat and go.
“The other way is look at a lake map that has roads marked on it. Drive as close as you can get, then walk down through the woods and wade in. The big thing is to make sure you’re not trespassing on private property and you’re good to go.”
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